^ 



^- 



{S'^l 



^-w^-^ 

 >»;*.%.-, 



MRS. LEIGH. BONNIE AND BARBARA 

 "They are Interested In Everything About the Farm." 



EVEREH LEI&H AND HERD SIRE 

 "We Have Tai Receiph That &p Bad To 1840.' 



C\y| -HEREVER you find an ex- 

 ^^y 1/ cellent herd of cattle, a good 

 ff Jf job of farming being done, 

 and a farm in a high st.ite of fertility, 

 you're likely also to find a smart oper- 

 ator, and a farm and herd that have been 

 handed down from one generation to 

 another. And nine times out of ten on 

 such a farm you will find a man who 

 not only believes in the Farm Bureau 

 but assumes some active responsibility 

 for its maintenance and success. 



In England many a farm has been op- 

 erated by the same family for 500 years 

 and more. In Illinois long tenure means 

 100 years or less. It was on such a farm 

 in Knox county not long ago, that we 

 discovered a topnotch Jersey breeder. 

 Everett Leigh, on a fertile farm of a 

 half section — the original 80 of which 

 was a grant from the government to his 

 great grandfather. 



"We have tax receipts that go back to 

 1S40," Leigh said. 'Only 80 of our 

 present 320 belonged to my great grand- 

 father." 



We came to the Leigh farm primarily 

 to see one that stood high in earnings 

 from efficient operation among farms 

 which have kept accounts in co-opera- 

 tion with the Farm Bureau and the State 

 Extension Service. There was nothing 

 fancy about the buildings or equipment, 

 just comfortable but practical quarters 

 and facilities for livestock. But your 

 first glimpse of the wide-eyed, curious 

 Jersey cows that stepped nervously out 

 of the barn when the door was opened, 

 answered mo.st of your questions as to 

 the source of the success on this farm. 



"Now there's Boma over there," said 

 Leigh pointing to a slender, clean-cut 

 matron who eyed the strangers — Farm 

 Adviser Arnold R. Kemp and myself. 

 "She's a 500 pound fat cow. Her daugh- 

 ter. Lady, made 400 pounds of birtterfat 

 with her first calf. Lady is milking about 

 32 pounds a day now with her second. 

 And there's June over there in the cor- 

 ner. She also made -iOO pounds as a first 



calf heifer. Bessie is another 500 pound- 

 er. And Queen, the daughter of Bessie, 

 will make close to 400 jjounds in her first 

 milking." 



How does Leigh know what ail these 

 cows are producing? A card posted on 

 the door of the barn answers that ques- 

 tion: 



"THIS HERD IS UNDER THE 

 SUPERVISION OF THE KNOX 

 COUNTY HFRD IMPROVE- 

 MENT ASSOCIATION FOR 

 PROFITABLE PRODUCTION" 



Take a look at the 1934 and "35 rec- 

 ords. 



Year Average Prod. Butterfat 

 Per Cow 



1935 8,117 lbs. 424.4 lbs. 



1934 8,185 lbs. 435.4 lbs. 



Now anyone who milks cows knows 

 that rarely does a farm herd on two 

 milkings a day produce a single cow in 

 the 500 pound fat class. Yet two years 

 ago Leigh had two that beat this record, 

 and -last year his cow. Queen Boma 

 Bessie, turned in the astonishing record 



V 



Jersey Cows and the 

 Leighs Make Farming Pay 



Dair'y Herd and Farm Bureau - Farm Management 

 Records Ploy Important Part in Success 



"I suppose you made these records on 

 four times a day milking with plenty of 

 beet pulp, fancy rations and special treat- 

 ment, " I suggested. 



■"Nothing of the kind," countered 

 Everett. "We milk twice a day and feed 

 a home-grown ration of ground corn. 

 o.Us and ground soybeans. It figures 

 about a 1214 per cent protein ration and 

 we supplement it with alfalfa and sov 

 bean hay. We don't feed silage. This 

 is not a dair)- country, and it's hard to 

 get help to fill silo" 



Everett Leigh's father started the ler- 

 sey herd with a purebred foundation cow 

 in 1902. It is not a large herd, llierc 

 are only 26 head in all with 12 cows 

 milking. But there is lots of qualitv 

 there, and that's what counts in the dairy 

 business. 



just completed of 556 pounds of butter- 

 fat — the highest producing cow in 

 Knox county. 



Leigh has been in the Cow Testing 

 Association four years and each year his 

 cows have averaged from 420 to 484 

 pounds of butterfat. Two years ago his 

 herd was the highest producing Jersey 

 herd in Illinois. 



High production has been bred into 

 this herd right on the Leigh farm. It 

 h.isn t been purchased at breeders' sales. 

 Pogis 99th of Hood Farm and Fauvic 

 Emperor are some of the famous bulls 

 whose breeding is represented here. The 

 last two hcTil sires were purchased near 

 Lake City in Moultrie county. 



Of the 320 acres on the Leigh farm, 

 216 are under cultivation. The balance 

 of the land is in permanent pasture. 



JULY, 1937 



17 



