SIXTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART V. 355 



butter produced decreased from 71,000,000 pounds to 62,500,000 pounds, 

 an increase of 50 per cent in the expenses to make 12 per cent less of 

 butter. And note that the expenses named do not include expenses 

 such as tubs, salt, color, which are proportioned to the amount of pro- 

 duct made. That is to say, the expense of running our creameries is 

 a half a million dollars more than it was before we had the central 

 plants. The central plant does not operate at less expense than other 

 creameries. 



There can be no question that the smallest creameries cannot com- 

 pete with the centralizers, but then they cannot compete on equal foot- 

 ing with any other creamery for the reason that they are too expensive 

 to operate. But I undertake to say that a creamery of moderate size, 

 well managed, the butter made by a competent buttermaker can pay 

 New York prices for butter fat, delivered at the creamery, provided the 

 quality is such that extras can be made out of it. A creamery of moder- 

 ate size, a creamery making 150,000 to 200,000 pounds of butter a year, 

 can make butter so that the expense from the farmer's wagon to the 

 cars is a cent and a half a pound. The average local creamery makes 

 less than this amount, at a correspondingly higher expense per pound. 

 Now, why should not the local creamery increase its business just as 

 the centralizer does, by taking all kinds of cream that is fit to make into 

 butter at all. It is entirely feasible and I think, with a good many 

 creameries, a necessity, to take all the cream that is offered in the com- 

 munity, make two grades of it, make it into two grades of butter and 

 pay for it in proportion. By this means, a very large number of 

 creameries, which now have too little business to operate at any proper 

 expense, would secure an increase of business and reduce their expense 

 of manufacture a full cent on the pound. If this is not done, it is abso- 

 lute certainty that these creameries will be closed up by legitimate com- 

 petition with larger creameries. The little cramery cannot keep up 

 with the procession. 



A well managed creamery, among other things, is a creamery whose 

 business management is such that their butter is well sold. Some of 

 our creameries get a premium of a cent and three quarters a pound. 

 There are even gathered cream creameries, hand separator creameries, 

 that get a cent a pound premium. There is something mightily wrong 

 at a creamery where the butter does not sell for a cent above the market. 

 The market is fixed especially to catch the incompetent creamery mana- 

 ger and the creamery patron is not getting what belongs to him if his 

 butter does not sell above quotations. A well managed creamery gets 

 the price and can pay the price for butterfat. 



But there must be a competent buttermaker. I can't take time now 

 to mention all the qualifications of a competent buttermaker but there 

 are two qualifications that are so important just now that they may 

 be stated here. First, he must be able to make a good grade of butter 

 out of good material. He must be able to make a fair grade of butter 

 out of second grade material. Second, I consider it of almost equal 

 importance that he be able to make a good overrun without cheating 



