TENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VIII 329 



I noticed when I received the program that no subject had been as- 

 signed to me. I presume, therefore, I have a great deal of latitude in 

 my remarks. 



It is gratifying to see the wide-spread interest manifested in the dairy 

 industry of the central west. The dairy cow is coming into prominence 

 and a recognition that has never been known before in this western 

 country. The progress has been alarming to some of the agricultural in- 

 terests. At the Illinois State Fair the striking feature of the live stock 

 exhibit was the dairy show and the striking weakness of that show was 

 the beef cattle show. This situation, I think, is not alarming. No one 

 need have any fear or need feel that the agricultural interests or any in- 

 terests connected with the live stock interests will suffer by the advance- 

 ment made by dairy stock. It is but natural and proper that recognition 

 should be given to the dairy interests. No movement in recent years has 

 been of greater interest looking to the conservation of our natural re- 

 sources. The dairy cow is without doubt the most economical feed con- 

 sumer and the most economical conserver of fertility of all the domestic 

 animals we have. It is, therefore, highly important that we develop our 

 agricultural interests along this line. We have been farming by pioneer 

 methods in the central west. We have been leaving in the corn stalk and 

 fodder in the field to a large extent the fruit of the crop that by actual 

 nutritive value represents about one-third or a little over 37 per cent 

 of the actual feeding value of the crop. That has largely gone to waste. 

 No other business will stand so heavy a loss. The cow is a conserver 

 of this product, and one of the strong features about dairying is that 

 when the dairy cow comes into agricultural operations these products 

 have been utilized. 



Silos are coming into very general use, and I believe the time will 

 come in the near future when the silo will be as common on the Iowa 

 farm as the corn crib. Some improvements must come with it. Short- 

 ly we can haul it to the elevators and dispose of it as we now dispose 

 of a large part of our corn crop. In connection with this there will be 

 necessarily a larger consumption of the corn products and by-products 

 that have heretofore been exported. That in itself is a feature of marked 

 significance in the agricultural industry of the central west, and when 

 this is done there will be a larger production per acre. 



The original investment in lands is greater today than ever before. 

 Labor and food stuffs are higher and instead of their being a cheapen- 

 ing we can look forward to a constant increase in the cost of production 

 on the farm. There is no agency in connection with the agricultural in- 

 dustry of the middle west that will be of greater service in increasing 

 the output than the dairy cow. 



It has been a settled policy of the German government for a great 

 many years to encourage the importation of raw material and the ex- 

 portation of the finished product. They argue that there are two chief 

 advantages in such a policy — they conserve their natural resources, and 

 the manufacture of finished products calls for skilled labor, therefore 

 bringing greater prosperity to their people. 



