The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1921-01-15
CREAMERY AT
WERNER HAS
!. QUIT OPERATION
Dairy Commissioner Says Ex'
pertinent at Plant Proved
Valuable
LOCAL CREAMERIES FAIL

The state creamery at Werner has
( suspended operations. The suspension
was cccasioned by the completion Of
the period of experimental operation
undertaken by the state department
of agriculture, according. to o. E.
| Osterhous, state dairy commissioner:
who denied that it could be called a
State owned industry" in the sense
that other industries stated, by the
state are referred to. The states
contract concludes in June. ~
The spbjsct Of the states experiment
with the creamery was to find out
why so many local creameries have
SUSPENDED operations, Mr.. Osterhous
said. The, Werner plant was oper-
!; ;ated by the state under a lease for
sseveral months. "
Zone purpose was to find out.why
local creameries fall" said M. Oster-
hous. "About $50 have been started
in the state and but about Is now are
in operation. We operated the plant
lcng enough to become thoroughly
convinced that under average condi-
tions the local creamery is not the
type Of institution that farmers may
look to as the solution of the manu-
featuring end of the dairy industry
The volume of business distributed
throughout the year is not sufficiently
large in one community to make sue
cessful operation possible. We found,
however, that more than SO per cent
of the total years production is avail
able during three months and that
these three months normally are in
the season when the quality and the
prices are low.
"Many communities become ambit-
ious and believe they would be best
served by the operation Of a local
creamery and it is difficult to con-
vince the people of such a community
that it is advisable for them to pro-
ceed with caution in the matter Of
providing their own local manufactur-
ing plant We now have specific data
we can give them to consider before
taking step which more than likely
will result in failure and have a re-
tardihg rather than beneficial effect:
in the community" >s
Mr.. Osterhous says that more than
95>per cent of the cream is marketed
through centralizer stations and ne
feels this is an unhealthy condition
leading to monopo1isticT Tontrol. Point
ing to the success of the cooperative
creamery of Aberdeen, S. D.,,of which
many North Dakotans are, StockholJ-
ers, he urges co>operation to handle
business through centra1fzer station
on a large scale,
Mr.. Osterhous believes that there
should be such creamery at Bis
marck and is planning a. Series OF
urging farmers in this sec
ton to join in such a manufacturing
plan. He does not recommend state
owned creaDlec;es.
A fipancie: statement of the opera
tions Of the creamery has not been
completed. The commissioner, believes
that the books will about balance,
and says that the station paid higher
rates for cream than most stations. 1t
was operated during the most favor.
able months, he said, and if it were
continued until next June, during unz
favorable months, it doubtless would
show loss, he said. Salaries paid
one or two employees, who were COM
petant to conduct the experiment.,
were above the average, he said.