394 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



But what is the reason for this increase of interest in dairying? Prob- 

 ably the most important reason is the value of milk, butter and cheese for 

 human food. Although the consumption of milk per capita is very low, yet 

 the infants are practically reared on milk until one year of age. Experi- 

 ments recently carried on at the Missouri station show the value of milk 

 as a human food. One cow in the University herd gave as much food 

 material in her milk in one year as was contained in the carcasses of 

 four beef steers each weighing 1,250 pounds, which would even exceed this 

 proportion if the loss incurred by the preparation of the meat was taken 

 into consideration. 



The advantage of the dairy cow over the beef steer is shown very forc- 

 ibly in this case. It is evident that the food necessary to raise four beef 

 steers to three years of age and bring them to a weight of 1,250 pounds 

 would greatly exceed that necessary to maintain a cow giving this amount 

 of milk. When we take into consideration the roughage consumed by the 

 cow the cheapness of milk as a food compared to beef is evident. 



Another important reason for the advancement of dairying is the 

 realization of farmers that it is absolutely necessary to maintain the fer- 

 tility of the soil. It is well known that grain farming is the greatest 

 drain on the soil and that a good Iowa farm can be practically ruined in 

 a comparatively short time. The chart which I have shows the compara- 

 tive value of fertility removed in one ton of grain, beef and pork, to that 

 removed in one ton of butter. One ton of corn valued at $15.74 removes 

 $5.95 of fertility; one ton of oats worth $22.89 removes $7.22; one ton 

 of wheat worth $25.64 removes $7.86; one ton of timothy hay worth 

 $12.00 removes $5.11: one ton of clover hay worth $10.00 removes $7.95; 

 one ton of beef worth $103.20 removes $8.04; one ton of pork worth 

 $111.40 removes $5.70, and one ton of butter worth $476.00 removes 70 

 cents. This valuation of butter is based on the uniform price for the 

 last ten years as sold on the Chicago markets. This great saving is due 

 to the fact that a large part of the fertilizing elements which the cow 

 eats in her food return to the soil through the manure. On a well con- 

 ducted farm seventy pounds of butter may be produced per acre, which 

 would contain forty-two one-hundredths of a cent's worth of nitrogen and 

 phosphorus. In other words, if nothing but butter were sold it would take 

 238 years to remove as much value in fertility as the grain farmer re- 

 moves in one year selling an average grain crop. This shows exactly 

 what we are doing in our trade with the Danes at the present time. 

 Which is better for American agriculture, to lose this prosperity and fer- 

 tility by selling our grain to the Danes or converting it ourselves into 

 butter containing little or more fertility at twenty-five times the price 

 per pound? The Dane is the best farmer in the world and the secret of 

 his success is intensive dairy farming. Twenty-five years ago Denmark 

 could hardly hold her own as a grain-producing nation, but she changed to 

 dairy farming and is today the most prosperous agricultural country in 

 the world. 



With the rapidly increasing price of land in Iowa and the advance in 

 the price of all foods it is evident that we must follow in the footsteps of 



