The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1906-03-29
The Creamery
To The Pioneer;

To The Pioneer;
| i have just returned from a trip in
Minnesota. During my stay.I visited
the thriving town of Glencoe, Mcleod
county, about fifty miles southwest of
Minneapolis on the Milwaukee Ry.
While there I visited the farmers
creamery at that place and was great
surprised to see the farmers conc to
the creamery with their milk this is a
whole milk creamery. In most cases
the farmers bring the milk to the
creamery and wait for it to be separ-
ated and then take the skinned milk
home with them. l did not learn how
many patrons they had but there we're
teams coming and going for nearly
three hours and some of the time as
many as twenty teams were waiting.
The conditions were somewhat differ
ent than those seen at the Hope
creamery. I talked with several of
the farmers as to what they thought
of the ~dairying business and all
seemed enthusiastic on the subject and
said that it had proved the most
profitable branch of farming for them.
Their farms are small,''a great many
of them not larger than eighty acres
and from that up to 100. There are
but few that have 100 acres but with
very few exceptions they are doing
we'll. Nearly all of them are out of
debt and have comfortable farm build
ings, and have money in the bank.
Several years ago when they first
started their creamery they ran up
against the same proposition that we
are up against here at this time, and
they, like many of our farmers here,
thought that the creamery was a fail
ure, but there were enough who had
sufficient faith in the future of the
creamery to put their shoulder to the
wheel and push it along until today
they have n of the largest farmers
creameries in the state of Minnesota.
Mcleod county is a small county
having only fourteen townships in it,
and in those fourteen townships there
are thirteen farmers creameries and
all doing a good business. / had a
good talk with Mr.. Thaney who is
cashier of the FIRST National Bank and
also secretary of the creamery. He
showed me his books. From Jan. Isl
1905 to Jan. LIST 1906 the creamery had
paid to its patrons the sum of $50,
600. 90 in cash for butter fat. The
books also showed that one farmer
has in that time received for butter fat
81, 500. 90 or an average of $l25.0O per
month for the entire year. There are
many more that have a very high
average for the same length Of time.
In my talk with Mr.. Simmons, the
president of the bank, [ asked him
about the business he did in chatte.
loans and he replied that they die
very little business in that line anC
that he knew of only two or three
farmers in that vicinity to whom he
would not willingly loan all the money
they might need on their bare notes.
all they wanted to know was if they
MIXED COWS and how many.
1 saw but few advantages that those
farmers have over us in dairying
There are some of course but these
can be overcome to a great extent
One disadvantage here is the price
of butter fat. There they get New
York prices which is impossible here
on account of a lack of sufficient bus
mess. Three cents under that price
is the best our creamery can do a
the present and will continue SO unit
the business increases. An advant
age down there is the fact that they
can raise timothy and clover hay
which we cannot do very we'll just nov
but l believe the time will soon come
when we can, and in the meantime We
can raise other crops to take theil
places.
One thing that surprised me was te
learn that where 1 had expected to fine
high grade and full blooded dairy
COWS I found just such COWS as we
farmers have here, except that the
farmers. there, have been in the dairy
business longer and have been ~culline
out and selling the poor ones anc
keeping the best, but I failed to fine
one farmer in the community that haC
a herd Of thorobred dairy COWS, ye
the farmers say that dairying has
made the county what it is.
What they have done we can do i.
will only put our shoulders to the
wheel and all push together. We car
make our creamery a success if we
will, and the day will come when We
will be glad we kept it alive.-A pa
tron of the Hope Creamery.