The Grit-advocate., 1906-06-29
THE REAL VALUE OF MILK.
Argum to Show That the Butter
Fat 1t Contains Should DetaF-
mine Its Worth.

Much is written and said against
fat standard for milk. and as To the
advisability of buying and selling milk
on its fat value. Most of the oDpos!-
tion comes from those who are not
practical milk producers. and from
breeders of low-testing breeds of cat
tie. Just for an illustration of what
this method can accomplish and as
proof to sustain it, We will give. says
Country Gentleman. the results found
in some sections of New York within
the past few weeks, all of them in
places where there is large patronage.
AT one place. with patronage OF
81. where five years ago. when the fat
test was introduced, not ten per cent.
Of the cows would show four per cent.
of fat, at present of the 81 patrons only
| eight have milk under four per cent.
and the weigh sheet shows that. with
| an increase of nearly one per cent. in
fat, there is little if any difference in
the amount Of milk produced per COW.
The facts at this plant are true of the
Others. On the other hand, We have
| found other plants with about the
same patronage that are still on the
lowest limit Of fat, where they bave
been and still are paying SO much per
100 pounds, regardless of fat, and their
milk sheets do not show very much
If any greater yield of milk per cow.
This is an object lesson to any pro-
gressive dairyman, and ought to be
sufficient evidence in favor OF the fat
| Al - sole pf
If it necessitated the outlay Of large
amounts of money or any great trou-
Bile, it might be reasonable to say that
1t would not pay to build up herds
that would test four per cent. and bet
ter But this is not necessary. All
that one has to do is simply to do in
dividual testing, and weed out all cows
that run low in fat. Having done this,
you have accomplished what We are
advocating; and one will never know
where the cost of the change comes
in. No one will maintain at this date
that the food to produce four to five
per cent. of fat in milk costs any more
than that which produces from three
to four per cent. Besides, it does make
a dairyman feel rather ashamed when
the months prices come out, to find
that his milk has brought him perhaps
95 cents to 81 per 100 pounds, while
his neighbor may take S1.10 to Sl.15;
and when that ratio of difference pre-
walls on the thousands of pounds deliv-
cred in month, it amounts to quite a
sum, as compared with the sale of a
single 100 pounds.
No one will dispute that in the sale
of almost any other commodity, and
especially SO in everything except
foods, We never consent to sell other
than on the basis of quality, and we
are satisfied that none of those who
are opposing the fat-test proposition
would consent to buy or sell anything
else as they demand milk should be
sold-that is, all qualities at the same
price, which method is one that can
not encourage anyone to the doing OF
better work. We have never found a
single instance where the fat-test plan
of purchase has not raised the quality.
To carry the reasoning farther and
illustrate the unfairness Of selling all
qualities at one price, how many men
can be found who will sell a horse
or cow for a price that one man may
have sold an inferior one for-or still
more to the point, sell each for SO
much per 100 pounds?
We know of one company that han
died milk in the year 1905 to the
amount Of more than 100000, all
which was purchased on the plan of so
much per 100 pounds, regardless of fat,
and we are quite sure that very little
If any dividends were paid to the
stockholders, to whom 1t was great
! mystery that on that large business
something could not be made beyond
the expense of operation. The loss
came from the fact that every month
they took in thousands of pounds Of
milk for which they paid much more
than its actual value in either butter
or cheese, and it took from the profit
made on the good milk (of which they
had considerably SO much to level up
the poor quality that there was moth
ing left for dividends on the stock of
the company. Does anybody really
want to do business on that plaa, or
ask other people to do so?
DAIRY WISDOM.
Never allow the milk to SOur in the