The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-02-23
MARKETING BUTTER.
Creameries Can Improve Conditions by
Standardizing the Quality and
Packing of Their Product.

The Standardization of butter pack
ages and the production of more uni
| form quality of product are two require
ments of butter markets to which cream,
cries need TO give consideration if they
wish to improve conditions for the mar.
keting of their butter, say specialists OF
the Office of markets and rural organi.
cation of the United States department
of agriculture in department bulletin
456, recently issued On the Pacific coast
a "cube," varying in capacity from SO to
so pounds of butter, is used. The cream
cries OF the middle west usually use the
63-pound ash tub, while in New Eng
land spruce tubs varying in capacity
from 10 to 90 pounds are used, On the
Pacific coast long, fiat carton is used
as consumers package, while in New
England flat, rather broad carton is
used In the middle west standard car
ton pa by Pa by SIS inches is used.
AT certain seasons the market special
lists found on the markets an increasing
quantity of an inferior quality of butter
which is known as "undergrades." This
inferior quality, it developed, is often
due to the use of cream OF poor quality
and, to some extent, to faulty methods
of manufacture. The more common
faults observed in the quality of this
butter were soft, leaky, open body; too
much or not enough salt; too high or too
light color; metallic fayors. high acid,
unclean, and old cream favors; streaks
and notifies mold on butter; also moldy
and dirty packages. Butter possessing
such faults, although not always classed
as 'undergrades," is often discriminate
against by the critical buyer. During
these seasons when the market receipts
are heavy and the market is weak such
butter can be moved only at low prices,
and often sells at to s cents below the
better grades.
In the shipment of butter to market,
according to the bulletin, country cream
cries situated close together may often
effect economies in transportation by
cooperating in obtaining special sched-
uled pickup" refrigerator-car service
and and assembling local shipments into
carload lots which may be shipped at
lower freight costs.
Many country creameries, it was
found, consigned their butter to whole
sale butter receivers who often often
as jobbers, while the tendency
among the larger creameries and, to
some extent, among smaller ones, is TO
distribute directly to the retailer The
grading and handling of bulk butter
would be greatly facilitated, it is point
I'd out by the experts, if the consecutive
numbers of the different Cummings of
creamery were stamped on the contain
ers
Approximately one!tenth of the but
Ter received in the larger markets is
placed in cold storage, the bulletin states, |
Ind is held for an average period of six
months. The cost of storing butter APP
Droximates one-fourth of a cent per
POUND per month. In the market distri- |
,ution of creamery butter there is at |
present a tendency toward the more |
yeneral use of consumers packages,
Usually of the one-pound size.
1t is pointed out by the specialists !
hat the establishment of brands is es-
ential for effective advertising. Sales
nanship is also a vital factor in sue
essful market distribution. 1t is highly
important in marketing branded prod
let that a sanitary and attractive pack
ge be used and that a certain standard
# quality in the product he maintained.