Hoard's Dairyman
Managing EditorCorey A. Geiger
Associate EditorAbby J. Bauer
Associate EditorKatelyn Allen[1]
CategoriesAgriculture, dairy farming
Frequency15 per year
Total circulation
(2021)		47,650[2]
FounderWilliam D. Hoard
Founded1885
First issueJanuary 23, 1885 (1885-01-23)
CountryUnited States
Based inFort Atkinson, Wisconsin
LanguageEnglish
Websitehoards.com
ISSN0018-2885

Hoard's Dairyman is an American agricultural trade publication that focuses on dairy farming. It was founded in 1885 by William D. Hoard as a supplement to the Jefferson County Union and is published in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.

History

The Dairyman was founded in 1885 in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, by William D. Hoard as an expansion of regular agriculture columns he wrote in the Jefferson County Union. It began as a four-page folio supplement to the Union and became a wholly separate publication in 1889. The publication grew rapidly, rising from 700 subscriptions to the folio in its first year to more than 6,000 subscriptions by 1889.[3]: 57 [4]: 368–369 

Hoard used the magazine to advocate for new agricultural techniques, including the use of alfalfa as cattle feed, the use of silos to store silage, and the use of the Babcock test to measure the level of butterfat in milk.[5]: 158, 160 162  Advocacy for the use of silos had particular success; by 1925, one-fourth of all silos in the United States were on the farms of Dairyman subscribers.[5]: 160  Hoard also used the magazine to advocate for legislation, such as using the Dairyman to organize a letter writing campaign to increase regulations on the sale of oleomargarine in 1895.[6]: 26  Hoard led the publication until his death in 1918, when he was succeeded as managing editor by Arthur J. Glover.[7][8]

By the mid-1920s, the Dairyman had an international audience, with readers in Japan, Australia, and England.[9]: 109–110  By 1985, circulation had grown to 180,000 in 104 countries. That year, 91% of milk producers in the United States received the Dairyman.[7] As of 2021, circulation of the magazine had declined to 47,650.[2]

Cow judging contest

A popular tradition is the magazine's Cow Judging Contest, normally held annually. 2011 was the 81st year in which the contest was held. Over the course of five issues, readers are asked to evaluate four cows from one particular breed of cattle. The breeds judged are the Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Holstein, Guernsey, Jersey, Milking Shorthorn, and Red & White. Each of the four cows is presented in three poses: a side view, a rear view, and an upper rear view showing the cow's back. Readers can rank cows from each class on an entry form in the magazine. The entry that comes closest to the evaluation of a panel of judging experts is the winner and receives cash prizes.

Hoard's Dairyman Farm

Staff members of Hoard's Dairyman also work at the Hoard's Dairyman Farm.

In 1899, Hoard established Hoard's Dairyman Farm north of Fort Atkinson.[10] Described by the Los Angeles Times as the "best-known dairy farm in the world," the property was used as a means to increase the credibility of the Dairyman and as a place to conduct agricultural experiments. It was where Hoard proved the efficacy of alfalfa as cattle feed.[7]

The farm maintains the oldest continuously registered herd of Guernsey cattle in the United States. Editorial staff of the Dairyman manage the operations of the farm.[7][11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Editorial Staff". Hoard's Dairyman. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Hoard's Dairyman Market Circulation". Hoard's Dairyman. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  3. ↑ Schlebecker, John T.; Hopkins, Andrew W. (1957). A History of Dairy Journalism in the United States, 1810-1950. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  4. ↑ Whyte, William F. (June 1927). "The Bennett Law campaign in Wisconsin". Wisconsin Magazine of History. Wisconsin Historical Society. 10 (4): 363–390. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Rankin, George William (1925). William Dempster Hoard. Fort Atkinson, Wis.: W. D. Hoard & Sons Company.
  6. ↑ Suval, John (2012). "(Not) Like Butter: W. D. Hoard and the Crusade Against the "Oleo Fraud"". Wisconsin Magazine of History. Wisconsin Historical Society. 96 (1): 16–27. ISSN 0043-6534. JSTOR 24398963. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Hillinger, Charles (December 15, 1985). "Wisconsin's shrine to dairy cows: Top milk producing state is tribute to one man's effort". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Arthur J. Glover". The New York Times. May 9, 1949. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  9. ↑ Ivins, Lester Sylvan; Winship, Albert Edward (1924). "William Dempster Hoard: 1836-1918". Fifty Famous Farmers. New York: Macmillan. pp. 105–113. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  10. ↑ Statz, Lydia (October 14, 2013). "'Tale of two Nancys' recalls life of Gov. William Dempster Hoard". Daily Jefferson County Union. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  11. ↑ Bergquist, Lee (November 2, 2013). "Historic Jefferson County farm must empty manure lagoon". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
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