Big Changes In Dairy Farming
Dairy farming is still an important industry in the area, even though grain farming has increased considerably in the last 25 to 30 years. There…
Dairy farming is still an important industry in the area, even though grain farming has increased considerably in the last 25 to 30 years. There is a good, solid group of dairy farmers doing an excellent job of taking care of their cows and producing quality milk.
Recently some friends sent me a copy of a 1937 publication from an organization called the Pure Milk Association located out in Illinois. The organization was a cooperative organized to improve dairy farm milk prices and encourage quality milk production. It is interesting to compare dairy farm information from the 1930s to today.
Net farm milk prices in April 1937 were $1.95 for each hundred pounds of Grade A milk. Grade B producers, and there were many of them in the 1930s, got a net price of $1.75. Grade B producers did not have the barns, milk houses and other facilities to qualify for Grade A.
Costs to produce that 100 pounds of milk were much lower in 1937 than they are today. The publication did not give any information about those costs.
Current milk prices have been in the $22 to $24 per hundred range this past year, quite a difference. At the same time, production costs have gone up considerably. Recent figures indicate total cost of production is about $26 a hundred pounds of milk and milk prices fluctuate. 2015 does not look as good for dairy farmers.
Another striking bit of information was the amount of milk produced by each cow compared to today. In the 1930s, it was about 4,500 pounds a year. Today, the average cow in the area produces nearly 20,000 pounds in a year.
On a quart basis, in the 1930s, each cow produced about 2,500 quarts a year. Today, that figure would be nearly 10,000 quarts, which is a remarkable increase and a real tribute to the ability, care and management by local dairy farmers. It is also a reflection of the technology that was developed and dairy farmers making good use of that technology.
Included in the Pure Milk Associa-tion was information complimenting dairy farmers for their improvement in milk quality. At the same time, it was recognized that more improvements could be made and specific ideas were given to get the job done. Back then milk was shipped to market in 10-gallon cans. Dairy farmers were encouraged to take better care of those cans and be sure they were kept clean.
Keeping the barn and milk house clean and neat were also mentioned. The article said that the milk inspector would be coming around to inspect and facilities had better be in good condition or the farm could be shut off from shipping Grade A milk.
Another bit of interesting and humorous information was on a study done in New York State about which breed of cows was most intelligent. Holstein, Brown Swiss and Guernsey cows were involved in the study.
Breeds learned rather quickly what was expected of them, but the Guernsey’s learned a little faster than the other two breeds. Those results were probably debated by 1937 dairy farmers and they would be today.
What really came out of the study was that all dairy cows should be considered intelligent, hardworking animals that are entitled to care and quiet handling. Cows that are mistreated will give less milk and most dairy farmers know that.
Also, there are currently not many Guernsey breeders, so maybe intelligence was not a big reason to decide which breed to have on the farm.
The 1937 Pure Milk Association publication is in remarkably good shape and I appreciate getting it from this friend.
Parker is retired from The Ohio State University and is an independent agricultural writer.
