Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1909-01-21
DAIRYlNG IN IDAHO
Cheap Land, Cheap Feed. Good
Water Makes Conditions
Ideal.

That dairy farming is profitable
business is fully shown by its marvel
Gus growth during the past decade.
No other branch of agriculture has
ever seen such rapid development in
the same length of time. It's growth
has been universally noticeable in all
parts of our country. That dairy
COW produces more human food from
given amount of feed than any
other animal of the farm, and as the
population of the United States in
creases, dairying will become more
and more important.
Many sections of Idaho possesses
conditions especially favorable to
dairying. Here is found cheaper
land, plenty of good cheap feed rich
in protein, good water. and mild
and healthful climate. The land is
so productive that more cows can be
kept on the same amount of land here
than elsewhere.
The various industries in the state,
such as the mines. the large lumber
camps beside the large demands Of the
Alaskan and Oriental trade. tend al
ways to give US ready market and
good prices for dairy products. The
last report of the Idaho Dairy Com
missioner states that /, 400. 900 pounds
of butter are annually imported into
the state. to help supply our own mar
ket. Certainly this ought to show
that we need not fear any over produc-
tion.
1t is generally conceded fact that
good dairy cows yield larger profit
for feed consumed than can be ex-
pected from any other branch of farm
ing. A good COW will annually yield
not less than 800 pounds of butter,
which at 25 cents a pound. is worth
SIS. Adding to this the value of
6, 600 pounds of skim milk at 20 cents
per 100 lbs and ten dollars ought t0
be fair value for the calf. This
would give us a total income of $97
Allowing $50 as fair allowance fol
feed consumed, we still have $47 as {
prolific pay for the labor and interest
. on investment.
However, in addition to this al
rect profit, we must not fail TO In
sufficient stress on the Importance
of dairying in retaining the fertilit.
of the soil. By feeding the raw ma
> terial of the farm to the dairy cows
we are not only manufacturing higl
' priced products, but we are retaining
J upon the farm almost the entir
amount of fertilizing material take
from the soil by the growing crop.
By selling only the cream, or b
making butter, fully 95 per cent o
the fertilizing material contained /
: our feed is retained on the farm
One ton of oats takes from the so
Z as much fertility as a. ton of cream
AS much fertility would leave tn
= soil in $26 worth of wheat as in $39
worth of cream.
y Those living on the richer sol
8 hardly appreciate the true significanc
v of the Importance of soil fertility
a This question, however, has but
o people who have lived in the cas-
> Several of our eastern states are eve
now, each spen1ing annually moi
than 81, 600, 900 for fertiizing materi'
to help them produce crops and
many parts of our own state peop
are realizing that crops are steadi
decreasing, and that, if the presel
ie system of cropping continues our SO
I'd must soon be replenished with artii
at cial fertilizer.
s. By dairying only about 5 per ce
s. of fertility is lost. The balance b
n ing made by plant life, from waite
t. air, and sunshine AS result dai
ne farms in Europe have succeeded
to maintaining their soil fertility f
to more than / 900 years, while some
in our grain farms have been almo
ct exhausted in so years.