SANITARY MILK PRODUCTION 



187 



says that in Washington the cost of production varies quite as much as in 

 various parts of the United States. The western part of Washington, 

 having heavy rainfall, is well-adapted to dairying and so milk can be 

 produced cheaply, whereas the eastern portion being semi-arid is not so 

 well-suited to the industry, consequently the production of milk is more 

 costly. In parts of the State a hundredweight of 4 per cent, milk can 

 be produced for 30 cts. ; in others the cost would be a dollar. 



Several of the investigations have shown that the quantity of milk 

 produced per cow bears an important relation to the cost of production. 

 This is of greatest significance to the dairyman who is not selling milk 

 on a butterfat basis. Table 53, from the New York study, illustrates 

 the point and the lesson it inculcates is that a poor-producing cow is an 

 expensive milk maker and therefore it behooves the dairy farmer to 

 improve his herd. 



TABLE 53. RELATION OF YIELD TO COST OF PRODUCTION (HOPPER AND ROBERTSON) 



The price that the dairyman receives for his milk is usually determined 

 by cheese factories, creameries or large city milk dealers. Sometimes 

 the price is a matter of direct agreement between the dairyman and the 

 buyer, often it is established after much parleying between the pur- 

 chaser and dairymen's associations. The price is usually higher where 

 there is competition for the milk either between different milk dealers or 

 between milk dealers and creameries. Where a single interest controls 

 the district the buyer virtually determines the price. The contract is 

 usually made so that more is paid for the milk in some months of the year 

 than others. This is made evident by Table 54 which gives the average 

 prices paid for milk in different sections of the United States in 1914. 

 According to this table milk was highest in December when the price 

 was 4.205 cts. a quart, and lowest in June when it fell to 3.264 cts. The 

 average price for the year was highest in New England, 4.657 cts. a 

 quart, and lowest in the Middle Atlantic where it was only 2.841 cts. 

 One dealer in the Middle Atlantic States reported that in June he paid 

 but 90 cts. a hundredweight or 1.9 cts. a quart. The Middle Atlantic 



