The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1932-09-09
sTABILIzING MILK rRICES

n. GIL DOAAOA, O0A0NAS "a wv
Sheffield Farms Company, was
delivered at the meeting of the
representatives of the milk
organizations of the New York
milk shed held at the Mizpah
Hotel, Syracuse, September 2.
This meeting has been called
by the Emergency Milk Com
mittee of the New York Milk
Shed to consider means for
stabilizing milk prices. l thank
you for the courtesy of asking
us to submit our views.
While the Sheffield Farms
Company is principally and
solely engaged in the business
of distributing and marketing
milk in the Metropolitan Area
of New York, it is nevertheless
deeply concerned with, and de-
sirous of improving, the well
fare of the dairy farmers.
My company is DESTROYS of
paying the highest possible
prices to the producers Of milk
which may be accomplished
with fairness to the consuming
public and which will still per-
nit competition of milk with
other food products.
During the past five years
my company has paid to the
larry farmers in the New York
Milk Shed over $131, 00O,0 900.
The prices at which this
milk was bought by us and sold
by the farmers were arrived at
through collective bargaining
between my company and a
larry farmers cooperative as
;ociation-the Sheffield Pro-
ulcers Cooperative Associa-
ion. This dairy cooperative
.ssoication has been most wise
n it's policies. 1t has kept it's
expenses down. 1t has mark
eted the milk of it's members
vt the lowest possible cost.
rhe result has been that this
Cooperative has saved literally
millions of dollars to it's men,
bers.
In order to consider means
Of stabilizing milk prices, it is
necessary first that the facts
If the situation should be
clearly understood.
In my opinion there are sew
eral facts responsible for the
'ow prices of milk paid to the
larry farmers in the New York
Milk Shed. They all simply
illustrate the operation of the
,nexorable law of supply and
lemand. There has been an
over-supply of milk produced
n the New York Milk Shed.
There has been a falling off in
The demand for milk, due to the
lecline of the purchasing pow
ar of the consumer.
Again there is the fact of the
general decline in commodity
prices in all products, world
wide condition. Milk has suf-
tered less than other agricul-
tural products. New York
dairy farmers, generally speak
ing, have suffered less than
other dairymen in the United
States.
Specifically, there has been
he fact of the existence of a
group of unorganized milk pro-
ducers, a part of whose pro-
duction is being sold upon the
New York market at prices far
below, and in some cases at
half the established prices for
fluid milk. The milk market in
che Metropolitan Area has thus
been demoralized for months
past. Within the past eigh-
teen months there have come
into the New York market a
great many additional dealers
In milk. The Dali ymen's
League is, itself, a dealer and
distributor of milk as well as
an organization of producers.
The Dairymen's League and
other dealers in the Metropoli-
tan Area have been engaged in
a very bitter price war in
which prices have been cut
again and again. AS a dealer
1t destroys prices to the disad
vantage of itself as producer.
Such a condition seems un-
sound and uneconomic.
In frankness l should saw
that for the past several
months your Emergency Milk
Committee has cOnd,,ctod