The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1916-12-07

Dairy Farmer.
The 40 Acre Farmer Often Draws
Larger Creamery Check Than
His 160-Acre Neighbor.
Mr.. Richard Hamer, one of Milo's
most progressive farmers, furnishes
the text of front page article in the
current number Of the Northwest
Farmstead, which is herewith repro
duced:
Is the 4O-acre to 80-acre dairy farm
practicable, or are these examples of
successes made on places of such linn
tied acreages merely isolated cases?
People generally are inclined to be-
lieve that to try to make money on
anything less than 100 acres is waste
of time. They hear now and then of
of farmer on 40 or an 80 who is
getting along very we'll, but they con-
clude that it must be because he is
exceptionally smart or works like a
slave. Of late years, though, so many
of these successful 40, 60 and 80-acre
fellows are getting their names in the
papers that it begins to look as though
there was something in it besides
just hard work and being smart.
Richard Hamer is the secretary Of
the big creamery at Milaca, MINI.
Here is what he has to say about the
small dairy farmer: ut is my duty
twice a month to sign about 375
creamery checks and frequently I OBJ
serve that the man on a 40-acre farm
gets a larger check than another who
pays taxes on 100 acres. When man
on 40 acres gets cream check that
amounts to $3.50 to SITS per month
for every acre Of his farm, in addi-
ton to the other things that con-
tribute to his income, he is not in
any immediate danger of starvation.
There are thousands of cases where
the 40-acre farm is large enough"
Mr.. Hamer would go so far as to say
that man should be slow about going
into the dairy business on. large
farm unless he has help enough in his
own family to run the farm and care
for the cows. Measured by the success
that the dairyman on the small farm
has and the difficulty that others
sometimes experience in getting help,
he concludes that the 80-acre dairy
farm is the most satisfactory.
But because man has 100 acres or
200 acres or a section of land is no
sign that he cannot make as much
per acre out Of dairying as the 40-acre
man. The hired help problem is one
! Of individual settling anyway. Every
man knows from his own experience
What he can do with hired help. The
really important things in connection
with dairying seem to be the selection
of the dairy COWS and the care and
intelligence with which they are ham
died. Mr.. Hamer is in a position to
make close and accurate observations
along those lines. He is a dairyman
himself. The Guernsey was his choice.
He says that the Guernsey is larger,
more hardy and of better disposition
than the Jersey. The Holstein is very
popular among the dairymen Of the
Milaca country and Mr.. Hamer rec
ognizes the good points Of the famous
black and white breed, but he is strong
for high test cow and so bought the
Guernsey The Holstein, he says, is
the COW for the man who wants big
flow of milk. In this section the Hol-
stein fellows not only sell great
amount Of butterfat, but they utilize
the skim milk to good advantage by
feeding it to pigs and calves. Veal
calves and hogs are sources Of hun
dreds of big by-product incomes to
the dairy farmers there and in hun
dreds Of other places in the American
Northwest.
BRAINS AND BLOOD COUNT.
In order to promote the introduction
of better dairy blood into the herds of
the Milaca community breeders as
ISOLATION was organized four years
ago. Both Guernsey and Holstein
owners belong to the association. The
aim of the association is to improve
The herds by using pure-bred regis
tered sires, and to discourage cross
breeding and inbreeding. The asso-
citation is meeting with constantly in
creasing success in accomplishing it's
purpose. More farmers are buying
pure-bred sires each year, and gradu-
ally the grade and dairy stock in the
community is improving. !
A few farmers in that section have
the dual purpose cows. The attempt