New-York tribune., 1921-02-24
Milk Overproduction
A Fatal Defect" Noted in the
Dalrymen' League Pooling Plan

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: / have read with great interest
the letter of Mr.. Fred 4. Hoar outiin-
ing the plan under which the Dairy
mems League Cooperative Association
proposes "to increase the returns TO
dairymen, while the consumers in the
mean time will pay less" The gist Of
the plan, as ! understand it, is that
they propose, by taking over the manu-
featuring of milk products, to absorb
the profits of that business for the
benefit Of the farmers. If we admit,
for the sake of argument, that the farm
ers can make a profit out Of bust
ness That the dealers complain they
have lost money in there is still going
to be a condition for the farmer-msnu-
facturers to meet which the present
manufacturers do not have to contend
with-nameiy, whereas the manufae
turers have always reserved the right
to refuse to buy unlimited quantities
of milk when the manufacturing Of It
entailed loss the farmers propose TO
throw this safeguard to the winds and
agree TO take all the milk offered re-
gardless OF whether it can be manu-
factured at a profit or not.
There is one fatal defect in the pool
inc @ia ~ h. NJ;
namely, it does not contemplate con-
troll of production. No pool can pos
sibly control prices if the output is un~
limited, because the moment produc-
tion exceeds demand at any price either
the price must fall or else some of the
product will not be sold. Not only
does the league not propose to con
tro! production, but in effect encourages
it, because farmers, relying on the pro
lection Of the league, will tend to pro
duce all the milk they can, regardless
of whether it is economically produced
or not.
have been in the dairy business for
eight years. During all those years
believe there has been an overprodue-
ton Of milk under prevailing condi-
lions of distribution, or / should per
haps say an overproduction Of high
cost milk. Many dairy cows are of such
low production year that they no.
only produce milk at an actual loss FOR
their owners, but in the aggregate they
produce so much milk that they inJurc
the business of the owners of high
producing cows. They are responsible
for that surplus that the league is At
such pains to dispose of and ought to
be scrapped. They are in exactly the
same position as an out-of-date factory
that continues to produce goods ct
loss. If the league wants TO establish
the dairy business on a profitable basis
1t will educate the farmer to dispose
of his Improbable cows. There are
many such. Many farmer who is rev
losing money on ten or twenty cows
could make money by culling his herd
to seven or fifteen and do less work
for profit than he now does fer
loss
1t seems impossible to get farmers 20
keep production records of their cows,
but the league could help them IL
practical way to this end if the league
declared il would insist on az lsRs:
eight quarts day 10 each COW milked
in herd. That is to say, herd milk
ing ten cows must produce eighty
quarts day. If that standard is too
high 1t could be adjusted, but mini
mum quantity for herd could be
ixed mat would soon get rid of the
'boarders. That would encourage the
efficient farmer and enormously stimu
late the raising OF profitable COWS.
Without some such regulation of milk
production the league is hesded for
disaster. That would be 6 calamity fot
dairymen. EDGAR BooDY.
New York, Feb. 81, 1921. /