Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-02-04
MAKE LESS BUTTER
Wapello County Exported Less in
1901 Than 1900.
LOCAL DEALERS GIVE EXPLANATION
Say the Drought of Past Summer Fig
ures as Cause for Shortaee-Loca
Consumers Demand for Product
Has Increased is Per Cent.

The 216,4S5 pounds of butter shipped
out of Wapello county during the year
1901 shows a considerable decrease
over the one previous, the figures for
that year being 1851 according to
the report of State Dairy Commissions
err Norton. This is true in spite of an
increase of 4,525,930 pounds for the
entire state. Some of the local butter
dealers have endeavored to find a rea-
son for this decrease and while it can
scarcely be attributed to any one cause
there are several things which in their
opinions have combined to bring about
this result.
Affected by the Drought.
The exceeding drought of the sum-
nler is one of the causes to which the
large decrease in the amuont of butter
shipped from this county during the
last year is attributed. The shortage
in the pasture during the summer cut
down the milk yield to such an extent
that it very materially affected the
amount of butter made in the county,
both by the farmers and the creamer-
les. In many cases the farmers, and
dairymen especially, began to feed
their herds during the month of July,
bet this seemed to have very little ef-
feet upon the amount of milk and but
ter yield. Said one of the local deal
els to a Courier representative with
regard to this point THE creameries
iii this vicinity have been unable to
make the usual amount of butter as it
has been impossible for them to secure
the necessary milk from the farmers
One of the creameries near this city,
during the year 1900, furnished me
with $1,000 worth of butter, last year
it furnished me with only$2 900. This ii
why the butter produced in Wapello
county has fallen off to such a con
siderable extent.
Local Demand Increased.
of The butter dealers of this city that
the demands made upon them during
the year 1901 by the retail trade have
increased considerably and may per
hars have had considerable inf1u
ence upon the amount of butter ship
ped from the county. 1t has been the
experience of many Of the retail deal
ers during the past year that a much
greater amount Of butter was needed
to supply the demands of their custo
mers than during the previous twelve
months. From the accounts of this
business kept by them it has been es
timated that in the city of Ottumws
alone there was an increase of Is pei
cent in the amount of butter consum
ed during the year 1901 over that O
1900.
New Process Butter.
Still another reason which may, per
haps. have affected the butter marke
of this county to a large extent is the
fact that a great deal of the butter
which was formerly handled by The
packers throughout the country is nov
being sent by the merchants to the
new process butter factories that have
within the past few years sprung III
in many places. Instead of the sur
plus butter from the grocers being
sent to the packers and re-ladled ant
sent to the eastern markets grca
Iortion is now shipped directly t.
these new process factories where i
is reduced to oil and being combined
with milk is re-churned. In this man
ner a fairly good guilty of butter is Sc
cured and this is shipped to the mark
cts. There being no such factory il
Ottumwa much of the surplus butter
which naturally would be brought t.
this city finds a market at otne
points.
Dairy Commissioners Report.
Dairy Commissioner Norton has re
Gently issued his annual report for tn
year 1901 which includes the butte
shipments out of Iowa for that period
There were 4,425,990 more pounds e1
ported from this state during tn
twelve months ending December, 1901