REPORT OF STATE DAIRY COMMISSIONER 409 



Estimates of the income received by the state from dairy products 



during the past year place the figures at $126,948,011.88, derived 



from the following sources : 



Creamery Butter ' $4S,462,805.12 



Ice Cream 5,460,775.75 



Market Milk 24,664,968.34 



Cheese 52,821.19 



Cottage Cheese 250,000.00 



Farm Dairy Butter ". 11,648,000.00 



Condensed Milk 408,641.48 



Skim Milk and Buttermilk 16,000,000.00 



Fertilizer 20,000,000.00 



With the exception of creamery butter, you will find that the fore- 

 going figures show another decided decrease in values as compared 

 with the figures given in the reports of the commissioner during the 

 years 1920 angl 1921. I account for this by the continued decline of 

 prices on all our markets during the past year, as well as by a de- 

 crease in the amount of some of the products manufactured. In 

 spite of this decline in prices dairy products have been considerably 

 higher on our markets when compared with the market values of all 

 other farm products. 



Conditions are now the reverse of what they were in 1918, at 

 which time there was a scarcity of help on the farm. The farmer's 

 sons and his hired men were going into the service, in many in- 

 stances obliging him to dispose of his cows so that he could give such 

 time as he had to the care of his crops. All farm products were 

 higher in price than dairy products, which created a tendency to sell 

 rather than to feed these crops. 



The farmer today can obtain plenty of good farm labor at a rea- 

 sonable price and the price of dairy products is such that he is doing 

 his utmost to market all the grain and forage crops he can through 

 the cow and the butterfat route. 



' Iowa has this year manufactured 25,427,419 pounds more cream- 

 ery butter than was ever produced in this state before, making this 

 another banner year. Production has steadily advanced during the 

 last two years until we are' now at what might be termed the "peak." 



It is not necessary for this department to spend much time trying 

 to induce farmers to engage in dairying because market, financial, 

 and other conditions have been such that every farmer knows the 

 possibilities of the dairy cow. However, I do think considerable 

 time and effort should be spent by all dairy organizations and by the 

 dairy men themselves in trying to bring down the cost of production. 



If production continues to increase as it has during the past two 



