The Dairy Farmer (1965)

almost everywhere throughout the land. Wherever feed crops can be raised or readily purchased, dairy cattle are found. Even in regions of the country where grass is scarce and water precious, for milk and milk products are part of the daily diet of almost every American. But some sections of the country are better suited to dairy farming than others. In areas where there is rolling farmland, best suited for pasture and hay, where transportation to large city markets is fast and economical, you are likely to find intensive dairy farming. More than 75% of America's dairy cattle are concentrated in a belt that stretches across the eastern half of the nation. In a region where the growing season is too short to produce more profitable cash crops, for more than half a century, dairy farming has been a major occupation in the upper western section of this belt. Although dairying methods vary from place to place, a farm in the dairy belt reflects many of the problems of the entire dairy industry. Most dairy farms today are owned and operated by a single family. Together, a father, his sons, and occasional hired help tend the cows and work the fields. But recently, a new kind of farm has appeared. A pushbutton farm where one or two men together with a sizable investment in modern machinery do the work efficiently and profitably. This highly mechanized type of farm is part of a revolution that is occurring in the dairy industry. [Music] more than 360 acres of land and a herd of 86 cows. These are the property of the Lawrence Hartman farm. Before him, Lawrence Hartman's father and grandfather owned and worked the same land. The Hartman dairy farm is modern. Tractors and trucks, harvesters, plows and planters help Lawrence and his father do most of the field work themselves efficiently and profitably. To reduce his expenses, a dairy farmer must grow as much of the cow's feed on his land as possible. The Hartmans use modern methods like contour farming, planting crops in a pattern that cuts across the slope of the land. This prevents rain from washing both crops and top soil away and makes every square foot of the fields productive. The work on a dairy farm varies from season to season, but one daily chore is the same throughout the year. Rain or shine, winter and summer, holidays and Sundays, the cows must be milked twice a day. Milking time is feeding time. Before the cows come into the barn for milking, fed out hay, silage, and grain. In the milk house close to the barn, Mr. Hartman, Senior, prepares the milking machines. The cows of this herd are called Brown Swiss. Other well-known dairy breeds are Holstein, Gernzi, Airer, and Jersey cows. Each breed produces a special quality or quantity of milk. Cleanliness is a major concern of every dairyman. To prevent germs from getting into the milk, the cow's uters are washed with a disinfectant. Then the cups of the milking machines are washed in an antiseptic solution before they are attached to the cow. When Lawrence Hartman's father began dairying, each cow was milked by hand. Today, with modern equipment, the Hartmans are able to clean, feed, and milk more than 80 cows in less than two hours. To produce milk, a cow must first bear a calf. And there are always young calves on the Hartman farm, a new generation to add to the herd. There's a new generation of Hartman's on the farm, too. Brian and Rhonda are too young to do heavy work, but they are learning some of the chores that keep their father and grandfather busy from sun up to [Music] sundown. As milk is collected from each cow, it goes into a stainless steel container called a sputnik like the Russian satellite. Milk as it comes from the cow is warm and must be transferred quickly to a refrigerated storage tank or it will spoil. Most of the cooling and storage equipment on a modern dairy farm is run by electricity. If the power should fail, the entire day's output of milk might be lost. After milking, the cows return to pasture and cleanup begins in the barn and milkhouse. Each piece of milking equipment must be clean and ready for use again next morning. Finally, time for supper. Few men in business work as hard as the dairy farmer, for even at the end of the day, there are chores to do. Like every businessman, Lawrence Hartman has paperwork, bills to pay, and books to keep. He keeps a record of the birth, illness, and production of every cow, notations on the yield and cost of each crop, along with the income from the sale of his milk. In spite of long hours, hard work, and many problems, the Hartmans are satisfied with their way of life. A few years ago, Lawrence Hartman considered leaving the farm to try a new career, but in the end, he stayed to carry on the family farm and the work that provides his family with a comfortable living. Bedtime. Brian's ready, but not his dad. There are few moments in the day that a dairy farmer can call his own. Even at night, there is usually some detail that requires attention. The slightest sign of illness in the herd must be carefully watched, for the health of a cow affects its output of milk and in turn the income of the farm. The cows in the Hartman herd represent an investment of thousands of dollars. It is only good business to protect this [Music] investment. As the sun rises, the chores of the day begin. Each structure on a dairy farm has a special purpose. Silos store chopped corn and feed. Hay is stored in the barn and the milk is cooled and stored overnight in the milkhouse. Here each morning, transportation to the market begins. The Hartman sell their milk to processors who pasteurize it and ship it to markets in the city. Since milk is highly perishable, it must be delivered to food stores quickly. That is why many dairy farms are clustered around large cities where good highways provide rapid transport to the market. Besides grass and clover in the pasture, dairy cattle eat oats, hay, and corn. To raise these crops, work in the fields goes on throughout the year, except in winter. In the spring, plowing and planting. In summer and fall, cultivating, harvest, and [Music] storage. Most dairy farmers reap and thresh oats with a machine called a combine. In one operation, this machine separates the grain from the straw and the chaff. [Music] A trip to town is almost a daily event on the Hartman farm. The market town is only a few miles away. Although dairy farms are generally located some distance from urban areas, farm families need many of the same goods and services as city people. [Music] Small communities like this serve as shopping centers for farm families. There are stores and facilities similar to those in the city, like the supermarket where the Hartmans buy their grocery supplies. Yes, even their milk and milk products. In dairy communities, farmers and town merchants depend on each other. When the farmers have little money to spend, local business suffers. Lawrence Hartman often travels to town himself, sometimes for a piece of equipment or to have oats ground at the local mill. This is one of many services available in town. In most dairy communities, you will find feed and grain suppliers, farm equipment dealers, and general supply stores. Here, dairy farmers meet to exchange views on everything from politics to sports. But more often than not, the problems of the dairy business. One problem that concerns most dairymen is growing competition from larger, more efficient, mechanized farms. What does this mean to dairymen like Lawrence Hartman? All over the nation, farmers face a common problem. The need to produce more with less labor. To meet this need, some dairy farms have turned to mechanization. This ultraodern dairy farm is run almost entirely by machinery. In this mechanized milking parlor, one man can milk the entire herd without help. Such farms are still few in number because they require an enormous investment in laborsaving equipment. Milk flows directly from cow to refrigerated storage tank automatically and efficiently. On this farm, even the land is used economically. Pastures are eliminated and the fields are devoted to feed crops instead of grazing. The cows are cared for in a small well planned enclosure where machines do most of the work once done by human labor. Some dairymen believe that this type of farm is the answer to the problems of dairymen. across the country. The biggest problem facing the dairy farmer today is the increased costs of operation. I today milk uh 88 cows and feed 88 cows and take care of 88 cows by myself through mechanization. The farmer or dairy farmer that doesn't change his operation and stays with the old methods. I don't think myself will be milking cows in the future for profit. The only person or anybody in the world that can operate a dairy farm without mechanization is the man that does it for a hobby. Today, the dairy industry and the dairy farm is big business and must be operated as big business. All dairy farmers share the common problem of holding down costs by working more efficiently. But Lawrence Hartman is equally devoted to his way of dairying. Well, we're faced with the same problems of increasing cost, the need for greater efficiency just like anyone else in the dairy industry. Now, automation may help in some areas to increase production per man. However, we find that automation is not the absolute remedy. We find here that we cannot separate the human element from our operation. Each cow is such an individual, she needs individual and separate attention. And by giving her this special attention, we're able to increase our production per cow and thereby improve our efficiency. We feel that the family farm is as much a way of life as it is a business. And as long as we can maintain this way of of life, the family farm will never become obsolete. Although their views on dairy farming differ, Lawrence Hartman and his neighbor face a problem that is common to farmers of every kind throughout the country. Scientific methods and mechanization have made our farm so productive that today fewer farmers are needed to produce the nation's food products. This abundance in farm production threatens the farmer with lower prices for his produce. Yet the costs of operating a farm are constantly rising. As a result, only the most efficient farmers can survive. No one can predict the future of the family farm. Yet one thing is certain. The working methods and the way of life of people in farming communities everywhere is rapidly changing. This is part of a revolution that affects us all. A revolution in production that is contributing much to our changing way of life.