MAKING A DAIRY FARM PAY 115 



are willingly paid for choice goods by a large class of 

 customers who place quality above cost. 



To get the advantages of dealing with this class of 

 trade, one should be located convenient to transportation. 

 After securing a good equipment, and learning how to 

 produce and sell, it will be easy to find private customers 

 who will pay 25 to 50 per cent more than market quota- 

 tions for products that they know to be right. If located 

 near a provincial city, the marketing may be done by 

 team. 



Good marketing means the difference between success 

 and failure. In Europe, by means of co-operative asso- 

 ciations, the middleman is cut out and the farmer and 

 consumer get together. There is no reason why that plan 

 may not succeed in this country. 



Selection is more important than breed in starting a 

 dairy. See that the cows come up to requirements in 

 milk production, and are healthy. Then guard against 

 dirt and disease, and feed systematically. Alfalfa, alsike, 

 millet, shredded cornstalks, ground oats or corn, beets, 

 bran and shorts are the best articles of fodder. Corn 

 silage is excellent, winter or summer, and oilcake may be 

 needed for its digestive qualities when stock is not on 

 grass. 



No dairy is on the right basis if not earning at the rate 

 of $100 a year for each animal. Considerably more than 

 this will be earned if good selling connections are estab- 

 lished. I have personal knowledge of a ten-cow dairy 

 that has advanced steadily from $60 to $125 a month. 



Observant farmers know that while the income from 

 milk is large, it does not represent the entire value of a 

 dairy. Hogs fed with skimmed milk and corn gain 

 faster than if fed with corn alone, and skimmed milk is 

 also an aid in poultry raising. Thus the dairy stimulates 

 two other important branches of farming, and many a 

 worn-out and almost worthless farm has been restored to 



