Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1918-01-23
DOES 1T PAY?
Mr.. Editor:

"Once upon a time" farmers farm
ed by themselves, raised most of what
| they and their families ate and went
! to town two or three times a year to
procure the actual necessities of life.
They were happy in those days.
Gradually times changed; the status
OF the farmer in society rose until to-
day he is on a par with the business
man. Within the last few years ag-
rlculture has progressed by leaps and
bounds until today the farmer is the
man most looked to to win this war.
Even letters come stamped with
GOOD will win the war" But like
the chain with the weak link-so the
farmers of Orleans county have dis
covered that their weak link is in the
marketing of their dairy products.
They have discovered that the con-
tractors care nothing for their inter-
ests, If they want milk, they pay the
price and farmers bring it in. When
they have enough, the contractors re-
fuse to take it and again the farmer
is without market.
Many farmers think there is no
remedy for this situation, that they
must take what they can get. This
type of farmer needs a dose of
something to wake him up. He has
been asleep too long already for the
good of the farming interests.
FARMERS MAY HAVE A MAR
KET FOR THEIR DAIRY PROD
UCTS IF THEY WILL BUT COOP
ERATE AND RUN THEIR OWN
PLANTS. If they let outsiders run
their business, they can never expect
to be satisfied. A cooperative milk
plant or creamery isn't something
proposition for any group of farmers
who have got the initiative and far
sightedness to see the dollars in it.
AS farmers we kick the N E. M. P.
A., the contractors, the food control
otficers-anyone who seems to have
any influence at all on the prices set
for dairy products. A kicker never
gets ahead unless someone pulls him
there. The time has come to stop
kicking and use our wind in some
profitable occupation.
Orleans county has one cooperative
creamery in operation at Irasburg,
the Jersey Star creamery. The coop
eratlve Dairy Company at Newport
has part of the money subscribed for
a plant and will begin building in the
spring on the site already purchased.
The farmers at Westfield have elected
a board of directors to look into the
question of cooperative creamery in
that town. There are other places in
Orleans county where cooperative
plants could be run to advantage.
The cooperative creamery at East
Berkshire is making a name for it.
self and has only been running a few
months. Owing to prices paid by
this creamery, the contractors in this
region did not drop their prices dur
ing November and December, this
meant about 25c hundred on milk
more to those farmers who wouldn't
cooperate with their neighbors. And
still they wouldn't own up that a CO.
operative plant was worth while! The
Richmond Cooperative Creamery at
Richmond completed its first year in
November. This plant averaged to
pay 5O.5c for butterfat and SITE per
lOO pounds for skinned milk. This
averaged $2.26 per 100 pounds of
$3.50 milk for the year. The con-
tractors IN that region averaged for
the year to pay $213 for 100 pounds
of $3.50 milk. The average cow in
the COW testing associations of this
state produced $500 pounds of 4.49o
milk during this year. IF this milk
was sold to the COOPERATIVE
RICHMOND CREAMERY it would
have brought $143.75; if sold to the
CONTRACTORS it would have
brought $133.56, a difference Of
S1O.19 for one COW, over $3.50 for a
25-cow dairy. If the farmers of
Newport or Westfield, or any other
for that matter, like to do
business that way, that is their look
out, but it is costing them THOU
SANDS OF DOLLARS for every 7,
year, yes, for EVERY MONTH, that
they hold off their cooperative cream
cries with 81 can't offord a share of |
stock" II don't believe it will pay"
1T might fail up and I would lose my
money" etc. There is no argument
in favor of cooperation among farm
ers for marketing their products-IT |
rs AN ESTABLISHED FACT!