INFORMATION RELATING TO CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 23 



less than $ 500, or only V^o per cent, of the value of sales in the same period 

 — S 3,000,000. The terms of sales stipulate for payments in cash within 

 thirty days. The re.s^ul aritA' of such |)ayments for cheese allows the suppliers 

 of milk to be paid regularly. Punctual pa3-ment is no small factor in the 

 success of any farmers' marketing association. 



The Tillamook County Creamery Association. — The gravest problem 

 was that of securing the uniform quality of the cheese produced by the se- 

 veral factories. At first the cheese was. con signed for sale as it came from 

 the factories, and the makers mixed good with bad and brought the whole 

 output into disrepute. A meeting of the factories selling through one sales- 

 man was called, and resulted in the organization of the Tillamook County 

 Creamery Association, which became active in 1909 when its membership 

 included nine of the largest factories. According to its by-laws its objects 

 were in i)art : "To bring the producers of the different creameries in Tilla- 

 mook County together and maintain just and cordial relations among them, 

 and by co-operation to advance their common interests ; to foster and en- 

 courage domestic and foregin trade pertaining to the farming interests of 

 Tillamook County and to acquire and disseminate valuable business informa- 

 tion ; and to adjust controversies between its members and generally to se- 

 cure to its members the benefits of co-operation in the furtherance of their 

 legitimate pursuits ". 



The association has instituted an inspector who visits each of its fac- 

 tories regularly and has improved the quality of the milk of the associated 

 factories and increased the quantit}' of cheese obtained therefrom. Under 

 his direction inefficient workmen have been removed and cheesemaking 

 methods have been improved in all the factories. The average yield of 

 cheese per hundred pounds of milk increased from 10.7 pounds in 1909 to 

 II. 1 2 pounds in 1914. The association now includes eighteen factories 

 each of which the inspector visits once a week. He tests c ne cheese out of 

 each vat produced : if it conform to the standard set by the association, 

 and not otherwise, the boxes containing the cheese are stamped with the 

 words, " Inspected by Tillamook County Creamery Association ". 



The association concentrates the control of its business and marketing 

 in the hands of a secretary-salesman. The books of record necessary to 

 tabulating and accounting for the business of the several factories are kept 

 under his direction in the central office. As the milk is received at the fac- 

 tories each morning the cheesemakers enter receipts for it on tally sheets, 

 there being one sheet tor each supplier. At the beginning and middle of the 

 month composite tests are made cf each supplier's milk. At the end of the 

 month the tally sheets are summarized in a monthly report showing for 

 each suppliei the total amount of his milk and the results of the tests thereof. 

 This monthly report is sent to the secretary-saleman's office, where it is 

 used as a basis for the suppliers' monthly statements. Each cheesemaker 

 is further required to show in a weekly report to the secretary-salesman 

 the total amount of milk he leceives and the number of cheeses be makes 

 on each day of the week. The inspector supplements these reports b}' daily 

 reports of the number of cheeses of each variety inspected and the number 



