The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1914-03-27
I arim And The
Butter Market


This years butter market is con-
undrum to the average creamery
man and the farmer Of the Pacific
Coaet. These are conditions which
puzzle mahy. All importations on
the Pacific Coast have ceased. East
ern markets are still getting imports
of Dutter.
The market today on the Pacific
Coast is not the result of foreign
butter. All Pacific Coast points
have discontinued importing butter,
yet the market continues to sag.
Seattle markets is 10 cents lower
than it was year ago at this time,
Notwithstanding this, such dairy
products as milk and cream remain
the same as one year ago. with ch "ese
cents per pound heigher.
Eggs are still brought into this
country from China, and yet the To-
cal egg market is 8 1-2 cents per
dozen higher than it was on March
10th, 1913. The outlook for eggs
are higher instead of lower.
Mary of the farmers have blamed
the cause to the present low price
OF butter to the tariff. ( If they will
investigate this matter further. they
will find this is not the cause of the
the present extremely low price OF
butter in the comparison to that of
eggs, milk and cheese. If the farm
er had established cooperative sell
ling associations to dispose Of his
eggs. the same ~ he has 70 dispose
his butter, he would come in corz-
petion with the city egg jobber and
would at the present time would be
getting smaller price for his eggs
the same as he is getting less today
for his cream since he went into the
cooperative creamery business.
During the past year creamery
supply men have been busy up and
down the Pacific Coast, working the
same game they worked on the farm
ers of Illinois, Iowa. Nebraska and
Kansas, they persuaded them to put
in cooperative creamervs, they have
unloaded CT eamery plants on the
farmers at from four to ten thous-
and dollars each. and which plants
can be furnished with the same
equipment for from two to three
thousand dollars. with much better
and brand new machinery than the
farmers received. They have in
duced the farmers to spend from
two to five times more in the cream
cry plant than it actually costs to
equip such a plant. They have
brought the farmor in competition
with his best friend.
The city crcameries have in the
past have maintained hiQh market
price up and down the Coast be-
cause it meant profit to them, He
conld bring in outside butter when
supply Of the local butter was short,
and could sell at profit. But since
the farmers went into the co-opera-
tive business Of selling butter, he
has come in direct competition with
his former city creamery. 1he but
ter maker, whom he has hired to man
age the plant. has been q butter
maker and not business man and
such business experience as be has
had being very limited. he has not
succeeded in selling the butter at
the high price which the farmer had
hoped he would. On the contrary,
the butter maker has come into the
cities Of San Francisco, Por tlaDd and
Seattle. He has attempted to sell to
the retailer direct and his principal
has been one to two cents per pound
less to the storekeepers than the city
much dissatisfaction and there was
and urgent and widespread demand
BY farmers, seedmon. nurserymen
and others for the sxfenston q tho
parcel post rates = thoos arttcIeas e