During World War I rising demand and higher prices paid for dairy products by the United States government vigorously stimulated interest in commercial marketing and winter dairying. The government asked farmers to produce the "Food that would win the war," and farmers realized the potential national and international market."

A New Face for the Dairy Farm

Farm architecture reflected the new interest in production. New, larger farm buildings appeared in Stearns County, changing both dairy farm life and the rural landscape. Silos provided prolonged storage without spoilage for corn, grass, legumes, and other plant stalks, and they were easier to fill than barns. Dairy herd size could be adjusted to the production of hay and pasture and to the storage of winter feed. Farmers could carry more cattle over winter. By 1922 there were 1,200 silos in Stearns County. Substantial new dairy barns, often designed by Farm Bureau or county extension agents (people who worked in counties as advisors, representing university "ag" schools), offered huge storage, up-to-date milking facilities, and individual stalls and stanchions for cows. Barn dances were often held in new barns before they were used. All the friends, neighbors, and relatives who had helped with the construction were invited. Music was provided by local people who played musical instruments. Children were included in the festivities.

As farm structures, machinery, and operations became larger and more commercial, work roles became more clearly defined by gender and age. Men and older boys operated the large machines and conducted business in town. Women and older girls and children worked long days as before, but usually at lighter tasks.

Rural Electricity

Rural electricity did more than anything else to alleviate the work load for farm families. People on the East Coast had had electric power since the late 1800s. It spread quickly across the United States into larger cities and gradually into small cities and rural towns, but it was not cost effective for private utility companies to extend lines into rural areas. The Rural Electrification Administration Program (REA), legislated by Congress in 1936, was designed specifically to make electricity available to all rural areas. Rural electric cooperatives were formed, and electricity became available to farmers in Stearns County after August 1938, when the Stearns County Cooperative Electric Association organized in Melrose.

Rural electricity relieved farm families of the drudgery of hand milking, milking with battery- or wind-powered milking machines, and carrying water to livestock. Electrically powered sanitation and sterilization equipment improved safety and health. Farm families could work, read, play, and children could study by electric rather than lantern light.

Time spent on milking chores was cut 45 percent, requiring fewer laborers. Electric coolers and dry refrigeration reduced the rapid multiplication of bacteria that soured milk. Heaters and water pumps provided running water for washing equipment, and water, fresh and cool, was always at hand for drinking. There were more than 200 uses for electricity on the farm by 1947 . Winnifred Claude, Sauk Centre, said, "Electricity made us feel we were as good as town people. We could have running water and a bathroom too."

Electricity and refrigeration also added to the enjoyment of family social life. "On the first evening we had power," said Robert Imdieke, Elrosa, "we had homemade sherbet that my mother made. We thought more of the refrigerator than the stove because we just never had cool or frozen food on the farm before."