Farm Manager and A
Public Servant
A visit to John T. Simmons,
Reeve of Middleton, Milk and Pork
The
following appears in a recent number of Farm and Dairy.
There is a very common idea that a man cannot fill concurrently the
positions of farm manager and township councillor, and be successful in
both capacities. I am told that in nine cases out of ten either he will
neglect the farm to be a good public servant, or slight his public
duties to keep things shipshape at home.
In
a few cases that have come to my observation the has held good; and
generally it is the farm that has come out the worse for this division
of interest.
It
takes the exception to prove the rule, however, and John T. Simmons,
reeve of Middleton Township, County of Norfolk, Ont., is one of the exceptions.
Mr.
Simmons has the advantage that he has a son, a two-year man from Guelph,
who is old enough and able enough to run the farm when his father is
away serving the public.
Whatever
may be the reason, the Simmons farm is well managed, as I had a very
good chance to discover during a day's visit in the early part of May
this year.
The farm
itself is situated right the Village of Courtland. The cement sidewalk
run right up to the farm gate. Mr. Simmons' farm of 200 acres of land
varies from a light sandy loam to a fairly heavy clay load.
As
the farm is a combination of two 100-acre farms, there are two sets of
buildings. This is not so convenient as if all the building were grouped
together, but Mr. Simmons is looking ahead to the day when the farm may
be again divided , with a son on each, so the buildings have not be
grouped together.
The
Dairy Herd
A dairy
herd of twenty to twenty-five cows affords the chief source of income.
There is not a registered animal in the herd, but there are very few
that, on most critical inspection, do no show grade markings. All are
big cows of splendid dairy conformation; as good a commercial herd as
anyone could desire.
The
best index of their quality is the price at which surplus animals are
sold. Just recently a buyer paid $125 each for three grade cows and he
did not get the pick of the herd by any means.
Any
yet seventeen years ago the cattle from which the present herd are
descendants were grades of another breed and another color. The uniform
black and white herd today is the result of the consistent use of good
pure bred black and white sires throughout all these years. Occasionally
too, a good grade Holstein cow has been bought in, but for the most part
the herd has been bred on the farm.
Today
the herd averages $100 to $125 each per year at the condenser, and this
including two-year old heifers. A mature cow that will not bring in $100
a year for her board is not considered worthy of stall room. This is the
kind of a herd that Mr. Simmons has brought from a foundation of very
different milkers.
Hogs,
in the years that have gone, ranked almost equally with the cows are
income makers. Until the condenser was started at Tillsonburg, five
miles off, the milk was sent to the cheese factory, and whey was
available for hog feeding. In the last three years hogs have been kept
to a more limited extent.
Milk
and Pork only sold
"We
plan to sell nothing off the farm except milk and pork," explained
Mr. Simmons. "While we do not plan to feed hogs in such large
numbers as formerly, we buy in a bunch whenever we get stocked up on
grain. This, we believe, is the best way to market the grain, and it is
certainly best for the soil."
With
good breeding as a basis, good feeding is the next point of importance
in getting $100 to $125 worth of milk from a cow in a year. Mr. Simmons
attends to the feeding himself. He explained his system as follows:
"I
cater to each individual cow in the herd and feed roughly in proportion
to the milk that they give. Some cows eat more than others. Some again I
have to watch closely or they get off their feed. Our winter grain
ration consists of two parts of barley and oat chop to one part of Bran
and shorts mixed. We feed grain practically the year round, but in the
summer we leave out the shorts and feed more oats and barley. You will
see then that the most of our grain feed is grown on the farm. All the
feed that we have bought in the last year is four tons of bran and two
or three tons of shorts. We find that there are twenty or thirty days in
June when the cows do not want grain, and are on fresh grass. I believe
it is well if they can have a rest then.
"For
rough feed we place our main dependence on corn silage. We have two
silos 12x30 feet, but this coming summer I am planning to put up a new
cement silo 12 feet by 25 or 40 feet. We have never had ensilage enough
to feed through the summer, and I claim that there should be ensilage on
hand at all times for the most economical feeding of the dairy
herd."
An Auto
Enthusiast
One of
the most recent additions to the Simmons' equipment is a five-passenger
automobile. Its owner is already an auto enthusiast. Some farmers who
have a hard time to make ends meet, would say that he is over-enthusiastic.
For instance, here is one of Mr. Simmons' declarations: "Every
farmer should have an auto." He backs up his declaration as
follows:
"It
doesn't cost much to keep an auto on the farm. It is an endless source
of convenience. I can slip to town, do my business, and be back again
and never miss the time that the errand took. In my township work too,
it is a great time saver. On Saturday, for instance, I left home at two
o'clock in the afternoon, covered forty miles, looked at six different
jobs and was back by six o'clock. On good roads I find that I can run twenty
miles on a gallon of gasoline.
"The
amount of gasoline used," continued Mr. Simmons, "depends on
the driver. I open the carburetor when starting the machine, but when
the machine gets warmed up, close it down again. It isn't necessary
either to use up gasoline running down hill. Yes, I believe every farmer
should have a car."
The
Simmons family, one and all, are interested in farming, from the
youngest boy, Oswald, who runs the poultry department, to Arthur, the
eldest, who is already his father's right-hand man.
Mr.
Simmons' opinion is based on experience when he emphatically endorses
the farm as the best place for a man to be. He was born and brought up
on a farm not far from the one he now owns, but he elected to take a
business college training to fit him for a city job.
He
established himself in business in a western city, living in town for a
few years, but he was glad to come back to his old community and to a
farm, somewhat short of capital, but blessed with the knowledge that he
had found his proper sphere.
Paying
for 200 acres of land and raising a family at the same time is no small
proposition, but the work has now been successfully completed, the home
has been remodeled and furnished as few country homes are, and the
Simmons can now take life a little easier if they so wish.
I
started out to prove that farm management and public service could be
combined it the right man is on the job. Mr. Simmons' success as a
farmer testifies that he has not neglected his own business. His
neighbors have expressed their appreciation of the service he has given
them by electing him again and again as their reeve. A very good type of
citizen, I should say.
