The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1905-12-22
THE COST or W.
MILK Nj ON
Quality Has Heretofore Been the
Chief Aim Of Dairy .
Educators. e:
Reduction Of the Cost of Pr0duc.
ton is the Next Great Step
Forward. .

Educational agencies are neces-
sary in the promotion Of any in
dustry and dairying is no exception.
The wonderful growth and develop
men of the dairy industry in the
Northwestern states can be attri-
buted largely to the campaign of
education which has been waged
since the Inauguration Of the
modern creamery. This campaign
has known no abatement. Those
influences which have promulgated
this education are even now exert
ing greater ACTIVITY than ever be-
fore.
It is a we'll known fact that what
ever educational work has been done
has been largely Of character
calculated to improve the quality Of
our dairy products. The farmer
has been urged to produce milk and
cream of better quality, and tho
way has been repeatedly pointed out
to him. He has been taught that
poor milk or cream will make poor
butter or cheese, and that he will
consequently receive q lower price
for his raw material. The butter
and the cheece maker has been
urged to adopt those methods. which
would secure good, uniform quality
in the product from his factory.
Dairy schools have been maintained
at the expense Of the state to outfit
him for, making better butter or
cheese. Thousands and hundreds
of thousands OF dollars have been
expended in carrying on the inspec-
ton of creameries, cheese factories
and diaries and the constant aim has
been to promote quality, quality,
quality.
The writer would not discourage
any. movement calculated to inn
prove the quality of our dairy pro-
ducts. On the other hand he has
been for several years ectively
identified in contributing toward this
movement for constant improve
ment; but let us pause and consider
whether we are all on the right
track. Are we expanding our
energies wholly in one direction
In continually expanding our forces
toward improvement in quality
are We best serving those interests
which we wish to promoter
The patron has been accused Of
being slow to adopt better methods
in his dairy, and yet he has made
greater improvement in regard to
quality than in any other line Of
his work. He has been taught to
regard quality above everything
else.
The writer is not ready to contend
that thus far in the development of
the industry the campaign has been
misdirected. But have we not
reached a period when our energies
should be divided between improve
ment in other lines as we'll as in
quality9 Let US consider the cost
of production. The patron has not
been educated to consider this item
with sufficient care and to accord it
sufficient Importance.
Careful experiments have de-
monstrated wide difference be-
tween the cost of producing a
pound of butterfat in different
dairies. These same experiments
have also proven the wide differ
ence in cost in producing pound
of butterfat with different cows.
We may accept it as fact that the
selling price of the finished product
is always more uniform than the
cost of production.
One dairyman may be producing
butter at cost of ten cents per
pound while his neighbor may be
producing butter to be sold on the
same market cost OF twenty cents
per pound. In the management Of
any business, the greatest losses are
most liable to occur where they are
not easily discernible. If the
1esme1y or the cheese factory is
not able to return the HIGHEST price