TENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VIII ;n5 



Eight years ago the silo was a curiosity in Iowa, now every com- 

 munity has its silo and the manufacturers of silos are working night 

 and day to keep up with their orders. A decade ago people laughed v, hen 

 farm institute instructors talked about protein and balanced ration and 

 the selection of proper animals. Now this association is able to hire a 

 man who Is an expert to make that sort of ta;k to an eager waiting 

 audience of dairymen. Eight years ago it v as as much as a dairy com- 

 missioner's job was worth for him to allege any m?rit for a Jersey, Hol- 

 stein, or a Guernsey cow; no7v' thore is scarcely a community in the 

 state that does not have good representatives of one or all of tnese 

 breeds and their owners setting a good example to their neighbors. It 

 is only five years since the legislature made the first specific appropriation 

 for a dairy building, for a dairy farm and for a dairy herd at me 

 agricultural college. It may be true that v>e are not advanced as much 

 in dairying as are some of the eastern states, where the art has been 

 practiced for a hundred years; it may be true that other states have 

 advanced more rapidly than we because compelled to do so by a harsh 

 climate and a refractory soil, but if you investigate and compare you 

 will find that the boasted pre-eminence of other states is by reason of 

 some small spot that is used for advertising purposes, and that the state 

 of Iowa not onl.y produces more butter than any other state, or any 

 other country anywhere of equal size, but that she produces it at a 

 better profit than it is produced elsewhere, but that her possibilities of 

 soil, and climate, and people and previous history and present conditions 

 are unbounded, that they are single and alone when comparisons are 

 attempted. 



And we have made some considerable advancement in the creamery 

 business. Ten years ago the manager of a local creamery was a 

 monopolist, he controlled the product in his small territory. He and his 

 patrons v.ere satisfied with slipshod methods on his part and upon the 

 part of the buttermaker, and that is what they received. The chief 

 requirement for a buttermaker v,as that he should be able to run the 

 not too complex machinery and that he should work cheap. The cream- 

 ery over run was 10 per cent, or 8 or 5 and that was plenty good enough. 

 The creameries averaged 75,000 or 80,000 pounds of butter per annum 

 and it cost from three cents to five cents a pound to make it. But 

 what a change has taken place. The creamery manager must actually 

 manage a real business because he must meet competition of various 

 kinds. His patrons are no longer satisfied with methods that are "plenty 

 good enough;" they constantly demand the best. The buttermaker must 

 be an expert and accordingly he gets $75 or $100 or $125 instead of $35 or 

 * $40. The local creameries make an average of 140,000 pounds each per 

 annum and it costs them 1.8 cents a pound to make it. A saving of a 

 cent a pound means a million dollars in Iowa's creameries. These cream- 

 eries now get an over run of IS to 20 per cent and every 3 per cent 

 increase in over run means another million dollars annually in Iowa. 

 These millions now saved in better creamery management and by better 

 service by the buttermaker are not altogether worthless. 



