the 

 its 



?nt 



in- 



ro. 



ok 



li- 

 rt 



Helping Dairymen at; 

 St. Louis 



By G. Edwin Popkess 



DAIRVMKN i)f the St. Louis milk 

 tcrritory are leeontiiiii- the year 

 \9'M as one ehanu'teiized by sub- 

 stantial increase in milk prices, eonipara- 

 tive harmony between producers and'dis- 

 iributorp. and general acceptance that 

 the AAA license plan has materially as- 

 sisted Sanitary Milk Producers in efforts 

 to carry out the program for dairy mar- 

 keting adopted at the time of its oruaii- 

 ization six years a>ro. 



The contrast between conditions pre- 

 vailing at that time and the present set- 

 up is indeoil striking. Six years airo the 

 St. Louis milk territory was regarded as 

 the most difficult one in .America to oj-. 

 ^anize. The market presented a picture 

 substantially as follows: 



First, a few large dealers handling 

 I about 85 per cent of the milk with some 

 i 30 or more smaller dealers distributing 

 i the other l.'i per cent with some 12.000 



■ farmers producing the milk supply. 



Pnces were established once a month 

 by dealers, which farmers of necessity 

 accepted as the only outlet for their milk. 

 The Milk Shed had become greatly en- 

 larged and covered an area extending 

 more than 100 miles from St. Louis. 



Production Ineven 



Production was extremely uneven with 

 heavy production beginning in the fall 

 , extending throughout the winter, reach- 

 ing the peak in May followed by a short- 

 age during the summer months. Thi.s 

 necessitated bringing in milk from out- 

 side territories and contributed to en- 

 larging the Milk Shed. 



The price situation was entirely in the 



■ bands of the distributor, with the result 

 that the dealers' spread was one of the 

 widest in the country. 



All these conditions, combined with 

 dissatisfaction and bitterness from the 

 failure of a marketing company a few- 

 years before, resulted in a situation in 

 which the producers were in. an almost 

 hopeless condition. 



Confronted by this situation, those 

 "esponsible for organizing Sanitary Milk 

 Producers realized that for ultimate suc- 

 cess a definite program must be adopted 

 and followed. It was recognized that any 

 Association which would continue in suc- 

 cessful operation must render definite 

 service to its members; in other words 

 that the result is worth the price. 



The following seven point program 

 adapted to th^ needs of this teiritory 



FEBRl AftY. 193.5 



wa- adopted: 1. CoUectiv.' t)ari;aining: 

 '.2. .Surplus control; '{. Checking weights 

 and butter fat tests; 1. Quality. improve- 

 ment : .■>. Check on financial rating of 

 dealers; 0. .\ccurate market information: 

 7. Advertising for increa.sed sales. 



This wa.s the program around which 

 Sanitary Milk Proiiucers was organized. 

 It was sound then and is still sound. A 

 furth'T point has been adiicd. and that i- 

 fainier control of hauliiitr. 



Increase In Milk Price 



In checking th<- re-iili- of the A->'>iia- 

 tion's work ihiring tile pa^t -ix y.-ars. we 

 find that the increa-f ii! milk priie,. 

 shown by official figure- recently issued 

 by Fred L. Shipley, the Market .-Xdminis- 

 trator, showed for the month of October 

 VXVl that the weighted average price was 

 '.•Oc per cwt. with a lO.T'.'c butter mar- 

 ket; the weighted average price for Oc- 

 tober l'.'.">3 was §1.U; with a 2.;.01c butter 

 market; and the weighted average price 

 for October lO.U was §1.71 with a 2.^.'.tlc 

 butter market. 



While these prices are probably not as 

 high as many dairymen would like to 

 see, they are, neverthele.~s, substantially 

 above the previous years. 



Charts prepared by the University of 

 Illinois giving milk prices in the St. Louis 

 Milk Area for the past 2.5 years show- 

 that from the time of the .Association's 

 first business contracts in li'ol up to 



•date, the price received by dairymen ha« 

 'beer, substantiiilly above the <'>n<len-iTy 

 average. 



Previous to thi?*. .St. Louis niilk dn- 

 tributors had paid about a conden.ser.y 

 limit from I'.tOtt to VX',\. Little has been 

 done so far regarding the matter of sur- 

 plus c.>ntro!. which ii^ recognized a> a na- 

 tiijual problem an<l one diflicult to handle 

 >uccessfujly in any one local an-a. The 

 .Association now has a stafT of eight check 

 testers who test the milk of the inombor^ 



in everv plant ii\ the St. Loui- ar>a. 



» 



Support Milk Inspection 



The .Association has support^-il tin- pa.-t- 

 .-age of the recent milk ordinance pro- 

 siding thorough inspection for all farm- 

 ers producing milk for St. Lciuis. The 

 plan includes a contribution of one cent 

 per cwt. from the Asso<-i.ition and one 

 cent from the dealers, which fninl will be 

 turned over to a hcwly firganized "Milk 

 Commission" ou w'hich there will be C'lual 

 representation of producers, distributors, 

 and Consumers. This milk commission 

 will enijiloy the inspector-- who are to •).) 

 the country work and turn them over *o 

 the Health Department. thu.s removing 

 the country inspection from pr)litical con- 

 trol. 



The .Association maintaitis a complete 

 file showing credit ratings on all buyers, 

 and at various times removes milk of its 

 members from dealers who were unabb; 

 to pay. 



.A publication, known as the .Sanitary 

 Milk Producers' Bulletin is mailed out 

 monthly to all the M.-SOO members, con- 

 taining as much market information a.s 

 possible. This is supplemented by coun- 

 try meetings in which every effort is 

 made to inform the membership fully as 

 to conditions on the St. Louis market, 

 the work and the problems of the .Asso- 

 ciation. 



(Continued on page -"{l) 



C. 0. TITTTLE, GOVERNMENT BUTTER GRADER 

 of Chttmpaign. The Champaign plant n producing <>. 

 ■p^eadid co-operation of cream producer patrons m 



IN MODERN PLANT OF PRODUCERS CREAMERY 

 xceptionaUy ime "Praine Farms " butter ftho\fiQ( th« 

 delivering high quality rrf-atn. 



S3 



