The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1913-05-06


Eastern states, notibly in Ohio and
New York, is the increasing value OF
farm lands. While they have not adj
vanced as rapidly during the last few
years as they have in the Western
states, there is the same optimistic
feeling about land values there as you
will find in the West. think perhaps
one of the causes contributing to this,
is the great prosperity of the dairy
ing interests in those states. A num-
Der of farmers in northeastern OHIO
inform us that they were able to net
$3.50 a year per cow for the last four
or five years. They of course have
been grading up their herds until they
have very good milk cows. This was
from grade herds, and not from pure
breds, and the income from the Off
spring of their herd was very nominal
indeed.
We found that the farmer who runs
a dairy of from 80 to so cows, it was
not uncommon at all to veal all of their
calves or sell the heifer calves to some
neighbor whose dairy was not so large,
and who made more Or less of a spe-
cialty in raising heifer calves. If they
find a poor cow in the dairy, they usu-
ally sell her and attempt to buy bet
ter one. The result was that in Ohio,
we found that even the grade cows
were scarce and high priced, and a
great many grades were being shipped
from one part Of the state to the other,
and often times out of the state.
Nearly all of the milk is sold to
large milk concerns who ship it into
the cities. In the state of New York
milk is shipped from three to four
hundred miles to New York and Bos-
ton. The dairy men receive as high
as $500 per 100 lbs. during the winter
months. The price for April was $1.40.
1t was very noticeable too that 80 per
cent of the dairy cows from both of
these states were Holsteins, and as a
rule they can be distinguished from
the pure bred Holsteins by way of
their color markings, owing to the fact
that they had been bred to pure bred
sires so many years. A real good
dairy COW readily brings from $50 to
500. The poorer specimens are sold
from S25 TO S35 less.
During the past three years that we
have travelled through the dairy dis
tricts of these states, especially New
York, there is very noticeable i'm
provement in the dairy barns and
equipment. Inspectors are sent out
to visit all of the barns where herds
are kept that furnish milk that is
shipped into the large cities. A barr
is rated, and if it does not come up tc
certain standard, the dairyman can.
not ship any Of his milk into tie cities
| There has been created a rivalry
among the dairymen, and each one
tries to have his barn and equipment
show higher average than the next
fellows. Many of the barns from the
outside look like old sheds built years
ago, and never had a particle of paint
on them, but inside you will invariably
find cement floors, stanchions, and al
the late conveniences for taking care
of the milk COW.
The average farmer is unable tt
raise anywhere near the amount Of
feed used on his place. He is obliged
! to buy hay and feed, and very few
farmers at this season of the year have
any straw left for bedding, and they
buy shavings for this purpose. Feed:
are very high, nearly double the price
of similar feeds in Minnesota. Hay
usually costs from SIS to $40 per ton
Nearly every farmer has silo, and o.
course this helps him out decidedly
and is one thing that makes his dair!
business profitable.
The farms are small, and in man!
parts of the district that we visited
the tillable land is merely nominal
and a great deal of rough land fur
nishes good pasture for the summer
A good many of the farmers plan oil
having their cows freshen about mid
winter so as to get full benefit of thei
pastures so as to avoid buying higl
priced feeds through the whole winter
Considering the number of farmer
engaged in dairying, the number O.
pure bred breeders are about as scare,
as they are in Minnesota, regardless O.
the fact that north central New Yorl
and northeastern Ohio probably hav,
IS per cent of all the pure bred Hol
stein cattle in the country. The inter
est in the registered Holsteins in those
districts is very great. We ATTENDED
seven or eight public sales of Holsteins
and it was not an uncommon thing t.
find five or six hundred people at on,
of these auctions and seldom Lose tho