EIGHTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII. 293 



of churning when the cream could be sold at a figure which would 

 not only save this expense but net them a profit in addition. A9 this 

 is a matter of vital interest to the farmers selling cream it is thought 

 best to give a few comparisons to show whether or not a small creamery 

 can better afford to sell its cream or make butter. Taking the minimum 

 plant in which the operating expenses will be paid by the overrun, 62,500 

 pounds of butter fat at 23c in New York, would bring a gross return of 

 $14,375, as shown in Table 4. We will further assume that there is to 

 be no deterioration in the quality of the cream and that the plant is to 

 be kept up to its maximum condition and that in order to do this the 

 buttermaker, or a man equally as good, will have to be retained to re- 

 ceive and forward the cream. I think it is a conservative statement that 

 it will cost the creamery company not less than l^/^c a pound to receive 

 and forward this cream, make out the checks and handle all the business 

 incidental to a creamery. At this rate it would cost $937 to operate 

 the plant on this basis, giving a net return to the creamery of $13,438. 



TABLE NO. IV. 



Suppose New York quotations are 23c. 



Suppose New York quotations are offered for butter fat F. 0. B. place 

 of shipment. 



62,500 lbs. butter fat at 

 23c 



$14,375 



937 equals cost of handling at l%c per lb. 



$13,438 equals net returns 

 62,500 lbs. butter fat, plus 

 11,562 lbs. overrun, equals 



74,062 lbs. butter 

 24c per lb. equals 23c, plus Ic premium 



$17,774 gross returns, less 

 2,059 cost of maintaining plant 



$15,715 returns, less 



1,777 freight and commission 



$13,938 net returns 

 13,438 net returns from selling cream 



$ 500 difference in favor of running creamery. 

 In case of the 150,000 plant the saving would be $2,335 in favor of 

 churning. 



If this cream were churned into butter at the plant, 74,062 pounds 

 would be made. From a large number of reports on file it is fair to 

 state that the average, first class butter brings on the New York market 

 or any other good market, a gross return of Ic above the highest quo- 

 tation for extras. Assuming that this is true, in this particular case, the 



