NECESSITY OF MAKING GOOD BUTTER. 143 



remains, with but few exceptions, right where he was a quarter of a cen- 

 tury ago." 



What is it has caused this severe criticism of "the average" creamery 

 patron ? In what way has the creamery patron been remiss in his calling ? 



The inquiry had developed the fact that hardly any out of a hundred 

 patrons knew what their cows were returning in product above the cost 

 of their keep until the correspondent got what facts he could from the 

 patron and from the creamery books and figured it out. Very few knew 

 except in the most general way which cows were yielding a profit and which 

 were not. A very few fed a balanced ration suited to the purpose of milk 

 production, and most were keeping cows of a kind that even good feeding 

 and care would not make profitable milk producers. The general aver- 

 age production of the dairy cows of these one hundred patrons was under 

 140 pounds butter per cow per year, while in dairy districts, such as in 

 Jefferson County, Wisconsin, and elsewhere where dairying is a leading 

 feature of farm work, the butter product averages 240 pounds per cow 

 per ye'ar a clear gain of 100 pounds and more of butter through the exer- 

 cise of thought in both selection of cows and the special purpose of milk 

 production in view in their care and feed. 



This then, is the farmer's part in the production of good butter: First, 

 the having on his farm a sufficient number of cows to make it well worth 

 while to provide for them the kind of feeds and give them the care they 

 should have. 



Second, the cows must be of a recognized milk producing type a 

 cow that does not yield 200 pounds butterfat during one year's period 

 of lactation can seldom be kept at a profit. The best dairy herds now 

 produce over 300 pounds per cow per year, and already some have set 

 even a much higher mark. 



Third, the cows must have an ample supply of nourishing and palat- 

 able food, summer and winter, and of course plenty of pure water. For 

 a palatable and nourishing food for winter use there is notning better than 

 corn ensilage. 



Fourth, and fully as important as any other of the many require- 

 ments in profitable dairy farming, is the care given the milk. 



Good milk good buttermaker good butter. Here is a trinity 

 that stands all powerful between the dairy farmer and his profit the wil- 

 ling dollars of the butter consumer. Good butter good buttermaker 

 good milk a trinity one and inseparable, and the farmer is the beginning 

 and the ending. His part it is to furnish the good milk the alpha and 

 omega of getting a fancy butter product, which again means a good mar- 

 ket demand and price and a goodly share of honest profit dollars in the 

 pockets of the owners of the cows. 



The necessity for producing good milk cannot too strongly be impressed 

 on all who have the handling of it. Though many suggestions may be 

 found of great practical utility by the patron, such as prompt removal 



