392 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



cow were very closely related. In fact it was very seldom, indeed, that 

 the buttermaker and the dairy cow did not sleep under the same roof. 

 I regret very much to see this intimacy between these two almost in- 

 separable parties waning at the present time. In this age of specialization 

 we find the manufacturer and producer of dairy products drifting further 

 and further apart. In many instances the dairy cow is hundreds of miles 

 from the factory where her butterfat is converted into butter, and the 

 buttermaker never sees from one year's end to the next a single cow that 

 produces the fat which he handles every day. 



The creamery is always considered the center of the dairy industry. 

 Wherever the dairy cow's path leads the creamery sooner or later finds its 

 way. In the case of the smaller creamies that do not operate routes the 

 plant is visited by the farmers of the community once or twice a week 

 and while waiting for their cans to be emptied and washed the patrons 

 have an opportunity to converse with the buttermaker. How much more 

 is accomplished if the latter is interested in what each of his patrons are 

 doing. By hearing the experiences of each he can profit and gradually 

 become a benefactor to the dairy industry. It is this promotion of friend- 

 ship and mutual help that tends to make a success of any line of work, 

 and wherever we find harmony between manufacturer and producer we 

 are sure to find success. Probably the closest relationship which exists 

 between the creamery patron and the creamery is with reference to the 

 production of clean milk and cream. This intimacy exists because of the 

 fact that it is absolutely impossible to make a high grade of butter from 

 cream that has had improper care on the farm. You are probably aware 

 of the great value of cream and butter for human food if produced in a 

 sanitary way, but you also know that dairy products if handled in an un- 

 clean manner are the most dangerous foods that man can consume. The 

 buttermaker who has been schooled all his life in the care and handling 

 of milk and cream can well be considered a worthy adviser of the pro- 

 ducer. He understands the different fermentations which take place in 

 cream and milk when handled in an improper manner. He can instruct 

 the farmer in regard to cooling and aerating the milk or cream as quickly 

 as possible after drawn, and explain why it is better to keep the cream 

 which is only delivered three times a week, in a cold tank of water rather 

 than placing it in a can in the barn or wood shed. Quality of butter 

 made by a creamery can be determined with considerable certainty by 

 visiting the homes of its patrons. One need not inspect the plant at all 

 to place an approximate score on its products. If we find the patrons 

 milking good, healthy herds and the milk handled in a sanitary manner, 

 we can at once give the butter a fairly high score. On the other hand, if 

 the cows are dirty and are kept in a dark unventilated barn we can con- 

 clude that the butter which comes from the factory on the hill, no mat- 

 ter how good the buttermaker or machinery, is not first-class and would 

 not be counted among the prize tubs of this convention. If the farmer 

 could be made to understand the importance of these things there would 

 be less occasion for the explosion of cans due to gassy fermentations in 

 the cream. Instead of spending so much time in the factory trying to 



