The Ordway new era., 1919-05-23
Dairying Means Prosperity
Under a Cooperative Plan

for the farmers during busy times.
while occasionally the members them
selves have assisted the farmers in
urgent work.
The two local banks have support
ment, and one of them had aided in
financing the purchase of pure-bred
dairy sires and cows. 1t has brought
in eight carloads of high-producing
animals and distributed the cattle at
cost among the farmers. In addition,
it has loaned money for the purchase
of better cattle and for general farm
Improvement. The bank publishes
monthly paper which circulates
among the creamery patrons and
deals with community development
problems and other topics of interest.
Each month it publishes the names
of farmers receiving the largest
checks from the creamery and the
names of the owners OF cows whose
average production exceeds 40 pounds
of butter fat a month. The lists
stimulate friendly rivalry among
dairymen and benefit the local in
dustry.
More Good Cows Brought In
Today Grove City Is region
profitable dairy cows, due to the in
tensive work of the home cow-testing
association. which has worked for
the shipping in of better dairy ami
mails and the shipping out of low pro-
ducers. Farmers have needed the
evidence of the milk scales and the
Babcock test. One dairyman found
that of his IL cows were ''loafers."
He Immediately sold them to a local
butcher and purchased profitable
stock to take their places. The Grove
City Cow Tester Association records
for 1917 and 1918 show that 1t
cost an average of $74 cow to feed
the 262 cows that completed years
test-approximately $50 to feed the
lowest producers and $97 for the
cows whose average production was
400 pounds or more of butter fat a
year. One COW in the 400-pound
of feed than an entire group of 25
cows that averaged only 100 pounds
of fat year.
Work Of the Bull Association
Two cooperative bull associations
Jersey and Holstein-Friesian-
have been organized since the de-
velopment work began. Each of these
organizations is divided into four sec
tions or blocks. with one bull to each
block. The Holstein-F -Friesian Bull
Association consists of rs farmers. |
who subscribed $75 each for the pur-
chase of four registered Holstein sires
of meritorious breeding. To avoid
inbreeding. the sires are changed |
from one block to another every two
years. and according to this plan
the bulls now In use will be service
able for the next eight years. Thus |
each member of the club gets the use
of fine sire while the organization
is able to keep its bulls at a main
tenance cost of about one-sixth Of
what 1t would be II each herd were
headed by a separate bull. The Jer- |
sey Bull Association was organized
along similar lines. This campaign
for better breeding has brought about
the establishment of more than 40
pure-bred herds in the community
during the last year.
The Guernsey Breeders Associa-
ton at Grove City consists of,,2s mem
bers. owning II registered Guern-
seys. each member owning either out
right or Jointly a carefully selected
registered sire.
In the main. the dairy cattle In the
are free from tubercu-
iosis; more than 100 herds have sue
cessfully passed two annual or three
Official tuberculin tests.
AS result they have been included