Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1914-12-09
Iowa Butter Sell, Above the Average.
Price in Markets. Better Last
Year Than Year Before.
YEARS OUTPUT
WORTH $50, lob, 0O2. O,
Officials Favor Rigid System OF
Creamery Inspection for I'M
provement and Increase
of Work.

les and creameries of Iowa. That
is the hope of the state food and
dairy department. 1--WE are in fayor
of cream grading. We are in favor
of a law forcing the grading of
cream in every creamery of the
state. We are ready and willing to
lend our assistance to any plant So
Letting our aid. We want to see ev-
cry creamery adopt an honest and
conscientious grading system, ard
stick to it, and when that is done
Iowa butter will be greatly enhanc-
ed IN value.''
That is one central suggestion in
the report of Commissioner w. b.
Barney. 1t is along the line of edu-
cational work done to improve the
butter industry of the state. But the
report shows thac some good is sure
ly coming out OF the work already
Aone.
Iowa butter sells above the aver
age price in the markets. 1t was
better last year :han the year before.
Iowa creamerIes made in the last
fiscal year 92,S65,921 pounds OF
butter which sold for $29,513,902.
Grades Above Average.
The average price received for this
butter was therefore 3l.7S cents
pound. The year before, the Iowa
butter sold for an acreage of Isl
cents more per pound than the aver
age price for extras. This year tire
price was 1.S1 cents more, or $40
OF cent per pound more of a differ
ence than formerly. This is not a
great amount but the increase was
I$27S,597, which in the aggregate is
worth having. The average price
was less than TIE year before. The
output was reduced by dry weather.
Here are some facts as to Iowa crea-
meries and butter:
Report NJ Operation.
Number of creameries reporting 500
Number receiving cream by rail 50
Number using hand separators All
Number hand separator re-
Number of patrons .1O3,319
Number of cows .6S7.564
Pounds milk received .24O,347.153
Pounds cream received 256,661,S63
/ Pounds butter r,ade ....92,865,921
| Pounds m
: Pounds sold in Iowa ...11,337,247
Pounds sold outside Iowa 77,760,19
Would Better Output.
The urging by the department of
the policy of grazing cream and pay
ing according 10 quality is a part OF
the department. efforts to better
the quality of the output. 1t is de
clared the whole present system, CT
lack of system, is entirely wrong.
The educational work of the State
Dairy association has been assisted
The fight againSt the creamery pro-
motors has beel made active. The
centralizers have been active in try.
ing to put co-operatives out of bust
ness, but the department is lending
aid to all who desire to form indie
pendent creamery associations where
they ought to exist
Inspectors Are Failures.
One of the features of the repo,f
OF Mr.. Barney is frank acknowl-
edgement that the scheme Of having
inspectors who go about the state
undertake to do various kinds Of
work, is practically a failure. This
idea of trying - have each inspector
look after creameries, and groceries
and weights and lot of other things
as he goes along, originated in this
department and was started about
four years ago. Mr.. Barney declares
that while in some cases it works
out all right it is generally failure
and there has been no saving of ex-
pense. In an age of specialties it
calls for specialists in every depart
ment.
Cost Is Moderate.
The cost Of the entire department,
however, has been moderate as COM
pared with cost Of similar work else
where. In an adjoining state of less
population than Iowa the cost of a
similar department has been 2.94|
&c
has been .5S of a cent. The depart
ment was never intended to be self
supporting. The receipts of the de-
partment in 1909 were $9,593.24,
but the past year the receipts were
$43,842.40. The cost of the DEPART