DAIRY MEETING. 1^13 



OUR PRESENT ECONOMIC DAIRY SITUATION AND 

 ITS RELATION TO THE CONSUMER AND PRO- 

 DUCER. 



By R. S. Smith. 



In almost any business its success other than the esthetic 

 phase must depend on whether it is continuously profitable or 

 not. Testing and keeping records of the individual cows have 

 been preached and will continue to be preached to dairymen 

 until they realize the folly of feeding high cost grain to dairy 

 animals without receiving milk or manure enough to balance the 

 cost of that grain. 



A dairy cow is a complex machine constructed to convert 

 food into milk and the best economy and surest profit consist 

 in employing the most efficient machines and men able to handle 

 them. 



The price of dairy products has advanced to the consuming 

 public but not in proportion to the advance in the prices of 

 land values, building material, grains and other farm products. 



As this article deals with the dairy side of farming, it will 

 be interesting for consumers to note just where the products 

 of the dairy farm compare with other farm products and 

 whether the dairyman of to-day is receiving his just due. 



The following has been taken from the Congressional Record, 

 May 27, 19 10, with the advance in retail milk prices in Maine 

 added. 



"While the prices of practically all commodities have shown 

 some advance during the past few years, the products of the 

 farm show a much greater advance than do the prices of the 

 products of mines and factories. 



Farm land itself has advanced in value rapidly and every- 

 thing produced on the farm has also advanced materially. The 



