Imperial Valley press., 1912-10-16

provided to keep the supply fairly con-
stant, that there must always be at
least a certain amount sent in, and no
excess beyond a given proportion,
which is usually 10 per cent. The Los
Angeles buyer, like the butter maker,
pays by the fat content, varies his
prices with the season, and regulates
the milk supply by having the price
fit the season and by the stipulation
that the dairyman send in all that his
cows produce.
Hay City Contracts
There are quite number of milk
distributors in the bay cities and the
contracts of these with the dairymen
may vary more or less. An average
contract calls for milk testing 3.4 or
SO per cent fat or better. To keep on
the safe side the fat generally runs
over SO per cent a little and will aver
age about 3.S per cent or better, since
standardize his milk just to the mark
on a contract like this.
The price paid normally is II cents
per gallon or thereabouts. If person
will figure this out on a 3S per cent
OASIS he Will ludl lhS udb II
gets practically 521a cents per pound
for the butter fat after the freight is
paid.
During the spring and early summer
months when the milk flow is aboun-
dant and butter prices down the dairy
man naturally sends in all the milk
that his contract will stand, for then
he is making good money. This makes
a surplus for the distributor and a lot
of freight and handling is charged up
for milk whose only value is in the
fat it contains, which is to be used
for butter making, and no one can
make butter at 50 cents a pound when
the quotation is about 25 cents. Even
the skim milk cannot be fed to hogs
and a big part of it runs off in the
sewer. BY such a waste of freight,
handling and the milk itself, money is
lost for either producer, distributor,
consumer. or all AT least the dairy
men and distributor could make a deal
that would be better than that for both
of them.
On the other hand, when green feed
becomes scant and the cows drop off
in milk the dairyman gets no more
than he did in tho spring, while prices
for butter making climb. That means
he is not getting as much for his milk
as he should and that ne sends in rs
little as his contract will stand, Since
this occurs AT a time in the year when
the cities are best populated and con
sumption of milk greatest. the dis
! tributor has to make a contract tha
| will bring him more than he want
/ in spring in order to get enough il
the fall and winter.
! really satisfactory contract shoulC
bring in approximately the amount .
! milk that would be required for the de
mand at all times and at prices fair to
| producer and distributor at the time o
! delivery. This the Los Angeles con
tract comes about as near to doing a
| could reasonably be expected.
| Los Angeles Contracts
For Los Angeles milk the dairymar
is paid, not by the gallon, but by the
| pound of fat, as is the butter dairy
man. Thus he gets the credit for al
| the fat his milk contains.
| The contract calls for four differen
prices, according to the time of year
From March to May, when fat is cheap
| est d. d ult, tHt pllCt 10 ~ CchlS
pound, from June to August so cents
from September to November 57H
cents The average prices, therefore
provided the same am ount of milk wa
sent in each day, would be approXi
mately 81 cents a pound of fat deliv
| cred in Los Angeles. and the variation
in the price is designed to keep tn
supply uniform. Merely in price ther
is little, if any, advantage to tn
outhern dairyman.
In another way he has a big advant
age and that is perfectly satisfactory t
| the distributor also. This comes in tn
method of paying by the fat content
not by the gallon. BY this system
| dairyman can separate nearly half hi
milk, mix the cream with the othc
half and ship it to the city and ge
as much for it as if he sent everythin:
along. He thus has sufficient milk t
raise all the calves he cares to keeI
and few hogs and chickens and thel
is saved the expense Of shipping a 10
| of milk to town.
Therefore, even if he gets no more L
! speak of for the fat in his milk thai
the northern dairyman, he pays mucl
ess freight to get that milk to tn
buyer and has some valuable skim mill
to boot
| 1t does not do to send in cream an
| call ii milk, but lots of cows give
per cent milk and better, and there i
no objection whatever to taking 3.
per cent milk and making or Z pc
cent milk from it.
4 Milk at the Creamery
At first glance it would appear tha
the creamery would get the worst o
deal like this, but creamery practic
prevents such a thing. Milk distribu
ton almost all over has been reduce,
to good business principles, and tn
| milk is standardized to a given amour
| of fat before it is sold If it is to,
| rich, separated milk is mixed with it
# it is too thin, cream is added. Thi
| gives the customer milk of uniform
| richness every day, whether the stand
ard be 3.5 or per cent fat, or what.
Automatically, so to speak, this ques
ton is adjusted. A big part of the bust
ness of any large creamery is fer swee
cream. That means that some milk ha
to be separated, and nearly always thi
is enough to dilute up overly rich mill
| and to leave a surplus. Only a part o
this surplus can be used to make but
| termilk, and SO on, and the differenc
I in the two systems Of contracts is tha
| where the average testing is sent il
| there is a big waste and trouble il
handling, and where rich milk is sen