Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-03-24
Dairy Industry and Farm Fertility

| We are realizing in many parts of our
state that most of our farms are not like
| the ocean, a vast store from which we
may continue to dip what we want with
out making any apparent impression >on
the amount remaining, but rather they
are ponds from which the supply may be
exhausted if care is not taken to conserve
the springs which feed them and the sur
face water which drains into them. We
are realizing that our farm land is valu-
able in proportion to its power to earn a
reasonable interest on its cost. Its earn
ing power is directly affected by the loss
or gain in fertility resulting from the sale
of crops produced on it.
The elements most easily exhausted
and most often lacking are nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash. These are
what we expect to get when we buy COM
mercial fertilizer, and consequently they
have market value and the price of a
commercial fertilizer should depend very
largely on its content of one or the other
or all of these materials. All of the
common farm products contain more or
less of these same elements. The crops
get the material they are made of from
the soil. and the animal body is made
from the hay, grain, etc, consumed.
Dividing the farm products into four
groups we have roughness, i. e., straw,
hay and fodder; grains, i. e., corn, oats,
wheat; live stock, i. e., sheep, cattle, hogs,
and wool, and finally dairy products,
milk, cheese, cream and butter.
Taking the value of the fertilizer ele-
ments as agreed upon by the manufactur-
ers and state chemist in COUNSEL, the
various crops at average market prices,
together with the recognized analysis Of
these crops for a basis, we find that 500
worth of roughness sold from the farm
will take as much nitrogen, phOsphoric
acid and potash from the farm as can be
bought in from S65 to 500 worth of COM
mercial fertilizer, depending on the crop
sold.
One hundred dollars worth of grain
will take from the land SAL worth in
wheat to SG4 worth in corn. While 800
worth of live stock takes only ST to Sll
worth and dairy products vary from $40
in 800 worth of milk to II cents worth
of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash
in 800 worth of butter.
The higher the market price of the
product, the smaller the amount sold for
800 and consequently the smaller the
loss of fertility.
A consideration of these facts indicates
that ut usual market prices we cannot at
ford to sell from our farms any OF the
crops in the group of roughness, espe-
cially if we must buy commercial ferti-
lizer to replace the fertility sold. The
same is true of the grain group only in a
lesser degree.
In the stock group the loss of fertility
is less than one fourth that in the grain
group, and only one-seventh to one-tenth
that of the hay group.
Thus we see the reason for urging the
land owner to feed on his farm all he
produces. returning the manure both
solid and liquid TO the land where the
crop grew and sell only live stock.
Milk takes SO much fertility because of
the amount of nitrogen and its high
price, but butter contains the least oil all
farm products. This is one reason why
dairyiug farming has become general in
the eastern section of our country, where
the lands have been run down by gener-
ations of grain and hay farming.
The beef grower as rule does not bny
much to feed in addition to what he
grows. says he cannot afford to do it, the
beet will not pay for the extra feed. On
the other hand there are few good dairy
men who do not buy some bran, oil
meal, cotton seed or other highly concen-
trated feeds, which in addition to their
feeding value have manurial or fertili-
ger value, varying from Sl2 for bran to
S22 for cottonseed meal per ton.
The man who sells 500 worth of but
ter made from crops produced on his
farm has robbed his farm of III cents
worth of fertility, but if he has fed in
addition TO these home grown feeds one
half ton of bran or cOttonseed meal he
has brought on to the farm So to Sll worth
of fertilizer to take the place of the ii
cents sold in the 800 worth of butter.
Is it any wonder that dairying is so gen
orally used as a profitable and certain
means of restoring to rundown land its
fertility, by feeding all that is grown, by
feeding some concentrated feeds which
the beef feeder cannot afford, then saw
inc and putting on the land all the ma
nure, liquid and solid, produced, "rhink
on these things. ."-"Happy are ye if we
do them. III. Z. Van Norman in Indiana
Farmer.