Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-03-28
or INTEREST TO DAKOTA FARMERS
BIZ HOSE WHO KNOW.

OF INTEREST TO DAKOTA FAKMERs
BY THOSE WHO KNOW.
How Many get 80 Badly In Debt--Dakcte's
Advantages for Dairying A Rolling
Stone Gathers mo- Moss - Starting .
Creamery.
~ r. IL. OWEN In Dakota Farmer.
There is just nov throughout the Da-
kotas a general interest manifested in
the subject Of dairyiEg. The Dakota
farmer having been brought to realize
that he can not longer depend entirely
upon wheat raising, is looking about
for some new field Of enterprise. He
realizes that he must diversity his
farming, but is, prehaps, perplexed to
know which is the best way. 1t is a
critical time with him, and important
that he makes no mistakes. Wheat
raising has proved a failure; he is in
numbered with debt; his land is inn
poverished and run to weeds, and he
is altogether in a bad way. What to
do and how to do it? engages his
thoughts. He has a living to make
and debts to pay, and it is no wonder
that it pnzzles him to know how they
car be accomplished. In this state of
mind, among other things the question
of dairying is brought before him. A
great majority of farmers feel timid
about it. Doubts and fears arise, and
the question is debated as follows:
l. Is our country adapted to dairying
and can it be made a SUGGEST. 2. Is
there not danger of the business being
~overdone, and prices of dairy products
becoming so low in consequence as to
leave no profit in it? l will briefly
discuss the above questions as I look at
them. Time and space will not allow
me to say all 1 would like upon them,
but I hope / can say enough to dispute
much doubt.
1. Is our country adapted to dairy
ing and can il be made a success? ]
answer yes! To begin with, our cli-
mate is the best. Cattle are generally
healthy and rugged here. Our cows
are not subjected to so severe a ner-
vous strain as cows in more Eastern
and Southern states from exposures to
sudden changes from warm and dry to
damp and chilly airs; from dry and
sunny to wet and cloudy days; from
sudden changes of feed caused by sud-
den changes in weather. Our cows are
less distressed by our extreme heat of
midsummer and cold of winter han
they would be by the sultry hot days
of summer or the cold, chilly, damp
and rainy days of winter in the East.
Milk being a nervous production, any
thing that effects the nerves effects
also h quality and quantity of it.
Therefore, the COW being less sub
jected to nervous strains from changes
in surrounding conditions, we find,
gives her milk with greater constancy
and regularity here than in any other
place where we have tried dairying.
In the second place, our native grasses
are excellent for the production of
butter. At no time will they cause
such an abundant flow of milk as the
%succulent clover and blue grass. But
while the pastures of the East remain
in their prime a short time only, a
period of two months in early summer
aud an after growth of a month or six
weeks in the fall; perhaps there is
hardly a perceptable difference in the
value of our native grasses for six or
seven months Indeed, we have
noticed that v when the grass
seemed dry and Drowned in the late
summer and fall, the cattle relish it as
much as ever and do not shrink in
their milk providing their pasture is
not reduced. During the latter part of
July and all of August, and the latter
part of October and all of November, |
remember were generally trying times
to the dairymen of Iowa. They were
generally obliged to feed more or less
at those times or allow their cows to
shrink in milk. We have had no
trouble of that kind here. Another
feature / wish to speak of is the quality
of our butter. 1t has more solidity and
frmness than any butter / ever saw,
making it especially desirable for ship
ping or storing. This is due to the
hardness of our grasses, and thus con-
tanning much smaller proportion of
water.
2. Is there not danger of the business
being overdone and prices of dairy
products becoming SO low as to leave
Nv pAohS y Il ho"S nv NV III
the least for any length of time. If it
does go down the high priced land
owner of the East will be the first to be
driven out of it. If the Eastern dairy
man on 500. an acre land, $40. to Sl3.
per acre hay, and SIS. to S25. per tor
feed can make it pay, we have no need
to fear competing with him with our
cheap lands and cheap feed. Let us
but give the business the study, care,
and attention that he does and we will
force HIM into other business in a short
time. The Eastern dairymen have
reached their limit in the number of
cows they can keep, and if the dairy
belt does not move farther West, who
will supply with dairy products
the ever increasing population. The
growth of cities and towns all over the
United States increases each year the
demand for milk from the surrounding
farmers. Thus thousands of farmers
who formerly made butter and cheese,
now sell milk instead. Hundreds. yes.
perhaps thousands who sold butter and
cheese in competition with us last year
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