Evening star., 1934-07-26
Walker Says More Money
Needed for Farmers
to Survive.
TWO CENTS A GALLON
MORE TO Be DEMANDED
Many Pasture Lands Ruined, Food
Must Be Bought
for Herds.

Hard hit by the drought. dairy
farmers in the Washington area must
get more money for their milk in
order to survive. Frank s. Walker,
president of the Maryland and Vir-
ginia Milk Producers Association, said
today.
A demand for a 2-cents-a- gallon
increase in the farm price for fluid
milk (that which goes into bottles)
will be made in September, Walker
revealed.
He said there was no need for this
increase to be passed on to the con-
Sumer, but 1t is understood that the
dairy companies here do not plan
to give farmers more for their milk
without passing on the increase.
Pasture Lands Ruined.
Walker said the drought virtually
had ruined pasture lands in this
vicinity and that fully so per cent OF
the farmers had to buy feed for their
herds. This is the first time since
the drought in 1880 that such meas
ures have had to be resorted to, ac-
cording to the cooperative executive.
Coupled with the drought are heavy
increases in costs brought on by the
N. r. A. and together these added ex-
penses are proving a serious financial
burden on the farmers, Walker said.
"The producers in this milk shed
are in a very bad way financially"
he told newspaper men. They haven't
enough money to buy feed to produce
the milk for Washington and unless
they get more for their product there
will be a shortage Of milk on this
market"
The dairy farmers, under an agree
ment reached this Spring, are receiv-
ing 26 cents gallon for class / milk
and 16 cents gallon for class Chat
which goes into fluid cream and man.
ufaetured productsy. Under plans
disclosed by Walker. the farmers in
tend to ask 20 cents q gallon for class
l, % cents gallon for milk used as
cream, and whatever price the surplus
used for manufacturing win bring.
This increase, coupled with pre-
miums paid to the farmers for high
butter-fat content and high barn
scores would remove the milk pro-
ducers' financial difficulties and en-
able them to continue producing the
high grade of milk now being dis
tributed on this market, according to
Walker.
$I,009.00O in improvements.
Walker disclosed that in the last
few years farmers on this market have
spent almost $l,000,000 improving
their equipment so as to produce the
highest grade milk in the country.
While spending this money. he said,
the farm price for milk has declined
and the retail price has dropped from
IA to Is cents a quart.
He pointed out that the average
farm price for class l milk, including
barn scores and butter fat premiums,
is about 28.5 cents gallon, and the
dairy companies retail this milk for
So cents a gallon, or a gross profit Of
23.5 cents.
Taking these figures into consid-
Grafton, Walker said, there is no
need to pass on the 2-cent-per- gallon
increase to the consumer. II the
distributors raise the retail price to
IA cents a quart, we, the farmers,
will demand cents a gallon instead
of g."
The boost in prices probably will
come in September, when Walker and
other dairy farm leaders hope to
obtain a marketing license from the
Adjustment Administra-
ton. If the license is not worked
out satisfactorily, Walker said. the
cooperative would attempt to ne
gotiate privately with the dealers to
obtain the price increase.