Cheese production for the province peaked in 1900 at 4,431,739 pounds. This figure was not to be surpassed until 1970. Butter production in 1900 was 572,726 pounds, considerably below the peak production ofthe 1950’s and 1960’s. It took between ten and eleven pounds of milk to make a pound ofcheese in 1902. Twenty to twenty—four pounds of milk were required to make a pound of butter. The Kensington and Emerald cheese factories were ranked first and fourth in production for all factories in the province in 1902, while the Dunk River Creamery produced the greatest amount of butter. These figures suggest Freetown was in the center of a major dairy farming region.

Dairy production decreased after 1900 for a period of years. A drought in 1903 cut production severely. However, by 1904 the monthly milk cheque was arriving at farm homes with dairy herds growing larger. Improvement in dairy stock was gradual but most dairy breeds had purebred breeders on P.E.I. by 1910. Stewart Cairns of Freetown was a purebred breeder for the Ayrshire breed in that year. Mr. Cairns sold one of his Ayrshire cattle to the Dominion Research Station in Charlottetown around 1915. He was considered one of the prime breeders in the province in his time. Other purebred dairy breeds in 1910 were Shorthorn, Holstein, Guernsey and Jersey.

In 1909 and 1910 after some years of decline, there was a revival in the dairy industry on P.E.l. The Island had a low average production per cow when compared to other dairy herds in Canada. This was considered a weak point for the industry in 1910. Another problem observed by J.A. Ruddick, Dairy and Cold Storage Commissioner was the small number of cows per herd. This combined with poor production was attributed as the reason for the decline between 1900 and 1908. There was also a lack of knowledge on how to feed dairy cattle and how to store the milk. To improve the situation, dairy farmers in 1910 were encouraged to keep records of individual cows, keep the heifers from only the best cows, avoid the “scrub” bull, give the cows succulent feed even during their dry cycle and finally to keep up the body heat and protect the cattle from inclement weather.

Freetown Milk Haulers

To Kensington Dairying Co. - Bert MacKay, Clinton Aloysuis Greenan, Newton Sterling Andrews, Freetown

To Emerald Dairying Co. — John Paynter, Freetown Eustace Reeves, Freetown

To Dunk River Dairying Co. - Frank Deacon, Freetown Roy Hill, Freetown Basil Taylor, Freetown Elton Cairns, Freetown George Matthews, Freetown

Douglas and Ralph Neill, North Bedeque

Aloysuis Greenan, Newton Note: there may be others but further information was not available.

To Amalgamated Dairies Ltd.

omestead.