Daily Kennebec journal., 1917-06-14
TO MILK
PRODUCERS OF MAINE
BY RICHARD PATTEE
OF Boston, Sec. of New Eng.
Association, About Summer
Schedule of Prices, Reasons
for High Prices and What the
Producers as Well as Gus
toner Is Up Against.

Many milkmen from all parts Of the
State, largely presidents and secretaries
Of local organizations, gathered in the
hall Of the House Of Representatives at
the State House Wednesday forenoon to
listen to Richard Pattee, the secretary OF
the Central Association of the New Eng.
land Milk Producers Association.
Frank S. Adams of Bowdoinham, chief
Of the bureau Of animal industry Of the
Maine department Of agriculture, opened
the meeting and urged upon the produc-
ers the giving of more study to the ques-
tion Of raising of milk. He said that he
would not wish Maine or New England 20
get into the position Of Poland and Bel
sium where little lives were snuffed out
because of lack CT milk. He thought
that the producers should look at the
situation carefully and learn all that they
possibly could.
Mr.. Pattee, who comes from Boston,
spoke at considerable length, alluding to
the difficulties to be met in determining
the price Of milk throughout New Eng
land. A schedule of prices to go into ef-
feet July for the months of July, Au-
gust and September was submitted. The
list of prices was in the form Of table
based upon prices for Massachusetts
standard milk. of - per cent. total solids
of which not less than 3S5 per cent.
should be butter fat He explained that
the best authorities agree that milk with
but 3.35 per cent. butter fat will not aver
age ~ per cent of solids and said that
o 20
to carry that amount of solids.
He said that this scale was based upon
a system calling for a premium for ex-
cessive butter fat The milkmen are. to
demand premiums on milk testing over 35
per cent. butter fat and the rate of pre-
MUM shall be four cents per hundred
weight for each additional point Of but
ter fat beyond 3.5 per cent, this being
equivalent to a price of 40 cents per
pound for butter fat in milk in excess OF
3.5 per cent.
The prices which Mr.. Pattee gave as
those which should be realized by the
producers represents value at the coun-
try stations for milk delivered f. o. b.,
Boston, at cents per quart. Mr.. Pattee
incidentally remarked that in travelling
over New England he found that butter
making was being sacrificed to the selling
of cream and that there was less butter
making than formerly.
He said that the New England Milk
Producers Association had been fncor-
porated and was now ready to enter upon
it's official duties. 1t was a non-profit
making association and was for the bene-
fit of its members. He predicted that the
time would come when municipalities
would require. just testing of milk and
cream. He advocated the standardizing of
the product and said that what the pro-
dueer got depended upon what the people
were willing to pay. He was surprised
that there was SO little done to create
demand for milk when proprietors Of
breakfast foods spent thousands Of dol
lars to create a demand for them.
He understood that in certain cities
milk was selling for Is cents a quart and
where it was sold at that high price it
was up to the producer to get his share
He pointed out that s50,0C0,000 business
could not be revolutioniZed in minute
and that progress in the right direction
was necessarily slow. He did not believe
in the fellow who raised a product hav-
ing nothing to say about the price and
the fellow who sold it having everything
to do about fixing the price.
Mr.. Pattee advocated the supporting Of
the association by a small tax which
would be approximately one-half of one
per cent Of the total monthly sales. He
said that the association had not yet fixed
the price of cream but would do so later
At the conclusion Of his remarks Mr.
Pattee answered a large number of ques-
tons, many of them technical, asked him
by the producers. Wednesday afternoon
the market committee of the association
held meeting to go over certain matters
not taken up at the forenoon meeting.
EIPCT OE KIND