The Meeker herald., 1905-01-14
WEALTH FROM COWS.
ovKn TWO HuuD1xD MILLION
poLLAHs 4 YxAx 11ALIx1D.
Facts and Figures Of Interest 70 The
Farming and 1tock-1aisiag
People Of tbs units4


said the man with = pencil. reports tho
New York Sun. 'just how big . swath
the humble dairy COW cuts In the world.
or. more properly Speaking. In this
country? ifyou haven't. you will doubt
less be surprised TO know that she adds
sos, 000, 300 year to our wealth.
There are about 1000 600 dairy
COWS In the United States, which are
Yielding about 375.000,0 600 pounds Of
butter year. At is cents pound this
foots up over 500. 900. VI.
1.-The average annual yield Of butter
to the COW Is 1875 pounds. and II the farm
err knew how to feed his cattle properly
he could bring this average 70 800
pounds. or about the cost Of the COW In
the first place.
Most farE1ks who have never In
yestigated or studied the matter imag-
Inc that all that IL necessary to feed
a COW II about what he thinks she ought
to have. The fact Is that every COW
must nrst have enough food for body
mainte nance. then whatever she gets
over and above that goes into milk or
meat-which depends upon the breed.
III COW IL bred along dairy lines
that liz. If her sire 10 ull-biooded dairy
animal-she will not have the usual nat
ural tendency to convert into meat her
excess Of feed, but will turn 1t out in
milk. II she is fed from the time she
crops her calf, is regularly mill ed and
made comfortable. quiet and contented.
the more feed she gets the more milk
fhe gives. There's a good bit in keep
ing any animal conteuted and happy. es-
pecinlly II she IL good mixer.
Some may think that such an enor-
nous yield Of butter as would result
from proper feeding Of all these cows
would bring ruin 10 the industry. This
would happen only where feed IL ex-
pensiye. but the real result would be that
American butter would ind big mark ct
In Europe. where we could underrell all
home competition.
For instance. In Denmark 1t costs. In
round numbers. about twice what 1t does
In the northwest to produce butter. In
Germany the cost is but little less than in
Denmark. and 60 1t runs through ~ the
countries that offer US market
I'm fact, there IL lot Of butter now
being exponed by the big creameries,
and they md 1t easy to average 80 or IS
49,: pound. The price abroad at pres
snt prohibits butter from general uss.
but with production double what We
now havs We could afford to offer II
q abroad Ut . figure that would still give
us plenty Of margin. s
st will take = GOOD many years,
3 though 70 bring Tie average up TO even
800 pounds 70 the COW, since much Of
the stock is poor, and proper feeding Il
An idea that the dairy associations fnd
It dif1cult to propagate. Present prices
are satisfactory, however. and the good
COW. one that 10 properly managed. Will
net It's owner from $50 to ~ year.
THE butter business Is rapidly DRIFT
Ing into the hands Of the big creamery
. companies, of which there are large
number, especially in the west and
northwest. They have not only been
raising the standard Of butter, but they
have been gradually putting up tbs
price.
They have stations scattered ali over
the country. easy Of sccess to the farmer.
The owner Of dairy herd buys patent
separator that turns out the butter fat.
and the creameries pay him 4 maximum
Of % cents . pound for this. The skim
milk he feeds to his pigs, and every
month the creamery's little check for
about $3.50 or three dollars COW comes
In very handy"