Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-03-19
BUTTER PRICES FROM The
PRODUCER To THE CONSUMER

"Ruttcr prices from producer TO CON
slner' is the subject cf I, report re
Gently issued Is Eullclin No. lr1 u>
thv 4iureau Of Labor Statistics ii the
-nited states Department, q IA boz.
Il.is report relates I" crcamerT Lutter
only ana the prices considered are
those for butter passing promptly from
producer to consumer, II" cold storage
prices oeinS inciuded.
The object Of the report is u SHOW
the relation betN cen the price of The
raw material Gutter faD ana the re-
tail price of butter in periods OF com
palaJively low and high prices, and
the cost of distribution nr the add
tons made to the price Of buuer az ii
pasSss from producer Il consumer.
Eata as to creamcricS were UbtdincI
from 10 representative establishments
in the famous t,lGin District and i'll
\ cr:hweste,n Missouri, and prices ana
margins If wholesalers and retailers
were obtained covering various lets Of
tub and print butter bought from tho
10 crca mtrieS mentioned, and handled
in the large mark etS of Chicago, (ln-
cinnati. Cleveland, Philadelphia, and
Pittsburgh. June. as representing tho
season of high production and low
prices. and December. the season Of
low production and high prices were
the months selected, and data were
secured for these months for III"
following representative years: 1903,
when butter prices We're the lowest
shown for any year since 1901, l@lo,
when there was vide range of prices
and the average was comparatively
high; 1911, when prices fell somewhat
as compared with 1910.
The primary constituent of butter
is butter fat, which briefly defined is
the pure oil contained in milk, cream,
or butter. The farmer who supplies
milk or cream to the creamery is paid
on the basis of the amount of butter
fat contained therein. The difference
between the price paid the farmer 10y
the creamery for the butter fat III one
pound of hutter and the price paid by
the consumer for one pound of butter
represents the total margin from pro-
Queer to consumer.
In the periods covered by the report
the average prices received by farmers
and paid by consumers, the margins
between those prices, and the percent
that the margin in each case was Of
the retail price were as follows:
1916
June
Average price paid farmer for but
ter fat in l pound of butter sQ10lS
Average retail price per pound Of
butter paid by consumers, IN
Total margin -09lu
Per cent margin is of retail price 37,5
In December (tile month of low pro-
duction) the prices were considerably
higher than those in June the month
of high productions, especially in the
years 1904 and 1911. When figures for
the three years are combined the in
crease in December as compared with
June amounts to 35.4 per cent for
prices received by tanners and 2s.5 per
cent for those paid by consumers. In
the two months of 1904 when prices
were low the total margin represented
a much higher proportion of the re-
tail price than in the corresponding
months Of 1910 and 1911, when prices
were higher.
The total margin between producer
and consumer is made up of the
creamery margin. freight and carriage,
wholesalers margin. and retailers
margin. In the periods considered the
average creamery margins per pound
varied from a minimum of 2.4 cents
in June, 1910, to a maximum of SIS
cents in December. 1904: freight and
carriage averaged the same tabout
three fourths of a cent per pound;
the average wholesalers margin var
led from minimum of Is cents in
June. 1904, to maximum of IS. cents