Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1912-07-26
CONDITIONS DEMAND
MUCH BETTER MILK
High Priced Grain and Rouqhaqe
Make Higher Price to Farmers
Essential.

Essential.
Dry weather, poor pasturage, high
priced grain foods and the scarcity
of good dairy cows have caused a
shortage in the supply of milk in the
northwestern part of this State. Buff
falo milk dealers are finding it diff
cult to secure enough milk to supply
their regular customers.
In recent interview John ]. Cough
lin, Buffalo agent of the State De-
partment of Agriculture, said: "a
shortage in the milk supply threatens
to result in rise in prices if cond-
tons do not quickly improve. Every
milk dealer in the city is having diff
ficulty in getting enough milk to fill
his orders. Lack of rain, resulting in
dried up pastures and the high prices
of feeding materials. such as corn,
bran and middlings, is the cause. Far
mers are unable to buy anywhere near
as much grain as they ought at this
time of the year.
"The farmers say they cannot sell
milk at the price they have been get
ting with feeding materials so high.
In order to meet the demand under
the circumstances it is necessary to
spend large amounts of money for
grain to take the place of the failing
pasturage, and that cannot be done
without an increase in price.
"Other contributory causes are the
so-called powdered milk plasts, con.
densaries, cheese factories and cream
cries. These plants make heavy in
roads into the supply that should
come into the city. In many cases
farmers are seriously handicapped by
the lack of hired help. We are doing
all in our power to meet the demands
made upon the bureaus, but we can
not anywhere near fill the requests
that are made of us every day. So
many of the young people of the coun-
try seem to want to come to the cities
that thousands of acres of good agri,
cultural land is not being profitably
worked ~ 81
~, have never known such a lslert-
age in the milk supply for the last
twenty years, and | cannot see how
the present prices can be maintained
for another month. said John Nv.
Dodds. manager of the Buffalo Milk
Bottle Exchange on Tuesday morn
ing. "The cause is the poor pastur-
age, due to lack of rains and the price
of grain. Grain is nowy25 per cent
higher than it was year ago. This
has resulted in the farmers selling
off their cows, simply because they
cannot afford to keep them for the low
milk rates they are getting. - 1
There is only one solution tot the
problem, and that.is Buffalo people
will have to pay more for .theirS milk.
Milk is selling for seven. cents a, Quart
in4 this. city and lin Detroit SJJHTne
cents. New York and I. philadelphia
for nine cents and up, and in Roches-
ter and Toronto for eight cents. This
is the flush month of the year for milk
and yet there are many dealers who
do not know where they are going
to get the product to meet the de-
mands.
when firms like the Merrill, Soule
Company, the Bordens and the Rich
ardson-Beebe Company, having sever
al collecting stations with a radius of
thirty miles of Buffalo, take in as
much as 100000 pounds of milk day
that does not come into the city, it
is not to be wondered at that the sup
ply is low."-Arthur E. Raymond,
Lackawanna, n. Y. 81.