The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1904-03-15

on the first page of your issue OF
March 1 an article in reference to the
creamery interests of Seattle. 1t
might not be amiss to give the readers
of your valuable paper some informa-
ton in regard to the future of the
dairy industry in western Washing
ton. The writer is not sanguine by
any means as to the future of the
creamery industry in western Wash
ington unless the creameries can Sc
cure considerable more cream at lower
rates. In the east the large cream
cries pay on a basis of Elgin or New
York market, as it may suit their
shipping interests. In any event, they
do not pay any overrun, which is most
certainly correct, as the Overrun con-
sists primarily of water and salt, which
is not the product of the farmer at
ALL They invariably pay at least 2
to cents under the market for butter
fat. In most instances they secure
much better grade of cream than we
do in the west, as the farmers take so
much better care of the cows, the man
ner in which the cream is shipped,
and it is shipped oftener than in Wash
ington.
No doubt the gentleman who in
formed you in reference to the prices
that we pay for butter fat thought he
was correct, but it happens the state
ment which you published is one OF
our own, and we refer to our books
and find that every pound OF cream
which the dairyman from Dem1ng
shipped us came to us when we were
selling our fancy Meadow Brook brand
for % cents. We paid him 26 cents
and 10 per cent Overrun for butter
fat. This leaves us margin OF cents
and 6 per cent oVerrun, which amounts
to about 1 IL cents, and gives us
gross profit at the creamery OF 312
cents. There is absolutely no money
in any butter house handling butter
for less than ~ cents per pound.
This leaves margin OF cents Tor
the expenses Of manufacturing, inter-
est on the investment of at least $4,000,
wear and tear on cans, which we must
furnish the farmers and which means
to us a great expense not only in the
purchase of new cans to replace old
ones, but also the expense OF hauling
cans from the station to the creamery.
There is not a day but that we muST
pay from So to SO, and as high as "a,
for drayage on cans. The result is
that there is no creamery in the city
of Seattle which pays expenses. Were
it not for the fact that every butter
house is compelled to make Washing
ton creamery in order to sell other
brands there would not be any butter
made in the city at the present prices.
We have referred the article in ques-
ton to our Mr.. Saintmeyer, who is
undoubtedly we'll known to every
cream shipper in this state. In his
criticism of the article he stated that
on January % we notified the farmers
that the price of butter in the Seattle
market was % cents. Some OF this
butter we are obliged to sell at
reduction so that it does not accumu-
late. In the facts given by the dairy
man he estimates on the basis OF 1874
per cent overrun, which is at least IA
per cent better than we can get.
We realize that oftentimes the farm
er is deluded into the mistaken idea
that the creameries are making bar
rel of money off the farmer. AS mat
ter of fact, Seattle pays the highest
price for butter fat of any place in the
United States, and were it not for the
fact that at certain seasons of the year
+baro hoe hoau an ODOOrtunitV for