Adda F. Howie

Adda F. Howie (1852–1936) was an American agriculturalist known for her achievements in the field of dairy farming, including her innovative methods of caring for livestock, which emphasized cleanliness and nurturing.

[1] Howie was born Addie Johnston in 1852 and grew up on Sunny Peak Farm in Elm Grove, Wisconsin.

She believed that the care and nurture a cow was given had a positive effect on its productivity, and was known to hang lace curtains in her barns and play the mandolin for her herds.

[1][5][6] Critics of Howie dismissed her philosophy as eccentric and overly feminine, while proponents pointed to the health and yield of her herds as proof of the soundness of her methods.

At one point, Howie reportedly had that largest herd of Jersey cows in Wisconsin.