Idaho History: State’s dairy industry prospered in the early 20th century
After Idaho achieved statehood in 1890, the population increased rapidly, and with it the market for dairy products: milk, cream, butter, cheese and ice cream. With the demand came strong competition to supply them.
Black and white Holstein-Friesian cattle were popular from the time they were first brought to America in the late 1850s, primarily because of their ability to produce larger quantities of milk than other breeds. About 8.5 gallons per day per cow was typical, although some produced as much as 10 gallons. In March 1890, Farmer S. DeCloedt, who had homesteaded land “one-half mile north of the first school house on the valley road,” advertised “High Bred Holstein Milch Cows for sale.” Though seldom used today, the term “milch cow” for “milk cow” was in common usage throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
From the days when almost every Idaho farm family had a cow to supply its own needs, and small dairy farmers delivered milk, cream and butter to their customers in horse-drawn wagons, the 1890s saw the development of cooperative creameries to which farmers delivered milk for processing into butter and cheese. Meridian had a population of about 200 in 1897 when the Consolidated Creamery was built there. Others would follow in the years ahead, and “co-ops” are still going strong today.
Boise dairyman H.C. Eads described his business and his competition in witty terms in the Idaho Statesman on April 30, 1904: “The Milk Question. My competitors say they can retail milk at 5 cents per quart and wholesale it at 12 1/2 cents per gallon. While there is no money to be made at such low prices, I have decided to meet their rates and start on the rocky road to success with them. I have handled milk in Boise for 12 years and during that time have milked it, drank it, skimmed it and have been accused of watering it, but there is one thing I have never done and that is make money. I will deliver to all parts of the city both morning and evening, making special deliveries of ice cream when wanted. We have both phones and any and all orders phoned will be promptly filled.” (Boise had two competing telephone companies at the time, and businesses had to subscribe to both).
When E.V. Ellington of the U.S. Department of Agriculture visited Boise in August 1910, he predicted that Idaho would become one of the leading dairy states in the nation, and history has proved him right. He told the Idaho Statesman that conditions for dairying in southern Idaho were unsurpassed anywhere. “An abundance of alfalfa can be raised, corn will mature enough for silage, and with a market that ranges from 3 to 5 cents a pound above the price for butter, neither Wisconsin, New York, Illinois, nor any other dairying state can compete with Idaho in producing dairy products.” Professor Ellington also talked about the importance of dairymen steadily upgrading herds and of keeping daily records of each cow’s production, and testing for the butterfat content of her milk once a month.
In 1911 the annual report of the Chief of Animal Husbandry of the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated that much good had been accomplished by the efforts to improve creamery practice. “The Cooperative Creamery of Caldwell, Idaho, organized under the guidance of the Dairy Division, has been in successful operation for a year, and the output is approximately 1,000 pounds of butter a day. At least two other cooperative creameries and one cooperative cheese factory have been started in Idaho as a direct result of the demonstrated success in Caldwell.”
The farmers’ cooperative creamery of Nampa, started in the fall of 1912, was going strong in January 1913, with the demand for its butter vastly exceeding the supply. The directors hoped to sign up more stockholders in order to increase the organization’s working capital so they could hire one more man.
Arthur Hart writes this column on Idaho history for the Idaho Statesman each Sunday. Email histnart@gmail.com.
This story was originally published September 19, 2015 at 9:30 PM.