Babcock Butterfat Tester

Dairy Industry / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Dane County / Madison / Industry / Wisconsin Made / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / Babcock Butterfat Tester / 1945-1965 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 7 - South Center

OBJECT HISTORY: Babcock Ice Cream Carton

Ice cream has been a delicacy for hundreds of years, but in the last century, Wisconsin has come to be considered home to some of the world’s best ice cream. Babcock Hall, established in 1951, has contributed to this reputation, establishing ice cream as a symbol both of Wisconsin’s dairy farming past and its appeal…

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October 15, 2018

Agriculture / Dairy Industry / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Dane County / Madison / Industry / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Babcock Butterfat Tester / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center

OBJECT HISTORY: Babcock Butterfat Tester

The Babcock butterfat test, developed at the University of Wisconsin, provided a simple, accurate, and inexpensive way to assess milk quality and to pay farmers accordingly. By improving standards and rewarding the best milk producers, the Babcock butterfat test transformed the dairy industry in the United States and set Wisconsin firmly on the path to…

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December 1, 2013

Agriculture / Dairy Industry / Health & Medicine / Education / Dane County / Madison / Industry / Science & Technology / Related Stories / Curators' Favorites / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Babcock Butterfat Tester / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center

How Does a Babcock Tester Work?

Simplicity, Simplicity, SimplicityIn 1890, few farmers had ever taken a science class, and even if they understood the potential benefit, most lacked the cash to pay an expert for laboratory testing. Babcock’s great accomplishment was to develop a powerful, reliable test that was simple…

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December 1, 2013

Agriculture / Dairy Industry / Education / Food & Cooking / Dane County / Madison / Industry / Related Stories / Curators' Favorites / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Babcock Butterfat Tester / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center

The Babcock Tester and the Wisconsin Idea

Free As Well WaterIn 1894 Adolph Schoenman of Plain, Wisconsin, published a booklet extolling the virtues of the Babcock butterfat test. In a parable explaining its benefits, an astonished Farmer Jones exclaims, “Isn’t that a dandy little machine, though? I suppose, of…

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December 1, 2013

Agriculture / Dairy Industry / Health & Medicine / Education / Dane County / Madison / Industry / Science & Technology / Related Stories / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Babcock Butterfat Tester / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center

The Men Behind the Butterfat Test

The “Real” InventorAlthough Stephen M. Babcock has been immortalized for his work on the butterfat test that received his name, it was not really his idea. The Babcock test was originally conceived by the forgotten man of the dairy industry, Frederick Garland Short. Short,…

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December 1, 2013

Agriculture / Dairy Industry / Education / Industry / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / Manufacturing & Trade / Babcock Butterfat Tester / Region 4 - Center / Region 6 - South West / Region 7 - South Center / Region 8 - South East

Becoming the Dairy State

The Decline of WheatFrom 1840 to 1880, Wisconsin produced about one-sixth of the nation’s wheat. But soil depletion, insect infestations, plant disease and competition from other states lowered Wisconsin yields and eroded profits. By 1880, wheat supremacy had passed westward to Minnesota…

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December 1, 2013