South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-12-22
Milk Producers Interests
BY FRANK SPAULDING
In the Indiana Farmers Guide.

We have been keeping tab on this
milk wave that is flowing over the
country. It's source is the faithful
COW and its destination is the con-
sumner Some people are certainly
mistaken or they would not try 10
tell the dairyman how much it
costs 10 run his business. We would
advise such people TO get goat.
They can get a goat list at Dayton.
O., OF from the government. They
may be able 10 keep a goat for what
/ they think il costs 10 keep a COW.
I They would then have a goat Of
their own and would not be after
ours.
We have MIXED cows for 40
years, nearly one-half OF that time
selling milk, and are still on the job.
Here are "a few figures for consid-
Grafton. If / do not get them right
call me down Until very recently
I'VE cents was the prevailing price
Of milk. The average price of corn
/ then was 40 cents; wheat. 81; oats.
50 cents; rye. 80 cents per bushel;
I bran. SIS: chop feed. 500: hay IS.
and straw, 81 per ton. You could
/ BUY a good COW for $40 Land sold
] for $50 per acre. Farm labor was
$50 per month or 81 per day. To-
/ day corn is s1.75: wheat. 81: oats.
70 cents. and rye, S1.65 per bushel;
/ bran. $40 chop feed. $50: hay. $25:
and straw, $40 per ton A good
COW costs 800 and land is worth
I 1925 per acre. Farm labor is $40
per month or s. per day. Feed has
| increased 100 percent and milk -
! percent, and this only just recent
ly.
Some one please tell me why the
price Of milk should not be al the
same ratio with feed and keep right
! along with it. Ii takes the same
amount OF feed and labor now as it
| did then and the good old COW
doesn't know anything about the
, war. Wherein has the producer
asked anything unreasonable and
why should he be listed as a slack
! er, war protiteer. even accused of
/ killing babies? The price of milk
must be high enough to induce the
/ farmer 70 raise the cows TO insure
a future production. if we want to
raise the babies.
Give the alarm clock and lantern
man kind word at least Mr. Con-
sumner. Remember he is working
| for you 365 days in the year; work
/ ing for you in the morning long be-
/ fore you are out of bed and after
your days work is done: working
{ for you when the thermometer is
/ 80 70 100 in the shade. and you are
in the shade; working for, you when
the temperature is Is and 20 de-
! grees below zero. and you are sit
ting by d good fire. Through sun
shine and shadow he plods his
weary way, for you. Think of these
things. it will do YOU good.
| The millionaire dairyman repre-
sents the in algebra. Now when
| he asks : IA cents per quar-: for his
milk delivered at the station he is
/ called everything except a gentle
/ man, and if some had their way he
would be looking through the iron
1 bars instead of into a tin milk pail.
There has been such talk.
/ ne Cost OF MIX pEOuuCtlpn was
! Investigated by several different eX-
pertinent stations I have not seen
where any of them said it cost less
| than six cents. This same milk was
placed on the station platform for
| Z IA cents. Recent Investigations
/ have shown that the killing price
was tackled on from the station 10
! the consumer This called for an
( other investigation. What does il
cost TO deliver this milk? The Mas
| sachusetts experiment station says
il costs 2.79 cents per quart 10 de-
( liver milk in six different towns and
! cities in that state. This cost in
| cludes everything pertaining 10 the
] business. viz, labor. depreciation of
| buildings, machinery, equipment and
( transportation; all maintenance
! charges. including bottles, breakage.
insurance, rents, interest, taxes. sta
! tionery and bad debts It was found
/ that the average distributor was