By the 1890s the John Schwinghammer family, Albany, had increased its dairy herd to eight cows, three two-year olds, and seven heifers. The family "gradually turned to dairying" as the main farming activity. By 1920 the average herd in Stearns County had eighteen to twenty-five cows.

Most of the cattle were still crossbreeds–general-purpose cattle that the early settlers had brought to provide power, meat, milk, and hides. They had been bred indiscriminately with scrub (poor-quality) bulls, resulting in inferior dairy stock. About this time, though, dairy experts began advocating purebred stock and selective breeding for higher milk production and for a more hardy, healthy animal that could survive Minnesota winters.

But Stearns County farmers were slow to change. In 1920, of 42,543 dairy cows in the county, only 2,400 were purebred. Of the distinctive breeds Holsteins were most numerous, followed by Milking Shorthorns, Guernseys, jerseys, Brown Swiss, Angus, Herefords, and Red Polls.

With more cattle and an emphasis on milk production, family dairy chores changed. Men and boys began to do many of the winter chores, relieving women of some of the winter drudgery. Children still joined the work force as soon as they were able to do simple chores. Everyone helped with the milking. Art Borgmann, Sauk Centre, said t e children in his family began helping in the barn by feeding calves; they progressed to feeding cows, then to milking. Bill Vouk, St. Stephen, said when farm familes had fewer than six or seven cows the women did the milking, but with twenty or so everybody pitched in. William Cooper, Watkins, said his youngest sister was the best milker in the family.

New Technology-New Chores

As families "turned to dairying" after 1900, they began adopting new farm technology. The most important new development was the use of the cream separator, a machine invented in 1878. Cream separators gave farmers a reliable means of separating cream and skim milk at home and eliminated the backbreaking task of hauling whole milk to creameries. The only drawback of cream separators was their need to be washed after each use–a painstaking chore which was added to the work load of farm women and children.

Farm families also started to use milking machines. Available after about 1905, the machines were reputed "to take the place of a hired hand" and to "save from sixteen to fifty-eight man-hours a year per cow." Jerome Pfau, Freeport, said his family bought three Sharpless brand milking units in 1920. They were powered by a batteryoperated home power plant. Gerhard Gamradt, Sauk Centre, talked about his family turning to milking machines in 1926, then milking again by hand during the Great Depression. Their unit was powered with an electric plant powered by the wind. When the wind didn't blow, they used batteries.

Milking machines eliminated hand milking but increased the farm women's work load in another way. Every day the machines and separators had to be taken apart for washing. Clara Jenc, Sauk Centre, said washing the dairy equipment was always women's work. Sometimes she hated the work, but as she got older and did fewer farm chores, it became a way of remaining useful.

Ceil Salzl, St. Martin, said the men of her family left immediately after milking to work in the fields or woods, so the women had to wash the dairy equipment: "They were like the dishes in the house, only this was done in the milk room." Children, especially girls, often assumed this chore when they were old enough. They also fed skim milk mixed with grain to the hogs, and they fed hay to the cows and gathered them home for milking. Even very small children liked to dip milk out of cans to take to the house for cooking, baking, and drinking.