The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1894-12-13
in RE THE COW
e. NJ. Burnham, From the Dairy
Region of Minnesota
Talks Butter.
He Tells What the Bovine Boss has
Done for His Section of
the State.

II. bOI uO0IS, 10 OuO VI IAO LIOOC IutOA
esting takers on the COW who has Wis
tied this city for long time. Mr..
Burnham lives on the farm of John
Brainerd, near Blooming Prairie,
Steele county, in the center of the
richest and best dairying country in
the United States. He is here visit
ing his daughter, and will probably
remain all winter. In an interesting
chat with him last Friday on the
dairy and it's benefits Mr.. Burnham
told the reporter that Steele county
had in the neighborhood of 20 coop
erative creameries, six or seven which
we're four miles apart within radius
of eight miles from Blooming Prairie.
The shipments from these creameries
around Blooming Prairie, he said, run
as high as 10000 pounds of butter
per week, and averages 1900 pounds.
The milk received at the village cream
cry runs as high as $1,000, and aver
ages $4,000 pounds, and the cream is
separated from this vast quantity by
system of four separators. The av-
erage butter shipment per week for
the year of the creameries in and
around Blooming Prairie is about
1900 pounds.
"Of course" continued Mr.. Burn:
ham, blooming Prairie is in the cor
ner of Steele county, and is fed from
Steele, Dodge and Freeborn counties,
and in the latter is located the dairy
farm of Hon. Johf L. Gibbs, who
runs so cows the year around, and
who receives a monthly check of about
$3.50 for the cream he sends into
Blooming Prairie. Every farmer in
the county has his COW, and the dairy
has practically already supplanted
the small grain farming. There is
not farmer in the county but what
sells cream from two to forty cows,
and as consequence the hard times
effects us but little. The monthly sale
of cream from Mr.. Brainerd's farm,
which is conducted by me, averages
about $780,"
"The cooperative creamery system
is magnificent one. The farmers
working under it started out with a
charge of five cents per gallon, and af-
ter the creameries are paid for the
price is reduced to three cents, and
last year the system worked SO sue
cessfully that every farmer in Steele
county who patronized one of the CO.
operative creameries realized Is cents
per pound for his butter. 1t is mag
nifcent thing, sir, to see these Coop
erative creameries dotting the country
for miles, and it is more pleasing to
know that by them the farm is made
a glorious success. may be enthusi-
astic, but the success in our country
would make the coolest man enthusi-
astic. It was only about four years
ago that the first creamery was erect
ed in our neighborhood, and to-day
the farmer don't want anything else.
The farmers are increasing their cows;
the increase of the cows are causing
an increase of factories, and the old
and the new are kept busy all the
time. They point to the creamery as
the instrument by which they alone
we're saved. It takes as much to make
Q pound of meat as it does to make q
pound of butter, while the milk left
from the separator will make hogs,
and hogs and the dairy will sustain
the farm and make money!
"Mr. Burnham, what is the breed
most prevalent in Steele county,"
"The common breed, although the
Jersey and Guernsey are fast sup
planting them. The Brainerd herd
is the Guernsey, and they gave as
good milk as the Jersey. The Hol-
stems make good butter but it takes
more milk to make it than does the
milk of the Jersey. The Durham is
too fat for dairy cow"
Redwood county ought to make
as good dairy country as Steele, and
probably better. Southern and South
western Minnesota will be the future
dairy region of the United States, be-
cause only a small territory is pre-
pared, and that is in Illinois, Iowa
and Wisconsin, not enough to take
care of one-half of the demand for
dairy products.
"a good feed in winter time, aside