174 



The Dawn of a New Constructive Era 



The South's 

 Advantages 

 for Dairying 



Some Essen- 

 tials to Suc- 

 cessful Dairy- 

 ing 



The Dairy Industry of the 



South 



By C. W. Radway 



Dairy Specialist, Bureau of Animal Industry, 

 United States Department of Agriculture 



There are several reasons why the dairy industry, should be 

 prosperous in the South. The South is well adapted, I believe, 

 to successful dairying. One of the reasons for this is the climate. 

 The barns or buildings that are needed are less expensive than 

 those needed in the North ; and the climate is such that we can 

 depend upon pasture for eight months out of the year. I might 

 state there that some people are trying to depend upon twelve 

 months of the year, and those people are the ones making a failure. 



We have been doing" some record work and testing and 

 weighing milk all over the state, and for the past four months 

 we have not been able to find any piney woods cows producing 

 much butter fat. Another thing is that forage crops can be very 

 easily raised here in the South. But, however, with all these 

 advantages, there are some essentials to the dairy business that 

 must not be overlooked. One of these essentials for success is 

 efBcient dairy cows. Second, is sufficient home grown feed ; and 

 the man that comes down here with the intention of going into 

 the dairy business must see to it that he is locating in a place 

 where he can grow forage for his cattle. It will not do to start 

 a dairy farm where you can grow nothing but strawberries or 

 rice. If you intend to start the dairy business on such land you 

 are going to fail. The third essential, to go with these other 

 tw^o — the cow and the feed — is the man. A man has to under- 

 stand how to take care of a cow, how to feed that cow, and how 

 to make a good product, whether he is selling whole milk, cream 

 or making butter; and in connection with this milk problem, or 

 with the dairy products, one of the main things is quality. Those 

 people in Louisiana making good butter have no trouble at all 

 in marketing it. Those people making a poor product find that 

 product is not wanted. We have several instances here in 

 Louisiana — one man at New Iberia cannot supply the demand. 



