84 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



SOME PHASES OF THE DAIRY. 



1 



Prof. G. L. McKay, Secretary American Association of 

 Creamery Butter Manufacturers. 



"It is possibly needless for me to tell you that I am pleased 

 to have this opportunity of discussing some phases of the dairy 

 question, because there is no line of agriculture that tends so 

 much to soil conservation as dairying. The future prosperity 

 and happiness of all our people depends, to a very large extent, 

 on the development and conservation of our agricultural re- 

 sources. The production of butter removes less fertility from 

 the soil than any other agricultural product. In addition to this 

 there is nothing produced onyhe farm that will give greater 

 returns than dairying when it is carried on intelligently. There 

 is a greater demand for all dairy products than there has been 

 before in the history of the world, for people are becoming better 

 acquainted with their food value. 



The great wave of prohibition that is sweeping over the 

 land, causes an increased demand for milk and buttermilk as 

 beverages. These drinks have good food value, and in addition 

 to this have no detrimental effect on the intelligence of the peo- 

 ple consuming them. 



Now while we -have some of the best dairy herds in the 

 world in the United States, our average production is not up to 

 the standard of most European countries. This is not due to 

 our soil or to a climatic condition, and possibly not entirely due 

 to the breeds of cattle we keep, but rather to the neglect of giv- 

 ing intelligent thought and care to the business. 



In conventions that I have attended in this and other coun- 

 tries during the past twenty-five years, two subjects have invar- 

 iably come up for discussion — Economy of Production, and 

 Quality of the Finished Product. These subjects always have 

 been and always will be of paramount importance to the success 

 of the dairy business. It is very essential that a food product 

 of any kind have good quality, as this is the factor that creates 

 a demand and fixes the selling price. In the time of scarcity 



