STATE DAIRY ASSOCIATION. 



527 



can't pay the interest on the money invested. It is not the fault of th* 

 dairy business, but the fault of our business methods. I hope it will not be 

 repeated in newer dairy sections. They are being started in the northern 

 end of the State. Three new creameries have been built within the last 

 year or so. 



Professor Decker: Mr. Chairman— if I am not chipping in too much 

 on the subject — there are promoters who have certain liinds of machinery 

 that they want to sell; they promote the creamery in order to sell their 

 machinery. They go into a community which don't know anything about 

 the dairy business. Of course, they tell them their machinery is the best 

 on the market, and somehow it does not occur to the people to look else- 

 where for machinery, or see whether they are paying too much for it. 

 Perhaps, if they would investigate a little, they would find that there 

 are plenty of people in the dairy supply business that have good machinery 

 at reliable prices. In that way a factory can be built and equipped for 

 less money than perhaps the promoter asks for it, and it will be a success- 

 ful creamery. 



The President: There is not a creamery neighborhood in this State 

 that the promoters have not worked dry. 



The Secretary: There is one more thought we have not brought out— 

 the value of dairying in maintaining the soil fertility. There is nothing 

 that takes as little fertilizer from the soil as the dairy products. If you 

 buy and feed some of those concentrated feeds, in addition to that growi\ 

 and return to the land the manure, you will put back more fertilizer 

 than you take off. 



The President: I am going to give Mr. Billingsley a chance to say 

 something. 



Mr. Billingsley: I only have one question, I come along the street 

 and see posted up in grocery stores: "Elgin creamery butter for 20 cents 

 a pound." I would like to know how they sell it for that price. 



Mr. Knox: I would like to find out what that is. 



Mr. Schlosser: That is process butter, or oleomargarine, or something 

 else. 



Professor Erf: I think I know where that comes from. It comes from 

 Indiana. There is an Indianapolis firm over at Champaign that gathers 

 up all the old butter they can find, and ship it over to Indianapolis and 

 make it into "Elgin butter." 



The President: That is heaping it on too hard. We got it from Ohio 

 yesterday. 



