The Dairy Life


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Charity in the Land of Individualism: It was ... late 1940s, along the ... edge of the corn belt - in the land of individualism. Folks were poor, and only the more rugged had survived the ravages of the Great Depression, but times were better now. ...; ...Every October the race was on-to beat that first snowstorm and get the corn in. Corn-picking machines were repaired, greased, and ready to go. Corn cribs were built, farm kids skipped school to help with the harvest, and the time for 16-hour days, seven days a week, was on. ...
Frugality: Frugality is an essential part of the DAIRY LIFE (and it's just plain common sense). The aim of this site is to provide and continually expand the informational resources needed to be successful at pursuing frugality.
Wisconsin LINK Reference Center: Wisconsin LINK is an electronic information system developed by and for Wisconsin dairy producers and their agri-support personnel. Wisconsin LINK's goal is to provide Wisconsin's dairy producers with useful, up-to-date information as an aid in their decision making.
The Pride of Oxford County..The stature of Springbank Snow Countess on old Springbank Farm in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada.

I first visited this statue around 45 years ago when I was about 5 years old. At that time her paint was badly scuffed and she stood forgotten in weeds and mud. She was then away out in the countyside about a mile east of the old Oxford and District AI Unit on the land that once was part of the legendary Springbank Farm.

I was awestuck when I saw her the first time. Actually, I had known the statue was there because I had read about it in an ancient (1923?) Canadian Holstein Journal. I just never believed that I would ever see it.

Since then I have been by there maybe a hundred times or more. I stop nearly every time. She isn't far out into the countryside anymore. She's in the middle of a big city. There is a McDonald's just across the road there now. And, now she's standing in an elegant little park.

This location is about 300 miles from Owenlea Farm, near what I regard as the epicenter of the North American dairy industry. I took this picture in the fall of 1995. Springbank Snow Countess was the first cow of any breed to make six 1000 butterfat records.
Dairy Sociology Studies. Applies to most dairy areas in the USA.
Dairying in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: An extensive sociology study of of dairy farms in Upper Michigan. Focusing on dairy farms in three communities with an through overview of dairy farming in the Upper Peninsula.
A study of dairying In Michigan's Thumb: Sociologists contacted all dairy farms in the Deckerville school district. Information was obtained on 51 of the 55 dairy businesses in the district as well as on the 71 households that are associated with those businesses through various kinds of partnership arrangements. All 67 principal male operators in the surveyed households were interviewed directly. Also interviewed where 16 principal females (spouses) who are actively involved in dairy work.
New Zealand Grazing Photo with Description
This photo was received 7/30/96 by e-mail from Marlene Williamson.

...We are lucky to live with such wonderful scenery. We live on the southern slopes of Mt Egmont (8620 ft), west coast of the North Island, New Zealand. The farm is about 160 acres effective at an altitude of 1100 ft. Rainfall about 72 inches a year and temperatures from 3C to 24C. Husband Murray and I have 160 Jerseys - (a low stocking rate because of the relatively undeveloped state of the farm) and they are 100% pasture fed during the milking season August to May and supplemented with the hay we made in the summer over the winter. The photo was taken on a great day in September last year outside the cowshed with those cows that had calved - about half the herd from memory. The snow disappears over the summer and we don't get any actually on the farm. The grass is mainly perennial ryegrass and clover, the trees line a small brook and are a type of willow. Of course there are many days when rain clouds cover the mountain and we don't see it at all but one doesn't take photos on those days! You are most welcome to use the photo in any way you choose and I could rustle up some others if anyone would like...
Marlene Williamson <marlenew@xtra.co.nz> [ToC] [Back] [Next] [Top] [fwo@bright.net]