DAIRYING AMONG FARMERS IN NORTHWESTERN KANSAS Greater Interest at Brewster.-During the last few years Mr. C. A. Horney, cashier of the Brewster State Bank at Brewster, Kan., has been very much interested in the promotion of dairying in the vicinity of Brewster. He reports interest in the dairy industry gradually increasing in that community. Mr. Horney has kept a record of the cream checks handled through his bank since 1911. The totals are given as follows: The increase noted may have been due in part to the high price paid for butterfat in recent years, but it shows a very decided increase in the amount of cream sold. In this connection the benefits derived from the distribution of this amount of money to the farmers in any locality in Kansas are clearly apparent. One Farmer's Experience.-Mr. Teague of Collyer, Kan., in a recent conversation, stated that three years ago he purchased eight grade Holstein cows and a bull for $1,200. During the three years he has sold $1,380 worth of cream in addition to what dairy products they have used in their home, and at the present time the herd has increased to 24 head of animals. Mr. Teague says that his cows have made him more money than anything he has ever worked with. They have made him more independent of crop conditions. These results can be duplicated by many farmers in northwestern Kansas who are willing to do the necessary work. When farmers in this region admit that there is money in milking cows, and still continue to complain about crop failures, it is certain that their failures are due chiefly to their own actions. MARKETING DAIRY PRODUCTS Most of the dairy products sold in northwestern Kansas are sold as sour cream, to cream stations located in practically all the towns that have shipping facilities. A few dairymen living near the larger towns and cities sell whole milk or sweet cream, but this represents a small percent of the products sold. Ninety percent of the creamery butter made in Kansas is made by 60 centralized creameries, which have some 2,000 cream stations distributed over the state. These cream stations receive the cream from the farmers, test it for butterfat, and pay them for the fat delivered. This butterfat is then shipped to the creamery for which it is bought. Recently there has been much agitation among the creameries for the establishment of a grading system whereby cream would be paid for on the quality basis. To make a good quality of butter that will command the highest market price, the butter maker must receive the cream in good condition. For this reason the creameries are encouraging the farmer to take better care of his cream, by paying him according to grade.1 The ruling under the Kansas dairy law is as follows: Rule 18.-All cream shall be graded according to the following rules, and each grade shall be kept in a separate can, plainly marked to indicate the grade contained therein. 1. First-grade cream shall consist of cream that is clean, smooth, free from all undesirable odors, clean to the taste, and sweet or only slightly sour. 2. Second-grade cream shall consist of cream that is too sour to grade as first, that contains undesirable flavors or odors in a moderate degree, that is foamy, yeasty, or slightly stale, or that is too old to pass as firstgrade cream. All sour cream containing less than 25 percent butterfat shall be graded as second grade. 3. Unlawful cream shall consist of cream that is very old, rancid, moldy, dirty, or curdy, and such cream shall not be purchased, sold, or used for food purposes. At present (October, 1919) the creameries, through their stations, are paying 3 cents more for first-grade cream than for second-grade. The difference in grade depends upon two factors on which the quality of all dairy products depends. They are: (1) The production of milk under clean conditions, and (2) keeping the product cool. The making of butter on the farm is in most cases an unprofitable operation. While the farm butter maker has all conditions under his control, his product is usually inferior and is far below creamery butter in price. The farmer had better take his cream to the cream station. He will usually receive more for the butterfat than for the butter he might For full information regarding the sampling, testing, and grading of cream write to the Agricultural Experiment Station, Manhattan, Kan., for a copy of the latest edition of the state dairy commissioner's bulletin on "The Permit System of Cream-Buying." have made from it. At least he is seldom able to sell the butter for enough more to give a reasonable return for the extra labor required in the butter making. In general, farm butter making is advisable only for home consumption or where distance from markets makes the delivery of cream impracticable. The northwestern Kansas farmer will find a good market for his cream through the cream stations, and in practically all cases it will pay him to produce his product under clean conditions, cool it immediately, and market it at least three times each week during the summer and twice each week during the winter. season. WINTER DAIRYING Much has been said in all sections of the country about winter dairying, but there is no place where it is more necessary or where it fits in with cropping methods any better than in northwestern Kansas. Milking cows during the winter months is a means of the profitable utilization of labor during this less busy The difference between failure and success on many Kansas farms depends upon the use of available labor. Those who depend exclusively on wheat, work but four or five months of the year. It is this type of farmer to whom winter dairying should appeal. Another reason why winter dairying is profitable, is that dairy products are always higher priced in winter than at any other time of the year. If a farmer has on hand some cows that are due to freshen in the fall or winter, these cows can be milked during his idle months and allowed to go dry during the hot summer months when pasture is relatively poor and when crop work is most urgent. Having cows freshen in the fall is not only the most convenient for the farmer but it is also the best for both the cow and her calf. A cow calving in the fall will produce 20 to 30 pounds more butterfat than one calving in the spring. She can be fed on dry feed and silage during her period of highest production, and as her production declines in the spring she can be turned on pasture. This has a tendency to keep up her production. She can then be turned dry for the hottest part of the summer when pastures are short and flies are bad. Cows should be given a rest of from six weeks to two months, and should be fed while dry so that they will calve in good condition. Any surplus flesh acquired will generally be milked off after calving. MANAGEMENT OF THE DAIRY HERD The feed and care a dairy cow receives is as important as the animal herself in determining her profit. All good milkers should be kept from one year to another. Buying cows in the fall and selling them in the spring will not build up a profitable herd. Good cows are not that plentiful. It is a waste of money to feed cows well and not care for them properly. They should be protected from cold weather in the winter time, and kept in quarters clean enough to produce human food. THE SIRE It will pay, even in a herd of six cows, for a farmer who wishes to build up a small herd of milch cows, to keep a bull of one of the dairy breeds. By using a good dairy bull on common cows, the heifers from the first cross will be better producers than their dams. The increased production of the daughters of a dairy bull over cows of the beef breed will more than compensate for the investment in the dairy bull. A good plan is for a group of farmers to buy a bull together. In this way they can purchase a good bull and at the same time keep down the cost of bull service in their herds. Some provision should also be made by breeders with small herds to exchange bulls. The value of a bull of any breed will be measured by his ability to sire individuals of good type and high production. A bull that has proved his worth in this way should be used as long as he lives. A poor bull should be discarded as soon as his inferiority is established. A breeder is apt to look for a young bull rather than one that has proved his ability. The value of a young bull will be measured by his individuality and by the record of his parents. Too often a bull is disposed of before his heifers come in milk. THE BREED OF CATTLE TO KEEP The breed of cattle to keep depends on the likes and dislikes of the owner and the breed that can be purchased to the best advantage in his locality. This will generally mean to get the best cows that can be bought locally and head the herd with a dairy bull. The Holstein and Jersey breeds are the most popular in Kansas at the present time. Breeders of Holsteins and Jerseys are located in almost every county in the state, and it would not be difficult to get in touch with either. Most of the breeders have bull calves for sale at reasonable prices. To replace scrub bulls and to encourage the use of dairy sires, Holstein and Jersey breeders have offered purebred bulls at 15 cents per pound. The breeders are doing this as an advertising proposition in the hope of developing future business.1 The Ayrshire breed is also well adapted to Kansas conditions and Ayrshires are becoming popular on account of their hardiness and rugged nature. PRODUCTION RECORDS It is essential to know the production of each cow in the herd. In order to know this the milk from each cow for every milking must be weighed. This may sound like needless work, but a year's trial will bring many surprises and no time spent on 1 If interested in obtaining a bull calf under these conditions, write to the Dairy De partment, Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kan. |
