New-York tribune., 1920-03-08
Dairy Farmers
Facing Ruin in
Northern N. Y.
Abandon Feeding Western
Grain to Cattle as the
Second Move Toward Re.
ducing Cost of Living
To Decrease Production
100000 Quarts Turned
Out Daily for Which
There Seems No Demand
;, . SDscia1 a9,, !, Dispetch to The Tribune

oDec!M Dtsp0tch to The Tribune
WATERFOWL, N. Y, March Tn
a desperate effort to avoid the
financial ruin that the present and i'm
mediate future milk and milk pro-
ducts market predicts, Jefferson
County dairymen have discontinued
feeding Western grain to tne:r herds.
This is the second move in a series
OF incidents that farmers believe will
bring the high cost of living topping
to an almost pre-war basis within n
few months.
During that period of transition
every dairy farmer of Northern New
York expects to lose money and many
undoubtedly will be forced into the
bankruptcy courts. The only two
avenues Of escape that lie open to the
farmers are decreased production and
an extensive energetic advertising
campaign to increase the consumption
Of milk and its by-products in the
United States.
Since March milk manufacturing
companies owning condensing plants
In Northern New York have been fol-
lowing q policy Of general retrench-
ment. Scores of them have reduced
the amount of milk they accept from
the farmers daily and seven actually
have closed their doors. Within three
days two Of the biggest plants in this
milk from approximately 200 sdairies,
thus abolishing the market for $4,000
quarts of milk a day. 1t is conserva-
lively estimated that there are being
produced close to 100000 quarts of
milk daily in this section for which
there is no market demand. Two
factors are responsible for this un-
paralleled situation:
l. Complete decentralization of the
foreign exchanges, due to Europe's
huge purchase of goods and materials
in the United States.
z The restoration of something
like q normal condition in Europes
dairy industry.
Milk condensing companies are
shipping practically no milk to
Europe because of the first reason, :or
to do so means to lose So on every
case shipped. Foreign butter and
cheese markets are affected similarly
The demand for milk and milk pro
ducts in the United States is not suf-
ficient to absorb the great surplus thus
created in the market and as a result
the milk is turned back to the farmers
Butter and cheese factories have fol
lowed the example of the condenseries
and adopted the retrenchment policy
There now is surplus of those prod
ucts and factories dare not manufac-
ture huge quantities to put in storage
for to do so in the face of lower prices
that are sure to prevail during the
next few months would entail financial
disaster
T. H. Putnam, president of the JEFF
ferson County branch of the Dairy
mems League, at a large meeting told
the farmers that the March price of
milk, which is twelve cents below the
February price, is the initial move in
the downward course of the high cost
Of living. The price paid farmers for
their milk will be 81 less for 100
pounds, he said, and a market for it
difficult to find at that.
c. A. Hadley, one of the biggest
dairymen Of this section, at the same
meeting told the farmers that only
two means of avoiding ruin were open:
"to decrease production and increase
consumption"