Evening star., 1940-02-01
Milk Order Holds Possibility
Of Lower Retail Price
Expert AnoIyzes Federal Control Plan,
Which Went Into Effect Today

claim that milk which is delivered
to homes for IA cents per quart
should be sold at stores for l or
2 cents lower, since the services
which are rendered with delivered
milk do not go with milk picked up
at the stores. Perhaps, with the
improvement which the order is
expected to bring about in the COM
petitive situation among handlers
in the buying of their milk, this
and other changes in milk distribu-
ton in the Washington market will
become a reality.
Three Use Classifications.
Under the terms of the order,
all handlers in the Washington
marketing area are required to pay
for their milk according to the use
they make of 1t. The order estab-
fishes three use-classif1cations with
minimum producer prices for each.
The bulk of the milk which dairy
farmers supply for the Washington
marketing area is used for fluid
purposes by handkerchief of it
being sold in bottles. The minimum
price which handlers with District
Health Department permit are re-
quired to pay for this class l, or
fluid, milk is fixed by the order at
$317 per 100 pounds (4612 quarts).
Glass / milk sold in suburban Mary
land by handlers who do not have
q District permit is priced at q
minimum Of $271 per hundred
weight. The higher price for Dis
trict Health Department inspected
milk recognizes the greater costs
which farmers have in producing
milk which meets the higher
standards.
In an effort to encourage milk
consumption among needy fami-
lies, the order provides for spe-
cial price to be paid for class l
milk disposed of under a program
approved by the Secretary of Agri-
culture for the sale or disposition
of milk to low-income groups, in
cluding persons who are on relief.
| This price is fixed at the minimum
of 1895 per 100 pounds. The De-
partment of Agriculture hopes to
work out a plan with District Off
cials so that fluid milk may be sold
to the needy at S cents per quart
with a Federal subsidy to cover
pasteurizing, bottling and delivery
to the depots. The subsidy would
come from funds made available
by Congress for encouraging do
mestic consumption of farm prod
ucts. Similar low-cost milk pro-
grams are already in operation in
the Boston and Chicago milk mar
kets, which are under Federal regu-
lation. On the basis of experience
in these markets where handlers
bid for supplying the low-cost milk,
the Federal subsidy should not ex-
ceed cents per quart.
D. C. Would Supply Depots.
Under the low-cost milk plan
which has been suggested to well
fare officials, all that the District
would have to provide would be
the depots from which the milk
would be distributed by w. p. A.
labor. The program would be super
vised by the District Welfare
Department.
The minimum price Of class 2
milk, most of which Is used for
cream purposes, is $190 per 100
pounds. A price of $1.67 per hun
dredweight is fixed for class 2 milk
disposed Of by a handler from q
plant not having q District Health
Department permit.
The minimum price for class )
milk, that used for ice cream pur-
poses, is established through for
mula which uses certain average
weekly market quotations for sweet
cream.
In addition to the minimum prices
for class and class 2 milk, han.
dlers are required to pay producers
premiums at specified rates which
are graduated according to the
farm and cattle score established by
the respective health departments
These premiums add an average o1
about SO cents per hundredweight tt
the producers price for the two
classes Of milk. Premiums Of this
nature have been paid farmers or
District inspected milk since 1924
to encourage the production Of high.
er quality milk.
Schedule Of Prices.
The schedule Of prices plus quail.
ity premiums which handlers are
required to pay under the order fol
4 per cent butterfat content clas!
and class milk boils down to this
For each quart Of District inspect.
ed fluid milk (class - sold by 6
handler, the producer receives about
| IN cents. The small quantity oi
fluid milk which is not District In
spected and is sold in the Maryland
territory Of the marketing are,
brings the producer Of this mill
about 6h cents per quart. Fluit
milk sold to needy families unde.
| an approved program which may b