The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1912-03-14
DA|RY|NG GROWS
AS S@TATE|NDUSTRY
IN SOUTH DAKOTA, is THE Oh.
SERVATION OF DAIRY Elk
PERT RYGER
IS 4 HIGHLY PROFITABLE FIELD
For the Farmer of South Dakota-Mr.
Ryger Talks on the Importance
Oairying Has Attained

"A. I. Ryger, or this city, the state
dairy expert, was in Aberdeen last
week and gave the following interest
ing and important interview on the
South Dakota dairy industry to the
Aberdeen News. Mr.. Ryger said:
1--WE have been holding meetings
all owe the state and the interest
that is being taken in %dairyiIg is GER
tainly encouraging. The farmers Of
this state have got to come to it, and
the sooner the better. I do not ad.
vocate the disseminating Of growing
wheat and other grains, but I do ad-
vocate, and emphasize 1t strongly, the
necessity of dairying in this state II
the farmers want to be assured Of
making a success of their occupation.
Raise wheat and other small grain,
but raise dairy stock too.
I'VE had a meeting at Bowdle on
February %, and it was certainly the
most enthusiastic meeting Of any
kind that l have ever seen. When e.
p. Zollman Of Alexandria la, an attorney
and dairyman who addresses the gath
erings in the German language, and
myself reached Bowdle, we found a
band playing on the street and the
streets themselves packed with peo-
pie. What is going on here?' 1 ask
ed. The dairy meeting I was told.
1t certainly was a delightful surprise,
as several hundred farmers were out
to hear the addresses. / made a
short address and then Mr.. Zollman
addressed them in the German Ian
guage for two hours. The questions
that were asked, the packed hall, and
the general interest that was taken in
the meeting was certainly encourage
ing, and shows that the farmers are
waking up to the necessity and i'm
portance Of dairying in this state.
"In talking with a man named
Erington at Big Stone last Saturday,
| asked him how many cows he was
milking now, and he told me nineteen.
I asked him If he had a silo and he
said that he had two silos and about
400 tons Of silage put up. I intimat-
ed that he must be making good
money out OF his cow as he had
plenty of good feed and taking into
consideration the present high price
CT creamery products. My check at
the creamery for January was 5000
and some cents he replied.
'It has been demonstrated that
corn is an excellent South Dakota
crop, and even if an early frost should
catch the crop before the corn is rip
ened, the entire plant is just as good
for ensilage as it would be at any 9TH
err time. Corn and dairying go togeth.
er where the farmers wish to utilize
everything raised on the farm, and
silos are an absolute necessity for
properly preparing and preserving the
forage.
Speaking Of silos, I am often asked
what kind Of a silo to recommend. It
doesn't make much difference. You
put up silage as you would s%auerkraut,
in an alright, cylindrical structure.
AS long as it is air tight and c%ylindri-
cal, and not too large in diameter, it
makes no difference Of what material
it Is made, whether wood, cement, tile
or combinations of the three. The
silo should not be too large though as
the contents will ferment and spoil
if left too long exposed to the air be-
tween feeding times. Two small si'os
are a great deal better than one large
one. The surface Of the ensilage
should always be kept either level or
convex, concave, as there is
too much danger of spelling.
Il and my men are doing every
thing in our power to increase dairy
ing in this state, and we are just be-
ginning to feel that our efforts are
being appreciated, and that we have
been successful in bringing about
something of the results that we had
expected within the very ear future.
South Dakota has a future as a dairy
ing state, and the o that the far
mers get into the game and follow
the examples of Minnesota and Wis
consin, the sooner will they be pros.
porous. no matter II the crops do fail