Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1913-07-29
COOPERATIVE DAIRYING
STUDIES In GERMANY
By Members of the AmGri
can Commission

erations of cooperative dairy society
have been studied here by sub-com-
mittee of the American Commission on
Agricultural Cooperation.
Members of the society own in all
about 25O cows Each member is re-
quired to own at least cows and to
take at least one share of stock, cost
ing $500. However, many of the
members own more than the required
two cows, and purchase one share Of
stock for each 2 cows. One of the
members who received the commits
sioners owned 80 COWS and $50 worth
of stock.
The milk of the members is brought
each day to the dairy by the members
themselves. The dairy is operated to
make a small profit, but this margin
is simply a guard against losses and
not means to pay dividends to the
members. At the present time the So
ciety has not paid off the mortgages
on it's buildings and so the profits, al.
ter a portion are placed in a reserve
fund, are paid as interest and princi-
pal on these loans. Members of the
dairy receive cash for their milk from
the dairy. 1t is bought according t.
the percentage of butter fat which i;
contains. The buttermilk and skim
med milk is returned to the farmers
for sheese-making and food for hogs.
In another village the commissioners
saw a cooperative dairy where the
hogs were kept by the society, and
where cheese was manufactured.
Because of superior quality of butter
made at the cooperative dairy, as
compared to butter made on the farms,
the price, obtained for cooperative
butter averages about Is per cent
above the market price. The cost OF
making price. The cost of making is
siderably reduced so that the increased
returns to the members are satisfac-
tory Dealers in butter are required
to pay a local tax, but because of the
cooperative and non-profit seeking
character of this dairy, no tax is re-
quired, unless the dairy wishes to
purchase milk from outside farmers
All members of the dairy are required
to supply all of their milk, not requir-
ed for use at home, to the cooperative
dairy.
The manager Of the dairy, who ap-
peared before the commissioners, said
that his salary was $3.50 a year, with
a free house, free butter and milk al
lowed Yet he was a trained dairY-
man and a graduate of one of the Ger
man dairy schools He told the COM
mission something of these schools ia
which the Germans place great store.
In every German town there is one
school, in which dairying is taught.
When the children are fourteen years
old, if they have decided to become
dairy farmers they enter this school.
The children are set at their work ev
en- at an earlier age for they must re-
ceive preliminary training at a dairy
before they enter the school. There
is one pupil at the cooperative dairy
preparing himself to enter the darcy
school, 1t is not, of course, child la
Dor, but simply vocational education
carried on in connection with other
school training. The efficiency of the
German agriculturalists and artisans
is believed to rest largely upon this
training, though from the American
standpoint objection might be made to
it On the ground that to train a child
to manual labor from so early an age
is apt to create classes within a coun-
try.
The Importance of the cooperative
credit societies in the development of
other cooperative enterprises was
made readily apparent to the COM
missioners. The cooperative dairy
owns it's own land, but the building