232 CITY MILK SUPPLY 



agrees to take the milk the dairyman brings him, paying therefor what 

 and when he chooses, or a few weeks in advance, he may set the price of 

 milk for the ensuing month. In better-developed dairy districts sounder 

 business relations exist; written contracts are made for 6- or 12-month 

 periods. These contracts vary a great deal; they commonly state the 

 price to be paid each month for milk and often contain a clause to the 

 effect that the daily deliveries of milk by the dairyman shall not vary 

 more than a stated percentage above or below the amount called for in 

 the contract. Other clauses are often inserted whereby the dairyman 

 agrees to do certain things such as to exclude certain breeds of cows from 

 his herd, to have his herd tuberculin-tested every 6 months, not to use 

 divers kinds of feed, to build a milk house or silos, or to cool his milk 

 right after milking and to deliver it at the receiving station between 

 certain hours and below a fixed temperature. In these long-term con- 

 tracts the price paid for milk varies from month to month, usually being 

 lower in June and the early summer months than in mid- winter. 



The basis on which milk is bought varies; the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture states that the following systems of purchase are in common 

 use: 



1. By the quart or gallon. 



2. By the can, the size of which varies from 8>^ to 40 qt. or more. 



3. By the can, with the stipulation that the can of milk must come up to the 

 standard weight. 



4. By the can or gallon, with a minimum standard for butterfat and a definite 

 premium per gallon for each 0. 1 per cent, butterfat above a certain fat test as, for 

 instance, 3.8 per cent. 



5. By the gallon, the number of gallons being determined by dividing the weight 

 of the milk by 8.6. 



6. By weight by assuming a fixed weight for a can of milk and multiplying it by 

 the number of cans. 



7. By weight, the milk being actually weighed. 



8. By weight, as by No. 4, with in addition a stated minimum standard for dairy 

 farm score with a premium for points scored above the standard. 



9. At a certain rate per pound for butterfat plus so much per 100 Ib. for skim-milk; 

 e.g., at 38 cts. a pound for butterfat and 70 cts. per 100 Ib. for skim-milk, 100 Ib. of milk 

 would bring 3.3 X 0.38 = 1.25 + (96.7 X 70 = 68) = $1.93. 



10. On the same basis as No. 9, except that the weight of whole milk instead of 

 skim is considered. 



11. By weight, with additions or deductions to the rate according as the percentage 

 of butterfat rises or falls above or below an established standard. Premiums may be 

 paid for each 0.1 per cent, of butterfat above the standard, and deductions made from 

 each 0.1 per cent, below it or sometimes premium is paid only for milk 0.3 per cent, 

 above the standard while deductions are made for each 0.1 per cent, below it. 



12. Milk is bought on a base rate which is established for each month in the year 

 by averaging the butterfat content of the milk for each month over a series of years 

 and fixing the rate in accordance therewith, a premium of 3 cts. per 100 Ib. in summer 

 and 4 cts. per 100 Ib. in winter being paid for each 0.1 per cent, of butterfat that the 

 milk runs in excess of the average and a like deduction being made for each 0.1 per 



