Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1922-02-16
THE DAIRY COW AS A
COMMUNITY BUILDER
An Interesting and Instructive Talk by D. O. Grabl Before the
Mineral Point Commercial Club

down the cost of production.
The first is by a more intelligent
study of the SOIL Fifty years ago,
our farmers were leaving southern
Wisconsin, going to Minnesota and
the Dakotas, to find virgin soil, say
ing that farms in Wisconsin were
worn out This year, the soil of
Switzerland produced the greatest
crop of wheat and grain in it's his
tory, the same soil that 1000 years
ago raised the grain that fed the
armies of Julius Caesar, and has
been under cultivation for twenty
centuries. 1t is foolish to talk of a
farm being worn out.
The soil is natures bank, in which
the Creator, in the beginning, placed
in the soil a certain amount of fertil-
ity to the credit of mankind. When
we keep drawing from the bank,
more than we put in, we will soon go
broke. The bank of nature is never
broke, but those who abuse the soil
go broke upon the farms. We must
always work in harmony with nature.
This means a correct. rotation of
crops the fertilization of the soil, it
means diversified farming, it means
keeping live stock, and especially the
dairy cow. Then, we should use
1 those pure bred seeds which have
been developed in Wisconsin, to in
crease the yield per acre, all of which
means lower cost of production. For
success in dairy farming, or any
other form of farming, where live
stock is kept, depends upon the econ
omical production of a large amount
of feed upon the farm.
The second way Of cutting down
the cost of production is by feeding
this grain or feed to the COW that can
produce. The average production Of
Denmark and Holland is about 5000
pounds of milk per cow, per year.
The United States is just one half, or
1000 pounds. In Wisconsin, the
average is almost $4,000 pounds, but
in the Cow Testing Association, it is
in the neighborhood of 5000 pounds,
so we see that it pays to test the cows
to get rid of the boarders and breed
only good ones, those that are pro-
1 ducing at profit. All the worlds
record cows are held in the United
States, one cow having produced over
$4,000 pounds of milk in twelve
months time.
The third way of cutting down the
cost of production is the housing of
! the herd properly. Suppose we put
one of these world record cows in the
hands of some scrub farmer in Iowa
! county. She will become scrub
cow, because in the winter time he
leaves her out on the windy side
of barbed wire fence, or leaves her
against straw stack and expects her
to do. the impossible by producing
milk in abundance.
The best cow in the world will not
return a profit unless she is fed prop
erly and housed properly.
! Mr.. Grabill also referred to the
| housing conditions as affecting not
only the production of the cow, but
! the health of the COW, and spent
! some time discussing the subject of
bovine tuberculosis, and the state
ments he made regarding the effect
unc1ean milk from infected herds up
on children were startling.
The speaker, also dwelt upon the
food value of milk, butter, cheese, ice
cream, and all dairy products, stating
we were consuming about one-half
the amount we should at the present
every boy and girl depended upon the
consumption of milk and dairy food.
every boy and girl should consume
at least one quart of milk day, and
we are told that adults should con-
sumo at least pint day.
Any civilization to endure, must
be based upon profitable and perm
anent form of agriculture. The dairy
farmer is rendering a worthy and pa
triotic service in making secure the
foundations of our national life, and
guaranteeing the future of our civil
ization by building a permanent and
profitable agriculture, but he is doing
more than this by providing the most
essential of all foods for the growing
boys and girls today, in order to be-
come strong men and women in the
next generation.