Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1901-04-25
TOO MUCH GRAIN
A Correspondent Thinks Farmers
Pay Too Much Attention to
Grain Raising.
Believes That Creameries Should be
Established and Mich Cows
Bought.
Then it Crops Should Fail Would Still
Have Reliable Source of
Income.

EuluOE AlcIC-1 ue lueoCAoli lo' oA'Ai
we have crop or not? On the crops
depends our happiness. This question
is repeated every year. We have a
glorious climate, good soil, Industrious
people and everything to make peo-
pie happy. There is no climate or
country in the world perfect. There
is always some drawback. Hence we
must adapt ourselves to the conditions
as we find them. Last year was a bad
one for this state. The poorest land
we have is in the western part OF the
state and very little land is adapted
for cultivation, mostly on account OF
the deficiency Of rain. Still the set
tiers there are doing well and have
money for everything they need.
Many may ask why this is so. The
reason is easy. They have adapted
themselves to the conditions that ex-
ist. Nearly every station has is cream
cry. The storekeepers and wealthier
farmers furnish new beginners with
cows of the best breed, selling them
outright at small profit and take
their pay in milk pro rata monthly.
The latest creamery separates the
milk as it comes from the COW. The
farmer takes the skim milk back
again and feeds it to young stock and
needs no milk house or good cellar.
The creamery butter brings from Is to
% cents the year around. The result
is that when a man has from II to 10
cows he will have weekly income of
from $40 to Sl2 cash alone from the
cows. Besides that he can raise grain
and other products which will swell
his income. II he don't go into the
wholesale raising of grain and has a
family of six to eight persons he will
need very little help and will have an
income of from $500 to 81, 200 a year.
1t is the small farmer that will
make this a success as he is one able
to give the soil something back for
what he takes out Of it. This is i'm
possible for the large farmer. His
tory repeats itself. All the western
states had big farms until the owners
became bankrupts. We have a num-
Der of good farmers in our own county
who came from Wisconsin and Min
nesota. Crops failed for many years
from various causes and they had to
move up here in order to make a liv-
ing. The farmers who remained have
adapted since new way Of farming.
They have found out that the COW is
the mainstay and the supporter OF the
family. Now they have creameries,
well-bred cows, fat hogs, plenty of
chickens, raise all the fodder they can
and less grain raising. The result is
they use less horses, less machinery
and have about the same work the
year around. Soft they hire a man
they hire him by the year instead of
for few months.
The consequence is the farmers have
capable hired help, the storekeepers
sell for cash as the farmers have cash
at all times during the year and are
not depending on one thing. II wheat
fails they have still something: else.
Besides they have good buildings, a
family on every 160 acres at least,
where in "a wheat country you can
hardly find on an average on every
two sections. So where one family
now lives in North Dakota there
could live at least eight. do not
know of any country better adapted
to dairy farming than the James river
valley, rich in water and nutritious
grass.
Now if our merchants and capi-
talists undertake to open a creamery
which could he done with very little
capital as both the north and south
side breweries could be used for the
purpose and could be rented for a
term Of years, all that would be need
ed would be the machinery and a first
class butter maker. The capitalist
would have to furnish the best bred
Of milk cows in the market and sell
the same at cost or at a small profit
to the farmer and let them pay for
the same through revenue derived
from the sale Of milk. The farmers
would then have money the year
around. The prairies would be dot
ted house inn,lmerable, our merchants
would have about the same work the
year around.