The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1915-07-29
FARMERS, HOW Gan
YOU AFFORD IT?
CARELESS HANDLING AND I'M
- PROPER CARE OF CREAM
CAUSES BIG LOSS.
Can EASILY BE REMEDlED
INEXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT AND
LITTLE CARE WILL I'M
PROVE CONDITIONS


in this day and age our agricultural
population should still be so skeptical
and indifferent over as important and
vital and economic q question as the
grading of cream. : - p. - !. -.
Previous to the introduction of the
centrifugal separator, creameries
were operated on either the gather
cream or the whole-milk system.
Under the gather-cream plan, which
was the one generally adopted, the
milk was "set" in recepticles, usual
ly in tin pans or earthen crooks, and
the cream allowed to rise. This was
SKINNED off and held for the arrival
of the cream hauler.
This plan was unsatisfactory from
the standpoint of quality as the cream
in summer arrived sour, while in the
winter months it was usually frozen
and in all seasons it contained the
various odors and flavors absorbed
from the kitchen, pantry or cellar.
In 1879 the power cream separator
was first introduced and at the present
time is to be found upon practically
every farm where cows are MIXED.
The introduction of the hand separ-
ator opened avenues for poor cream
way beyond the possibilities of the
old gravity system. For example, 80
per cent of the hand separators in
daily use throughout the country re-
ceive improper care and on many
farms the cream is allowed to accum-
ulate from three to 10 days on the
farm, exposed to all sorts of contain
: ination without proper methods of
cooling before it is hauled to the
creamery. The result is inevitable. A
poor grade of butter for which is re-
ceived correspondingly poor price.
Last year 63 per cent of the butter
made in Minnesota was classed as
ends and 3rds and butter of these
grades is not considered of high
enough quality to satisfy the taste
of the average consumer.
1t is absolutely impossible to make
a good finished product from a poor
raw material and the butter-maker
who receives poor cream from his pa
irons must in turn accept poor prices
for his product.
This point is of vital Importance to
a creamery owned by the farmers
themselves. No cooperative creamery
is worthy the name that receives poor,
rancid, sour cream from its patrons.
That grade of stuff should either be
shipped to a renovator or sold to an
oleomargarine plant.
Now the reason poor cream is haul
ed to a creamery is not because the
farmer does not know better, but be-
cause he has not been used to think
ing that if one man did not take his
inferior product another would. In
other words, like the greater part of
humanity he has been following the
line of least resistance. Up-to-date
countries. the world over have adopt
ed a plan which aims to make an ex-
ira effort on the part of the farmer
worth while; namely, the grading of
cream or the paying of a few cents
more for clean, sweet cream than is
paid for rancid, sour and poorly kept
material. The butter-maker knows
that from sour cream he can make a
product which will sell for enough
money more to make possible his pay
ing, the farmer premium. This
doesn't mean that he is taking any,
thing from the man hauling sour
cream. He still pays him all that the
market will allow even though he
were not paying sweet cream prem
Jun. The few cents extra are SIM
ply paid as direct appreciation ex-
pressed by the users Of creamery but
ter and paid by them for better pro-
duct.
If a community Of farmers, owning
factory and turning out a product
demanding the care and cleanliness
that all dairy products demand, set an
example to their fellows in business
by manufacturing just as poor
grade of merchandise as the market
will stand for, then certainly they
should be the last to complain OF sim
liar treatment.
Criticism would not be quite so
much deserved were it not for the
fact that the remedy for this state
of affairs is within reach of every
farmer milking cows.
Simple, small, concrete or wooden
tanks through which passed the water
used to supply the stock for drinking,
or tanks especially constructed will,
with proper care, keep the cream
sweet for three or four days. Just
think the thing over, men. Figure
out what you are actually loosing in