The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-31
UTAH COWS PRODUCED
MILLION and A HALF
Rapid Growth and Development of the Dairy in
duStry in Utah.
Important Source Of Revenue For the Farmers-TwO Hun
dred Thousand Dollars Invested in Dairy Plants
BY PROF. F. B. 11NF1E1D, Utah Agricultural cOllegs

The dairy business is not new even
in Utah. It's development in the state
appears to have had three distinct
stages, and in each of these the bust
ness has been followed in a measure
for different reason. In this. perhaps
Utah is not different from other states
or countries, and yet dairying is of
such recent origin here as to bring the
facts forcibly to mind. Dairying in this
state arose:
First-Out of the necessities of the
people.
Second-It was used in connection
with calf raising as a means OF adding
to the returns from the cows
Third-In the third and final stag, it
began TO be considered as a source of
profit from the farm, or the principal
source Of income.
In the first settlement of the country
all the people were agriculturists, and
the demand for dairy products was
largely only for the farmers own
household. Milk, butter and perhaps
cheese were household necessities. and
SO few COWS were MIXED to supply
this want. A few COWS only would be
needed and these perhaps of Indifferent
quality.
To keep a COW q whole year when
the only returns were a calf is even in
these times OF high prices not very
profitable, particularly for the farmer
whose herd of cows is limited in num-
Der. In fact apart from range feeding
and large ownership, i am doubtful,
If the calf when weaned will square the
food account Of its dam for one year.
The profits on each animal would at
least be small.
For many years range fed beef cattle
were one of the principal sources of in
hn i1r-irx of
farmers of the state. The most of,
those farmers were men of limited
means. TIC take advantage of the range
feeding and at the same time increase
the returns from the COWS they were
let out during the summer to some
mountain ranch dairy. Practically all
the cows came in fresh in the spring or
early summer. a portion of the milk
they gave was fed to the calf and the
rest was made into butter or cheese,
more frequently the latter. The ar
engagements made with the dairy differ
ed with different localities, yet a fire.
quent arrangement was thai the owner
of the cows got his cows herded without
cost and received at the end of the
season the calf and half the cheese
made from the cows. Cows handled in
this way would produce about 200
pounds of cheese for the season. The
owner of the cows would receive, there
fore, about IS to SO worth of cheese
and a little better value in the calf I'M
der average conditions. The dairy bus
mess, condisering the free herding.
would thus practically double the re-
turns from the COWS each season. This
practice became very general over the
state. and has been kept up even to the
present time in many places. The most
of these diaries were small, with fifty
to 100 cows. but in few instances they
attained large dimensions and called
for a large amount of help.
Change Of Plan.
The next step in the dairy develop
ment called for q change of plan. In
the system just referred to the COWS
were sent to the dairy and were there
looked after, fed and MIXED under one
management. Under the new and lat
est system the cows are kept at the
home of the farmer, who cares for the
COWS, milks them and sends the milk
to the dairy.
The calf now becomes not a first but
quite a secondary consideration. Dairy
ing became a question of using the COW
as a machine to turn the crops of the
farm into a more concentrated and val
liable product, thereby increasing the
returns from the farm. The cow hav-
ing at last attained the highest place
in the consideration of the farmer,
more attention has and will be paid to
feeding and caring for her SO as to en-
able her to do her best in milk and but
ter production
Another important result has been
the improvement of the COWS through
breeding and selection. The difference
between a good and a poor cow is SINH
lar to the difference between a good and
a poor machine of any kind. The bet
ter the machine the greater its eff
the more work it will do for
a given expenditure of energy or food |
That COW is the best which. when gen |
erously fed, produces the largest !
amount of dairy products from a given |
amount OF food. This good COW is pro- |
duced by developing our cows and rails |
ing the calves from the best cows. The /
may also be rapidly |
FASTENED by drawing on the experience |
and results of improvers that have pre- |
ceded us in this field: by using the inn |
proved stock, the pure breeds of the |
dairy type, which they have produced. /
When the COW is under the direct con-
troll or management Of the owner all
these points of improvement become
possible, and are being acted upon at (
present in the state. Another result
that might follow and has followed due
to the greater attention that has been
called to the COW is the necessity for
providing good food and plenty of IL.
Good crops are necessary in any line
Of successful farming, but the COW has
shown the necessity for greater
variety of crops which afford greater
for crop rotation; an inn
portant consideration in maintaining
soil fertility and enlarged growth of
crops.
IT'S true that this stage of dairy
development calls for more work on the
farm, but I cannot see why that is not
an advantage. Profitable work on the
farm is surely something that all pro-