The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1919-10-23
TELLS LYNDEN VALUE
OF USE OF SKIM MILK
Expert Discusses Use of Product And
What 1t Means To Farms Of Com.
munity

What is Skim Milk worth to the
dairyman of the Lynden district. is
the important question answered this
week by l.. E. Carter. Dairyman at
the Western Washington Experiment
Station at Puyallup.
Says Mr.. Carter:
Skim milk is that by-product of
the dairy obtained in separating
whole milk. There is no more COM
mon article ON the farm. BY gener-
al consent it is handled wastefully:
in fact, splashed around quite pro-
digally, with vague understanding
that it is source of farm wealth.
Every farmer has at one time or
another been confronted with the
puzzle of putting a valuation upon
skim milk. Usually he cannot pro-
perly assay it. Cream has an appar-
ent value that can be judged. A
pound of butterfat at prevailing
prices is worth 63 cents. That value
is tangible. The cream. as it comes
out of the separator spout, is like
liquid gold; the handling of 1t be-
comes akin to the feel of currency
Cream is money; skim milk Is but a
by-product There is no keen mar
ket for skim milk that the farmer can
reach, if he is far from the city,
because the skim milk is bulky and
perishable and, unless handled quick
ly, becomes not only valueless but a
breeding place for disease germs.
There is little commercial demand
for skim milk. Few will buy 1t. 1t
is produced in small quantities and
over scattered areas. Some large
creameries have utilized this by-pro-
duct to advantage in the form OF dry
casein and condensed and powdered
milk. The most common use of dry
casein is for paper sizing. Imitation
ivory is made from casein. as are
also billiard balls, handles and backs
for toilet and manicure sets and near
pearl buttons. Casein is the basis OF
some patented articles sold in drug
stores. There is not many other ar
ticles of merchantable promise man
ufactured at present, but science con-
stantly opens up new uses.
AS an article of human food, skim
milk is most extensively used In the
form of Dutch or cottage cheese.
This is a popular and pleasing dish.
It readily retails in the large cities at
20 cents per pound. When SO mar
keted, it is put up in small wooden
cartons or paraffin-paper containers.
One pound of cottage cheese has
nutritive value equal to v pounds
of lean beefsteak. 1t is more digest
ible than beefsteak. City dairies pay
a steady market price OF $1.25 per
cwt. for skim milk when there Is an
established demand for this cheese.
The yield from 100 pounds OF skim
milk is Is pounds OF cottage cheese.
At 20 cents per pound this Is worth
$3.50. The cartons, or little wooden
containers in which the cheese is
marketed, cost 2 cents each. Since
the cheese is usually seasoned with
a small amount of pimento, sage
milk or cream. and salted to taste
at the rate OF about pounds OF salt
to 100 pounds Of cheese, 1t is only
fair to give the seasoning a value OF
about 25 cents to each is pounds OF
cheese. This leaves an ample labor
return that justifies a valuation OF
s125 for the skim milk.
Skim milk differs from whole milk
only in fat content. In the former
the butterfat has been extracted. The
market price OF whole milk is deter
mined by the value OF the butterfat.
Whole milk now sells generally at
steady level of $3.15 per cwt. Com
monty, buyers figure average milk to
contain 31k pounds of butterfat to