The Ward County independent., 1921-02-17
o. X. SPIRES SAYS THE MILK
COW WILL MAKE FARM PAY

Eight years ago bought nine COWS
and eight were" heifers, and started II
the. dairy business with firm convic.
ton that with little work and care.
full management could come out on
top and make farm in Ward county
pay good dividends.
My farm is located fourteen miles
northwest of Minot, so I haven't the
best location for dairy farm. New.
ertheless, the cows have made the
farm pay we'll and l am firm be.
lever in the future of the great
Northwest and know that when the
majority Of farmers keep cows, Ward
county will be prosperous.
During the eight years there has
not been year when the cows have
not made profit for me. | have,
however, been grain farming also and
there were times when the profit from
the cows had to 60 to pay the losses
on the wheat farm.
In 1920 had four hundred and for
ty acres into grain, which | sold,
bringing $l436.OO; that did not pay
the cost of production. The same year
! MIXED nineteen cows and sold $4,-
777.51 worth of milk. In addition to
this / sold $6375.OO worth of live
stock which accumulated in my herd
during the last three years.
I am not the only one who is making
a profit from a dairy herd. There are
a number of others in the county. Last
fall sold Mr.. w. A. Almy Of Bur-
lington eight cows, and since the
month Of December, Mr.. Almy has
sold over $1,000 worth of dairy pro-
ducts.
am firmly convinced that any
farmer living within a radius of Is
miles of any town in Ward county
can make farm pay if he will buy
a few dairy cows and give them the
proper care. For the last five years
the crop in Ward county would be
considered failures, but ! claim they
are failures for the man who put all
his eggs in one basket and figured
that he is going to make killing in
wheat alone.
The farmer who says that corn will
not grow and pay profit in this
country doesn't know what he is talk
ing about. If you will consult the
1920 crop summary issued by the u.
S. Bureau of estimates you will find
that in North Dakota the average val
ue per acre for corn was SLIPS, while
the average value in' wheat was
$11.7O. In no time between the years
1914 and 1918 has the average value
of wheat per acre been as high as that
of corn.
1t is time for the average farmer in
Ward county and the rest of the state
to wake up to the fact that we have a
good country and fertile lands that
right.
Eleven years ago l visited Jefferson
county in Illinois-my old home
with the idea Of leaving North Dakota
for good. I bought a farm in that
county, stayed two months and then
came back to North Dakota. At this
time in jefferson county the farm ,rs
didn't know the meaning Of the word
butter-fat, and l bought land for $50
an acre. Today that same land can.
not be bought for less than $175 per
acre and the farmers know what the
word butter-fat means.
A few weeks ago the Third National
Bank Of Mt. Vernon, ILL.,, paid $751;
5S0.67 in cream checks. This is one
of three banks in town no larger
than Minot. The farmers in that
county are becoming prosperous, be-
cause eleven years ago their land
would not produce wheat any longer
and they were forced to turn to the
dairy COW and she has made them rich
There is no reason WHY the ma iority
of farmers in Ward county cannot do
the same thing.
0. X. SPIRES.