SIXTH ANNUAL TEAR BOOK — PART V. 359 



creameries, refuse it. There is no inducement for the farmer to 

 make it better. 



Prof. Smith : We called a conference about a week ago of 

 the principal cream buyers of the state and tried to induce them, 

 under the auspices of the state dairy and food department, 

 to adopt the method of grading cream. We also 

 had some of the owners of the relatively small plants with us, 

 and while this plan is theoretically correct those people saw so 

 many practical difficulties in the way that they all refused to 

 grade the cream. I think you are right but it will not work in 

 Michigan now. Perhaps when we get them educated to it, it 

 will. 



Mr. Wright : That is not the real difficulty, that is that the 

 creameries do not pay the highest price for the first grade. 

 They are not managing with sufficient ability so as to pay this 

 high price. They can do it and there is a whole lot that do do 

 it, but a large number of them are trying to buck up against com- 

 petition of the larger plants when they have not enough busi- 

 ness so they could operate successfully and at financial gain if. 

 they were all alone. Those fellows, in order to get the stuff, 

 are willing to pay a uniform price because that is an easy thing 

 to do. 



Prof. Smith : I am willing to confess we have two things to 

 fight, one is that the creameries will pay just as little for butter 

 fat as they can get it for and the second is the farmer will pro- 

 duce just as poor cream as the creameries will accept. 



Mr. Wright : I am not sure that the situation the gentleman 

 suggests is one for self congratulation, as some of you seem to 

 think. It is a condition and not a theory that confronts us. 

 Let us get our hands into the game and fix the condition. Unless 

 we do something, the farmers will keep on producing this low 

 and pay for it accordingly, he will say 'T can send it to the cen- 

 tralizing plant and get first grade; out of it." The idea is he 

 does not know the price because he sends the cream without 

 knowing what it tests, he gets his check and thinks he gets first 

 grade price. If they would weigh and test their cream I am 



