Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1919-10-30
FARMERS need
DAIRY-BEEF COW
SCRUB JERSEY BULL HAS RUN
QUALITY OF HERDS DOWN.
GET RID OF HIM.
MILKING SRORTHORAS GOOD
The Family Needs a Cow That Will
Produce Much Rich Milk, and a
Calf That Will Sell For Beef,
Says Murphy.

Or. NJ. Murphy, Animal Husbandry
Specialist Division of Agricultural
Extension, University of Tennessee
one has TO take but a short trip in
most any direction within the state
outside of the dairy districts to learn
that the average farmer, the man with
farm of 100 acres or less, and from
one to four cows, is longing for a real
family COW. He needs more milk for
home use. He doesn't want to go into
dairying. Perhaps he would if he had
a market for surplus butterfat, but un-
less thru cooperative efforts a cream
route be established by his front door,
ne is rarely justified in striving to pro-
duce more than an abundant supply
of milk for the home, the children, the
calves, and a bit for the pigs and
chickens.
Well, one might wonder why hasn't
he a satisfactory COW. He has been
farming long time, certainly long
enough TO have developed Il COW suit
ed to his conditions. But let us see
what has happened. Twenty or more
years ago he had or big red cows
Which furnished his family plenty of
milk and each raised a good calf.
Competition of beef cattle from the
western ranges was at that time so
strong that these good calves were of
little value. In fact, there came
time when the calf was considered
nuisance rather than an asset.
About the same time the Jersey COW
was at the height of her glory in Ten
nessee, and no state ever produced
more good Jerseys or more ardent adj
mirers of them. She was hailed far
and wide as the ideal family COW. She
required very little feed and produced
very rich milk; and the calf was Of
small Importance, anyway. All of
which was very true at that time, and
today the Jersey has no superior as an
economical producer of good milk and
butter But it wasn't the COW that did
the damage. She produced a calf, and
tho it wasn't worth anything, it was
such comely, farm-like creature that
no one had the heart to dispose of it,
and thus did the country far and wide
become populated with Jersey bulls.
) Had conditions remained as they
were at that time we might today have
nothing to regret, but twenty years
have marked a wonderful change in
the beef cattle producing area of our
country. In 1000 there were 50 head
of cattle of all kinds per 100 of human |
population. In 1910 the number had |
decreased to CT PER 100, and on Jan |
uary l, 1919, to Ga per 100. The num- !
Der of cattle other than dairy cows
was 81 per 100 people in 1900, In 1910
this number had decreased to 40 per |
100, and on January l, 1919, to ~ per
100. During the same period dairy |
cattle have pretty well held their OWE |
with the increase in population, for in
1900 there We're % per 100 people in |
1910, %, ana on January l, 1919, there
were %.
Let lis observe what this decline
has meant. In 1906 the beef exports
CT the United Suites reached summit |
Of 73l 100000 pounds, and at that time
there WAS only trace of imports. \
JloWn-hiIl course followed, and by the
year 1911, the imports exceeded the
exports by 93,0O0O0o pounds. In that
year our imports We're 259000,000
pounds, and olir exports less than y
900 600 pounds.
Since that time under the stress of
war, and the needs of our Allies for
food supplies our exports of beef have
been greatly increased; this has been
done, not by increased production, but
at the expense of our own normal
home consumption and of our founda
tion cattle stocks as intilnated by the
above ratio of cattle to population.
This great decrease in our prOduc-
ton of beef cattle is, of course, at
tributable to the fact that our great
western range area has gradually been
lessened during this period by having
settlers fence off farm after farm and
place it under cultivation. But, in the
meantime, these Jersey bulls and their
nondeScript male offspring have pretty
well succeeded in destroying all of the
natural beef-producing ability of the
average farmers COW and unfortunate
|
that the calf has become of so much
Importance and will continue to be-
come of much greater Importance, the
hume of Jersey COW is brought into
disrepute, and her progeny is cursed
throughout the land. Unfortunate in
II way it is for her that her blood has
so great prepotency for even unto the
tenth generation removed, she is still
given credit for the yellow-backed,
sharp-rumped steer that shows up in
the feed lot with such remarkably reg
ularity.
So, the farmer is again today look
ing for a COW that will first of all pro-
vide him better home milk supply
and Will produce profitable calf
Some one suggests, why not start all
over again and take the Jersey? Jer-
sey heifers are very much In demand;
good dairy cattle are very scare. All
OF which is true, If all the calves would
only be heifers, but what about the
hulig7 Gnad yaarliuU IorSav haifars