Wisconsin 101

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…

0 Comments

September 9, 2020

Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Dane County / Madison / Manufacturing & Trade / 1880-1900 / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center / Babcock Butterfat Tester

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…

0 Comments

September 9, 2020

Read more about the article How Does a Babcock Tester Work?

Grade-school children using a Babcock butter fat testing device, Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, c. 1915. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives.

Food & Cooking / Related Stories / 1880-1900 / Science & Medicine / Babcock Butterfat Tester

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…

0 Comments

December 1, 2013

Read more about the article The Babcock Tester and the Wisconsin Idea

Handlers exhibit the University dairy herd for students at the Farmers Course, UW Stock Pavilion, 1900-1920. Part of the Frank N. Campbell Slide Collection. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives.

Dane County / Madison / Education / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / 1880-1900 / Region 7 - South Center / Babcock Butterfat Tester

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…

0 Comments

December 1, 2013

Read more about the article The Men Behind the Butterfat Test

The men behind the butterfat test. Left: Portrait of Stephen Moulton Babcock, 1890-1899. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives. Right: Portrait of F.G. Short, 1890-1899. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives.

Education / Food & Cooking / Dane County / Madison / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / 1880-1900 / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center / Babcock Butterfat Tester

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,…

0 Comments

December 1, 2013

Read more about the article Becoming the Dairy State

A woman runs the milking operation at the G.L. Hamon dairy farm, Juda, Wisconsin, circa 1929. Image courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society, image ID 24439.

Food & Cooking / Related Stories / 1860-1880 / Manufacturing & Trade / Babcock Butterfat Tester

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…

0 Comments

December 1, 2013