The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1928-12-27

more than 100000 worth, and
2 counties producing more than
half a million dollars worth of
| butter.
The five 100000 butter coun-
ties are: Douglas ($3,722,852.27),
Ottertail ($3,494,216.26), Blue
Earth ($3,333,4SO.35), Wright
($3,213677.61) and Mcleod ($;-
119,781.92O ..-.
In these counties, the co-opera-
tive creameries greatly outnumber
both the individual and centralizer
| types. Douglas county has one
centralizer at Alexandria, two in
dividual and IL cooperative plants.
Their cream checks amounted to
$3,335,076.49 last year.
Ottertail county has rs local
creameries, only two of which are
not cooperatives. The county has
some of the finest and most modern
plants of the latter type in the
state, making a large volume of
highgrade butter, in Fergus Falls,
Pelican Rapids and other towns.
The total cream checks of the
county were $3,187,157.26 last
year. The creameries paid their
patrons an average of SOTO cents
for butterfat. There are no CEN
tralizers. in the county. e.
Blue Earth has two centralizers
at Mankato, besides 16 cooperative
creameries and one individual. Her
cream checks amounted to $3,031,-
432.73.
Wright is a typical Minnesota
dairy county with 26 creameries.
There are no centralizers and the
cooperatives outnumber the indi-
vidually owned plants, 20 to 5.
These factories paid out to their
patrons a total of $3,016,777. IS,
an average price of 52.76 a pound
for butter.
Mcleod county has one central
izer at Hutchinson and another at
Winsted. All the other Is cream
cries in the county are cooperative.
They paid to their patrons a total
of $2,867,297.S9.
In the $2,OOO,OO0 class are the
following counties: Carver, Fill
more, Freeborn, Goodhue, Meeker,
Morrison, Polk, Steele and Todd.
There are only two eentralizer
creameries among them, one in
Goodhue county at Zumbrota and
another at Crookston in Polk coun-,
ty.
The 20 one million dollar coun-
ties include the following: Becker,
Brown, Carleton, Chisago, Clay,
Dakota, Faribault, Houston, Isanti,
Kandiyohi, LeSueur, Lyon, Mile
Laos, Martin, Mower, NicoHet,
Olmsted, Mobiles, Pine Pipestone,
Redwood, Renville, Rice, Sibley,
Wabasha, Waseca, Wadena. Wat
onwan, Winona. In all these coun-
ties there are numerous coopera-
tive butter factories around the
bend of nearly every road. They
pay out wealth in the form of
cream checks regularly every
month or oftener. They are
vital factor in the distribution of
prosperity. They provide dairy
man with a ready market, close to
his very door for his highly per-
ishable product.
~ Some Concentrate Of Fluid Milk
Several important counties do
not show up to advantage on the
map of butter production because
they are devoted largely to pro-
ducing fluid milk for use in the
cities. Anoka, Scott, Rice, Wash
ington, Dakota, and Sherburne
counties are among these. Large
quantities of milk produced by
their farmers are marketed thru
the Twin City Milk Producers as
ISOLATION, while only the surplus,
which occur at times, are made up
into cheese, milk powder, butter
and other manufactured products.
1t is interesting to trace the de-
cline of wheat raising in Minneso-
ia alongside the development of
the dairy industry. Spring wheat,
once the principal crop grown in
Minnesota, now takes third place in
acreage.
Back in 1867 wheat was the
principal crop, and it held it's way
until 1917. In that year both the
oat and the corn acreage pushed
ahead; though in 1918 and 1919
spring wheat was again in first
place since 1920.
In 1867 wheat covered 100000
acres, or >67.5 per cent of the to-
tai acreage of the seven principal
crops. of the state. The acreage
harvested in 1927 was $4,000
acres or only ID per cent of the to-
tai acreage of the same crops.
The following table shows how
the shifts in spring wheat acreage
occurred in 10 year periods:
10-year Yield
Average Per
Acreage Acre.
187O-1879 -. 100000 1913
1SS0-1SS9 100000 1875