Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1908-11-20
DAlRYlNG IN MINNESOTA
Increase Caused by Loyalty
Of Farmers to Cooper
alive Creameries

The year book of the United States
department of agriculture for 1907
contains the Investigation made by
the dairy division into butter fat
prices. which is of much interest to
the people of this section inasmuch as
dairyinR is one of the principal
.The investigations show that the CO.
lucrative creamery yields the largest
retnrns to the farmer for his butterfat.
The individual and combination
creamerles, usually being located in
cloee competition with the cooperative
creameries, pay very nearly as much.
The centrallzers. where they have
gained a monopoly, pay as little as
fhe,farmer will accept.
-Ranorts for July, 1907, show that in
Kansas and Nebraska. where the
monopoly appears to be complete, the
famers received only TIC to 18c a
nonnd for their butterfat, while in
nmrthern Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin
ana, Illinois, where the cooperative
creamerles have the field, the prices
were from csc to 26c. The methods Of
thas centralizers are sometimes very
renrehensible. Where these concerns
have come into competition with
small creameries, they have raised
their prices to q point that made 1t
imn0ssible for the small concerns to
continue, and have thus forced the
latter out of business
Competition having been destroyed
and a monopoly secured, the prices
na1d the farmers were lowered. The
large concerns operating over great
territorv. with here and there COM
netitor that they wished to put out of
hnsiness would In one locality raise the
nrice paid above that possible to pay
with profit and at other places
decrease that price so little as not to
he anparent and more than offset the
loss. This ability to destroy competi.
tion without inflicting selflnjury has
been used effectively in many
localities.
The system of killing the small
creameries has been carried on to the
full extent in southern Iowa, Missouri
Kansas and Nebraska. Taking Kansas
as an illustration it is found the mum.
her of creameries declined from 1873 in
1900 to 81 in 1905 while in Minnesota
in the same period there was an
increase from 582 to 9O5. The decrease
in Kansas is attributed to dlssatisfac-
ton and distrust on the part Of the
farmer with the central creamery to
the low prices paid, the poor quality
of butter. the killing of small
ceamerles, and the loss of all I'M
mediate contact between the farmer
and the owner of the business. The
increase in Minnesota can be accounted
for by just the reverse set of condi-
tions.
The loss of Kansas farmers during
the last year on account OF the low
prices alone is estimated at 81, O00,-
900, If Kansas had churned 5O,O00,-
600 pounds of butter, as 1t should,
instead of 1900. 600. the income Of
the state would have been. on the
same basis OF valuation, at least $12,-
600, 5000 greater than 1t is for the
present year, and there would have
been no less wheat. corn, alfalfa, beef,
nork or any other crop raised. The
reason why Kansas is not on par
with Minnesota. Iowa. and other great
dairy states IS because the industry
has been promoted from the centralizer
standpoint and not tor the interests OF
the farmer. :,
Fifteen years ago Kansas and
Minnesota stood nearly equal with
regard to the creamery industry.
Now Minnesota is not only far ahead
in volume of production, but the
Minnesota farmer gets &c to &c a
pound more for butterfat than does the
Kansas farmer. What has been said
of Kansas applies In general also to
Missouri, southern Iowa and
Nebraska. Register.