498 • IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



who, with Mr. A. W. Rudnick, has been instrumental in the success of 

 this movement, showed that last year approximately 200 creameries had 

 been interested in the movement and that 1200 cream cooling tanks had 

 been installed and 100 milk houses built. It is very probable, indeed, 

 that the report of Mr. Odell and Mr. Rudnick will show a very great 

 increase for the present year. While the greatest credit for this work 

 is due, of course, to Mr. Odell and Mr. Rudnick for their untiring efforts, 

 the generous interest of the Iowa Buttermakers Association and a number 

 of commercial firms aided greatly in the success of the movement, 

 because of the interest which they added to it by their offer of cash 

 prizes which greatly stimulated interest in the contest. 



Perhaps an example of what this movement is doing for the creamery 

 will be of interest. According to the report of one Iowa creamery less 

 than 10 per cent of the cream received from patrons was sweet prior 

 to the installation of the tanks. The following year, 1918, 100 cream 

 cooling tanks were installed and the amount of sweet cream received was 

 increased to 40 per cent. This year the number of tanks installed was 

 greatly increased and the amount of sweet cream received was likewise 

 increased. By the end of another year this creamery hopes to have a 

 tank on every patron's farm and firmly anticipates that when this is 

 brought about the amount of sweet cream received will be very nearly 

 one hundred per cent. During the present year this creamery has been 

 receiving 3 cents per pound more for the butter manufactured from sweet 

 cream than that made from sour cream, and by next year expects to 

 receive a 5 cent premium on all the butter which it manufactures. 



In this connection it might be well to briefly state here a few of the 

 possibilities wherein the income received by the state through its 

 creameries can be greatly iacrealsed. iThe average price' of extra 

 creamery butter for the first nine months of the present year (New 

 York Market) was 57.49 cents. As stated, the income from the 90.915,938 

 pounds of butter sold by the creameries of the state for the past year 

 was $43,969,285.47. This means, of course, that the butter manufactured 

 by Iowa creameries did not go on the market scoring an average of extra. 

 Had it done so, the return would have been nearly $52,300,000, the actual 

 loss through failure to obtain this grade being slightly less than $8,300,- 

 000, if the figures given are used as a basis. Obviously, then, any move- 

 ment which will tend to improve the quality of the butter going from the 

 creameries of this state, will mean a huge increase in the amount of 

 money coming into Iowa for its creamery butter. 



There are other sources of losses which may also be well mentioned. 

 While the majority of butter-makers of Iowa have demonstrated their 

 capability for the work which they are doing, a few others have proved 

 their unfitness by their carelessness and inefficiency. From a survey 

 conducted by this department I find that failure to obtain a fair amount 

 of over-run has cost the creameries of Iowa more than $150,000 for the 

 year included in this report. Excessive manufacturing costs have been 

 the cause of additional losses. In most cases where losses are being sus- 

 tained, lack of knowledge or unfitness on the part of the butter-maker is 

 apparently responsible; as a matter of fact, the underlying cause lies at 



