Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-08-21
Dairy Bureau Is
Now Established
More Complete Information
Needed on Fundamentals
of All Branches.

The establishment of bureau of
dairying in the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture was announced
on July 2 by Secretary Wallace, and
at the same time he announced the APP
pointment of Dr. G. w. Larson, chief
of the dairy division of the bureau Of
animal industry, as chief of the new
bureau. The act Of congress, creating
the bureau, approved by President
Coolidge on May 20, provides that the
secretary of agriculture may transfer
to the bureau Of dairying such activ-
tiles Of the Department of Agriculture
as he may designate as primarily re-
lated to the dairy industry. All of the
dairy work heretofore carried on
by the bureau of animal industry has
been transferred to the bureau of
dairying and about $50 employees of
the dairy division have been shifted
to the new bureau. Appropriations
for the fiscal year for carrying on
dairy work in the department amount
to approximately 100000.
Need Of Dairy Industry.
In discussing this latest development
in the Department of Agriculture, Sec
rotary Wallace said that the need of
the dairy industry is for more com
plete information on the fundamentals
underlying all its branches, and that
the solution of the problems lies large
ly in research. He also emphasized
the need for better methods of feeding
and care to enable dairymen to pro-
duce milk more economically. At the
same time he spoke of the necessity
for even better sanitary conditions and
improved methods for utilizing by
products.
Doctor Larson is well known to the
farming and dairy interests in all
gagged in some branch of this work
for the past 20 years. He was born
In Mitchell county, Iowa, in 1881, and
was raised on stock farm there. He
was graduated from the Iowa State
College of Agriculture in 1905 and for
a short time was connected with
creamery and cheese factory work in
Wisconsin and Minnesota. In 1907 he
became a member Of the faculty of
Pennsylvania State college and in 1913
he was made professor in charge Of
the department of dairy husbandry. In
1915 he received the degree OF doctor
of philosophy from Columbia univer-
sity and was appointed assistant pro-
fessor Of agriculture and agricultural
economics at that university. In 1917
he Joined the staff of the United States
Department Of Agriculture and gince
1921 has been chief Of the dairy djvi-
sion of the bureau Of animal indus
try.
Plans for Bureau.
The plans for the new bureau, says
Doctor Larson, are quite largely
continuation of the work which has
been going on for the past few years.
1T is his opinion that many Of the
fundamental problems Of the industry
are yet to be solved. He plans to in
troduce the results Of research into the
industry as rapidly as possible.
Among the important lines OF work
which will be continued are the in
PRODUCTION OF cooperative bull associa-
lions, the statistical study Of COW
testing associations, studies of the
underlying principles of breeding to
Insure, if possible, the same uniform
ity in the transmission Of high milk
and butter fat producing capacity in
dairy cattle as is being secured with
other characteristics by breeders Of
flowers, fruits, and grain. Special
stress will be laid on the study Of nu-
triton of dairy cattle, in which field
considerable progress has been made
in the last few years. Al nutrition
barn and laboratory have recently
been completed at the Beltsville farm
near Washington. Herd management
problems also are being studied at
this farm, as well as experiments with
silage, types of barns, and many other
problems.
The market milk investigations,
which will be continued by the bu-
reau, will deal largely with studies in
dairy sanitation and milk plant man
agement. The purpose is to save
losses in unsaleable or low grade milk
and to effect economies in the prepara-
tion of fluid milk and cream for de-.
livery. Work will be done on bac-
THEOLOGICAL and physical changes In
milk and cream and studies will be
conducted on labor requirements and
the efficiency of dairy machinery.
The Investigations in the manufac-
ture of dairy products will be carried
on, as heretofore, at the creamery in
Grove City, Pa, which is managed
under the direction Of the bureau of
dairying, and also at the bureau
laboratories in Washington. The
Grove City creamery provides facili-
ties for putting into practice on a
commercial scale methods which have
been worked out in the laboratory.
Here work will continue on the prob
lem of sweet cream butter, swiss
cheese, ice cream, condensed milk,
milk powder, and by-products 1t is
not planned to enlarge the laboratories
in the immediate future, but according
to Doctor Larson, they will be worked
to full capacity in the attempt to solve
the important problems Of the in
dustry.