Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-10-27
Dairy Boards Of Trade and the Market
ing Of Dairy Products.
AT the recent session of the Matt,


At the recent session Of the National Ag.
ricultural Congress al the Centennial
Grounds, Philadelphia, Mr.. X. A. Willard
referred to the markets and marketing in his
address on "Americau Dairying," Of which
the following is an abstract
One great feature belonging to the dairy
and which givos dairymen an immense advan.
tage over other farmers is an organized sys.
tenn of marketing The system was COM
menced at Little Falls, N. Y, in 1S60-'6l
buyers and sellers meeting on certain days
OF the week in the open street to make tran
sactons flor the business was then done in
the open air by the sdOs Of the wagons)
an attempt has recently been mado by GER
tain parties to falsify the truth Of history by
representing that the first effort to establish
"sales days" or a country cheese market was
made at Utica, N. Y, in 1870.
There is scarcely dairyman in the state
Of New York but is familiar with the fact
that Little Falls had regular weekly mar
ket or "sales days" ten years previous TO
1871 aud one where millions Of pounds Of
cheese were sold annually. What, then
must we think of those who claim that the
first regular "sales day" Of the country &C.
Cured at Utica in 1871.
On some market days at Little Falls pre-.
vious to 1864 several hundred farmers have
been in the streets near the railroad depot,
each with his wagon loaded with cheese,
boxed and marked with his name, while some
twenty or more buyers were scattered among
them and passing from wagon to wagon
some from New York. Boston, Philadelphia,
Baltimore and other cities, with an occasional
shipper from England-could be seen exam.
lining, boring testing, smelling and making
bids for the load.
In 1864 the frst weekly report of the Lit
tie Falls Market, then and now the largest
interior dairy market in the world began to
be made, and since 1868 the Rural New
Yorker has made q speciality in reporting
that market.
Previous to 1864 farmers relied on city
quotations. which were sometimes thought
7 thought to be 10 merchants favor. But il
was not until the early part of 1871 that a
"Dairy Board Of Trade" was organized
though the project was agitated in Little
Falls in 1869 aud earlier. Here, as in the
origin Of the dairy movement as a specially
Herkimer county took the initiative, estab
fishing a"Dairymen's Board Of Trade" under
the name of the "New York State Dairy
mems Association aud Board of Trade"
Soon after publishing and sending ou
circulars giving the plan of organization ant
the rules and machinery by which it was t.
be governed, the dairymen Of Oneida Count,
took copy and also established "Dairymen'
Board Of Trade" at Utica. The plan spreac
to other sections, and now many dairy cen
ters in New York and other states have the
Dairy Boards Of Trade, at which merchant
and sellers meet on regular days Of the weel
for the transaction of business in dairy goods
The telegraph is here brought into requisitiol
and sellers 60 upon the market knowing
something of the demand and the price OF
both sides of the Atlantic. At the interio
markets competition often runs high anC
merchants sometimes complain that margin
are narrow and money not so easily made a
when the goods we're bought at the factor,
on city quotations. BE this as it may, tn
dairymen now have sort of commercia
education. They study the markets, bot
home and foreign, and they judge when it i
: best to realize on their goods.
, shrInkage In VnIues-The Outlook.
The shrinkage in value on nearly a
kinds of property during 1876 has been vel
considerable. Real estate has deprecatc
> from 25 to 30 per cent, and in seine loci
tions even more. The fall in cotton goo
aud in some other manufactures has be-
very great. The value of nearly all our a
g ricultural products is below the range of II 81
! and it is not surprising under the pressure
the times, that dairy goods should have be,
: comparatively low. But even under Il
y darkest phase Of the situation the outlook
dairyiug is by no means discouragng. i
IS deed, there is no class Of farmers better
u to-day than the dairymen. They have so
Q their goods from month to month and fro
q week to week for cash, and their goods ha
!, found ready market and gone into &C
IL sumption, while other products have be
% slow Of sale even at greatly reduced rates.
d The European demand has been fully eqr
D. to our surplus and exports keep values up
Z gold basis. 1t is true prices have be
q comparatively low, but not nearly SO low
's they were years ago, when dairymen tou
IL not uluculu 10 amhss lOTtuues III tue pu
10 ness.
= The one hopeful sign for our increas
II production is that English production is (
creasing, while the increase Of population
our cities and towns calls more and more
additional supplies of fresh butter and chez
for home consumption.
or That we are not overproducing is proved
r. the free disposal of the entire products
Sc the dairy from year to year. Very likely
the make was less prices would advance,
ey the values realized on account of scare
at would press heavily upon the masses, v
49, for the most part find it hard "to make
lst ends meet" from year to year. Is it not
Ter ter that the people have cheap food "
iis moderate gains to the producer than t
1t they should suffer for want Of food or
ses compelled to buy sparingly at high pr
lis that the producer may grow suddenly riC
Of. Many dairymen Of late years have negleC
he the economies of dairying, and it is the wi
ed and extravaganza that pinches harder t
to the low pr ices.
Q lie who can cut off waste and be conten
lis, with moderate gains will see a silver lii
nc to the cloud Gf indeed there be a clio