Page 3 - DairyOnThePrairie

Little Dairy on the Prairie

From Butter-makin' Women to High-tech Agriculture

BY
CYNTHIA L. PETERSON, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA OFFICE OF THE STATE ARCHAEOLOGIST

CLARE L. KERNEK AND LEAH D. ROGERS, TALLGRASS HISTORIANS L.C.

DESIGN BY PRINTING BY
ANGELA R. COLLINS, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA OFFICE OF THE THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA PRINTING DEPARTMENT

STATE ARCHAEOLOGIST

I n 2001, extensive archaeological excavations were conducted at the Oneida Cheese ery organizations, such as the Diamond Creamery run by Henry D. Sherman of Jones
Factory in Jones County. The county is a microcosm of larger dairying trends County. Iowa's dairy industry of today looks very different from its heritage: consolida-
found throughout northeast Iowa, the state's premier dairy-producing region, tion and competition have drastically reduced the number of cows, dairy farms, and pro-
Jones County movedfrom homemade cheese and butter production byfarm women, to the cessing plants. In recent years, northeast Iowa has become the center of a movement to
industrialization of the dairyfarm and opening of cheesefactories and butter creameries. revitalize Iowa's dairy industry, particularly through the use of value-added strategies,
A number ofinnovations affected the industry around the turn-of-the-twentieth century, such as niche markets and large regional co-operatives: the lessons from Iowa's dairying
including reliable butterfat testing, the introduction ofensilage (silos) that created year- legacy are resurfacing as a solution to modern agricultural challenges.
round milk production, and consolidation of the many local creameries into larger cream-

Document sponsored by the Iowa Department of Transportation through an agreement with the
Federal Highway Administration and the State Historical Society of Iowa.

2005