Hoard, William Dempster (1836-1918)

US editor, dairyman, and politician. From 1870 he edited the weekly Jefferson County Union in Wisconsin where he speculated that dairying might be the answer for Wisconsin farmers with depleted soil. He founded the Jefferson County Dairyman's Association (1871) and the Wisconsin State Dairyman's Association (1872). He also introduced alfalfa and promoted such advances as silos and tuberculin tests for cattle. In 1885 he started Hoard's Dairyman, which gained an international circulation. He was elected governor of Wisconsin as the ‘Jersey Cow candidate’ (Republican, 1888-91) and established a state dairy and food commission.

He was born in Munnsville, New York, the son of a Methodist circuit rider, and learned dairying on his grandfather's farm. In 1857 he moved to Wisconsin, left the Methodist Church and turned to woodcutting, and teaching singing and violin. In 1861 he joined the Union army and participated in the capture of New Orleans.