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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1950)
ouhty mm mm DA RY DOS thy ieapoRTAtac: Modern Efficiency In Operations Told By BUI Force Mull Tribune Suit Writer Since the war Jackson county's dairy Industry has shown phenomenal growth, increasing in both numbers of stock and acreage devoted to production of feed for dairy cattle. Dairying iiuw me second largesi agricultural enterprise in the county, surpassed in amount of income only by the horticultural business. Dairymen here earned $2,900,000 in 194916 per cent of the loiai agricultural income. But expansion would mean little to the county's farm economy unless accompanied by sound business practices and agricultural know-how. In this respect, local dairymen have shown consider able diversity in what they feel is the most efficient and economi cal i.vpe 01 pnysical plant and management program. i Drici lour 01 lour dairies, rogarded as the best local exenv plifications of four different schools of thought on dairy barn set-ups, revealed mechanization so advanced as to make the city dweller's eyes pop. While meth ods and equipment in the four dairies differed, all were de signed for maximum production with the least amount of effort and they all exhibited the same , constant preoccupation with sani "tary standards. Four Visited The four dairies visited were, Victor Birdseye's ranch on the central r'oint-Jacksonville hign way, Rene Espourteille's Far Hills ranch near Shady Cove, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Bohling's Junad dairy near Eagle Point and Roscoe Robert's Roxanna dairy on Spring street in Med ford. The four can be considered representative of what is best in the county's nearly 1,000 dairies. At his farm, Victor Birdseye has evolved what he believes to be the optimum size and arrange ment to handle his milking herd of 53 Jerseys. His "milking par lor" is of conventional design 20 stanchions, 10 on each side of the building, are built on one level and have cleaning gutters running the full length of the room. Milked In Shifts Cows enter the Birdseye barn in "shifts" with ten being milked at one time, and then let out while the machines are moved to the other string of 10. Birds-' eye is said to be one of very few dairyment anywhere who has his herd so perfectly trained that each cow enters and leaves the barn in precisely the same order each day and goes directly to her own stanchion. While stanchion and string-broke herds may be common in small opera tions, they are considered un usal and highly efficient in large dairies. Birdseye's methods require two men for each milking, and milking time averages one hour and 45 minutes. He cites several advantages of his set-up: There is never an idle machine; there are only a lew cows in the room at a time so that cleaning is a small problem, and there is no lost motion and no congestion, Average Hiah He feeds only grain in the milking barn; the cows get their hay and silage in the feed barn. Birdseye feeds 60 per cent grass silage and 40 per cent hay, and his herd's butterfat production last year averaged 389 pounds, against a state average of 286 pounds. One outstanding feature of the Birdseye ranch is the impeccable cleanliness. Daily scraping of the concrete paved yards is a part of each day's chores. No ac cumlalion of manure is allowed and it is spread on the fields at the time it is gathered. Only the recent bad weather has in terrupted the regularity of the operation. At the well-named Far Hills ranch in the picturesque moun tains above Shady Cove, Mr. and Mrs. Rene Espourteille have installed an elaborate dairying operation that is called the ulti mate in dairy barns fitted with De Laval equipment. At present they are milking a registered herd of 41 Holsteins in a concrete "milking parlor" with six ele vated tubular steel stanchions. They are milked three times daily in an effort to boost pro duction, and Ranch Manager Bill Leekey says the job takes one operator about three and half minutes per cow. He likes the Far Hills set-up because he says it is well adapt ed to the needs of a registered herd. Daily production is quickly and accurately recorded at the time the cow is milked. Milk passes directly from the De Laval milkers into large glass jars sus pended from scales. It can be inspected for any possible flaws or impurities betore n is pumpea into the DiDe lines to the milk room. Just about the only man ual operation required in the Espourteille barn is putting the lids on the milk cans after the milk has passed over the cool ing coils, through automatically operated spigots, and into the cans. Unique Barn Junad dairy on the Rogue above Eagle Point is owned by Fred Bohling and his actress wife June Story. Their unique dairv barn is of corrugated quonset construction and features eight stancnions set on a guuei less concrete floor. Gutters were eliminated to improve the foot ing for the cows and manure is hosed directly off the smooth pavement. De Laval equipment is used here also. it talfpic one operator two hours to milk 30 Holsteins at Junad, and with the addition of an extra man on the morning shift the time is cut to an hour and a half. Said Compact Hallmark of the Roxinna dairy in Medford's eastern out skirts is compactness combined with streamlined efficiency. Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe Roberts have installed Surge equipment wnn four steel stanchions raised aooui hroo feet above the level of the operator's gangway that runs the length of the "milking par lor." Stanchion layout is rough ly similar to that of the angle parking of cars on a city street. In other words, each stanchion angles in toward the operator to provide maximum conven ience. Planned jointly by Roberts and the Surge people. Roxanna is a 42-cow capacity dairy com plete on seven acres of subur ban DroDertv. Milking parlor milk room, feed room, and an apartment for a manager are compactly arranged under one roof. It takes Roberts and his wife about an hour and a half to milk from 28 to 30 head of cows with their arrangement. Their herd is made up of Holsteins, Brown Swiss. Guernseys, and Jersevs. Unlike Birdseye. who produces his own feed, Roberts Medford Volunteer Firemen nPpjTDTTATT? 'Set Monday Meeting j) j Jj 1 Acting Fire Chief Leo We Second Section MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1950 Pages 1-8 f - - f V ' s-s 3 ft " ' ' f i3L lasibi FAR HILLS MILKING PARLOR Rene Espourteille's registered Holstein herd Is con fronted with this imposing array of machinery three times daily. Six stanchions are elevated above the operator's gangway for the sake of convenience in operating the De Laval milkers. At the time this picture was taken noon milking had just been completed and the glass jars that receive and weigh the milk from the milking machines here contain disinfectant and the operator is washing the room and equipment to a state of hospital-like cleanliness. Natives of France, the Espourteilles are developing a model dairy in the Shady Cove area. Farmer-Veterans OK Conservation Plan Members of the Veterans Agriculture association this week voted unanimously In favor of the proposed Jackson county soil conservation district, when they met to observe the first an niversary of the group's forma tion. The meeting was held at the association headquarters at White City. Plans are under way to com pile and publish a list of mem bers in all areas of southern Oregon so that Interested veteran-farmers may contact them for information. Veterans of World War II who are actively engaged in agriculture are eligible for membership. 4 New officers presided at the meeting for the first time, and committees were named to map out a program for 1950 which will be "even bigger and more successful" than 1949, officers said. The evening was closed with the serving of refreshments. Boise. Ida., Feb. 3 (U.R) The Columbia basin inter-agency committee will hold its nexl meeting at Salem, Ore., next Wednesday. State Reclamation Engineer Mark R. Kiul said. sj t oir v. . makes no effort to grow feed on his small acreage but his near ness to feed dealers in town does much to offset any added expense. Size Said Advantage In 1948 Roberts was oper ating a 74-acre dairy with about the same size herd he has now and he cited production figures that may show the advantages of compactness in a dairy operation. Last year, at Roxanna. Rob ert's herd produced 248,060 pounds of milk for an average of 8,268 per cow. On a farm 10 times as large, a similar herd produced 234.854 pounds of milk. Comparable butterfat production was 10,331 pounds at Roxanna and 10,006 at the larger dairy. His butterfat average last year was 334.47 pounds per cow. Rob ert's operation could be dupli cated on less than an acre, he said. Outside the milking parlors the same efficiency and attention to detail prevails and the pro fessional skill that is required to run a dairy becomes more and more evident. Use "Loafing Pens" A practice called "pen sta blng" in the east takes the form of "loafing pens" here. On the Birdseye ranch a huge roofed area is available to the herd day and night for iust what the name implies loafing. The other dairies have variations of the same facility. Here the cows arc free to eat to their heart s con tent and to rest in knee deep straw. It is cleaned only once in manv months but new layers of straw are added from time to time. Birdseye says the decom posing straw helps to provide a bedding area of constant warmlh. Electric heaters in water tanks are another innovation of par ticular importance this time ol year. The apparatus keeps the tanks free of ice and just warm enough to encourage ample drinking. County Agent Earlc Jossy emphasized that top milk production is lirectly contingent on the amount of water a cow can be induced to drink. Birds eye stocks his water tank with gold fish to help maintain clean liness. Assistant Ready A specialist in animal hus handrv and dairying, Joss stands ready to assist and advise dairvmcn at any time, and his office is a kind of clearing house for ideas, projects, and proBiemt affecting the industry here. Hi makes available complete plans furnished by the extension serv ice, for scientifically designed dairy barns, and newcomers to the field would be well advisor' to consult with him before they begin to learn the intricacies ol a milking machine. It is onl throuch planning and skill that Jackson county's dairy industry ; can continue to grow sounaij and at its present pace. Volunteer Firemen Save Chief's House Warrenton. Ore.. Feb. 4 (U.R Fire Chief Larry Lenhard today had only the highest praise for his volunteer firefightrcs. The.' saved his house from burnin; down. A torch a workman was usim to thaw frozen pipes at Chief Lcnhard's home ignited oil es caping from a broken fuel line. The fire spread to the founda tion of the house. But firemen jumped to the task and saved their chief's house from all but a little smoke damage. Jr-wsss lUpr p., jL . , fc CV ' ' (2, ' J ' I f I.- 4 " i1 .xM''i-xUl ,jS Lin iH Bur "it niii in tuthh-i f "--'f-n n----- CONVENTIONAL BUT BRISKLY EFFICIENT This 20-stanchion milking room on the Victor Birdseye dairy is typical of the "tried and true" design, that enables, two operators to milk more than 50 cows with a minimum of time and trouble. Scientifically organized and operated, the Birdseye farm on the Central Point-Jacksonville highway is considered one of the valley's model dairies and is also a thriving business. The owner is shown here. A graduate of Oregon State college, his work is also his profession. Weid- ncr, who arrived here from Port land Wednesday, said Saturday tiiat a meeting of all volunteer firemen In Medford will be held at the fire station at 7:30 p.m. Monday. In addition to volunteers, Chief Wcidner said, all residents of Medford who are interested in becoming volunteer firemen are invited to attend the discussions of volunteer organizations and problems. Wcidner. who is on "loan" to the city from the Portland fire department, is senior captain, as sistant instructor and drill mas ter witli the Portland depart ment. His experience also in cludes work with volunteers, and he is drill master with the Mult nomah volunteer department. The acting chief, whose stay here as a consultant will be for approximately four months, is living in the fire hall. His fam ily, including his wife and three sons, is remaining in Portland while he is here. Unidentified Submarine Probably U. S. Vessel San Francisco, Feb. 4 (U.F) An unidentified sub marine, twice seen off the northern Cal ifornia coast during the past week, probably was a U. S. navy vessel making test runs, a 12th naval district spokesman laid to day. 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CENTRAL PHONE 2-2874 'STRENGTHEN lBfijr BOY SCOUT WEEK FEBRUARY 6 TO 12 AUTOMATIC AND SURGICALLY CLEAN This is the aerator used at Far Hills for lowering the temperature of fresh milk to the required level. Milk passes directly from the milking machines through the pipe line shown at the top of the picture and into the two glass jars. The spherical floats control the flow. From there the milk runs over the series of coils that are cooled by water and direct-expansion freon to a constant 36 degrees. Four milk cans are filled simultaneously from this apparatus which stops the flow automatically when the cans arc full. An operator is then required to place a lid on the cans and lug then a few feet into a walk-in cooler. Mi ,gimrB HEY S f 'S2il' ffl 1 1 1 V MOM! DON'T FORGET THE DESSERT WE WANT! At Your Favorite FOUNTAIN or GROCER fVy & inic It's BOY SCOUT WEEK and Jorgenien'i salutes the men and women who devote so much time and effort toward making Crater Lake Area Council outstanding in Ameri luting! o LUSCIOUS, TASTE -TANTILIZING NUTRITIOUS GOODNESS YOU BET! FIESTA knows no seasons it it ALWAYS TOPS at dessert time for youngsters and oldsters, too! For the everyday meal or for every festive occasion, FIESTA addl that touch of flavorful goodnen that makes parties and dinners 10 successful. It'i made in Jorgenien'i ipic and span dairies of the very finest Rogue River Valley dairy products with that extra PLUS NUTRIMIX the exclusive milk nutrient that fortifies FIESTA for added goodness, nutrition and taite. FIESTA it iweeping southern Oregon salei are growing by leapt and boundi. There'i a real reason juit try it and see! 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