Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1917-05-24
New SeCtiOnSRich
in Dairying Op-
portunitieS
By EDWARD WORKMAN,
Chairman Agricultural Commit

Inc northern part OF our state Tor q
long time to come will remain distinc-
lively dairy section. To begin with,
our soil and climate are well adapted
to the growing of crops best suited to
dairy production. Considering both
quantity and quality, it is doubtful if
any section of the United States, out
side of the irrigated districts, can ex-
eel 1t in the value of such feeds as can
be produced on given area of land.
Corn can be grown in the northern
half of the state, which, when made
into silage and fed to good cows, will
produce 500 worth of milk per acre
OF corn. To raise such crops will not
require extraordinary efforts on the
part of the farmer, either; just good,
sensible farming, in which the corn is
planted on clover stubble that has
been we'll MANFRED, the soil Of which
has been put ia good previous condition
by progressive farming.
Alfalfa Coming Crop.
Equally valuable crops of clover can
be grown, and as to alfalfa, there is
every reason to believe that ultimately
this crop will be grown as successfully
and extensively in northern Wisconsin
as in other parts of the state.
Then we have oats and peas and
roots, all of which crops produce large
yields of very excellent feed. There
is one distinctive feature about all
kinds of forage crops grown in this
northern latitude, they all contain a
larger percentage of the protein ele-
ment than the same crops grown far
Their south. This is a matter of consid-
cradle Importance, since it is the
protein element in our COW feed that
is the most expensive. The more of
this element, therefore, that can be
supplied in the roughages, the more
economical will be the feeding.
In this connection it may not be out
Of place to mention the fact that it is
practical and profitable to grow a
quantity of ensilage in northern Wis
cOnsin that is equal to the best pas
ture grass as q feed for dairy cows.
Such ensilage is produced by planting
flint cOkn on fertile land and growing
it in such a way that it will have a
dark green color and yield IA or 10
tons Of good, sweet ensilage to the
acre. If the corn is well matured and
put into the silO as dry as it will keep,
1t can be fed at the rate of a heaping
bushel basketful twice daily, to an
suits.
SO much for the natural advantages
which this region offers for dairy pro-
ductiOn, but there are other reasons
for believing that dairy farming will
be the most important industry for this
region.
Foster Mother of Race.
First, the dairy COW is the most
economical producer of human food
of any domestic animal, and as such
she will be utilized to q greater and
greater extent as land becomes scarcer
and higher priced. Secondly, the mar
ket for dairy products promises to re-
main the steadiest of any commodity
produced On the farm and third, be-
means of keeping up the fertility of
the soil. This last is Of the greatest
Importance, since the soil of northern
Wisconsin, as compared with that Of
the prairie sections, is poor in the
element of nitrogen, and any system
of farming that does not permit of
return to the soil of a good proportion
of the plant food taken from it, will
necessarily be ruinous to the agricul-
tural interests of that section
How to Develop Dairy Farm
In the following lines l will attempt
to state how a dairy farm can be best
developed out of raw, cut-Over land,
of which there are great quantities in
northern Wisconsin. Since those who
undertake this work are almost with
out exception men of small means, l
shall make my statements from the
Of men of that class.
All things considered, believe that |
the clay and sand loan soils are best |
adapted to growing crops for dairy
In some parts of this region
the land is too sandy, being easily af-
fected by drought, and leechy besides.
[n other localities there is q stiff clay |
which is comparatively cold and hard
o work. In still other places, where
he soil if of the best, the land is
-ough and hilly, or stony, and for
hat reason very hard to clear up. If
possible, such land should be avoided
~ the settler. 1t is my experience
hat sandy loan soil will give the
)est results, for the reason that in
his climate it responds quickly to
'Ood treatment, and Is sufficiently
etentive of moisture and fertility to
cake it capable of growing the largest
rOps.
Farm Small Tract Well.
The man of small means should not
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