174 AGRICULTURAL ORGANISATION 



order to avoid any fall in prices owing to the supplies forwarded 

 being in excess of the demand ; 



4. Retaining the surplus and converting it into cheese or 

 some other marketable commodity, thus not only avoiding a fall 

 in prices for the milk, but ensuring additional profits in other 

 directions. 



5. Opening up possibilities of a further resort to co-operation 

 by the joint purchase of feeding stuffs, fertilisers and other 

 requirements ; and 



6. Encouraging the keeping of cows by small holders, as is 

 the case on the Continent, there being good reason for expecting 

 that, with co-operative marketing of the produce, the cow may 

 become the mainstay of the small holder. 



In the carrying out of this programme there is no idea of 

 increasing the price of milk to the consumer. All that is 

 required to improve the position of the dairy farmers, small 

 holders and other land occupiers can, it is believed, be 

 secured by them through co-operation and without pre- 

 judicing the interests of any one except the middleman. 

 Happily, too, not only have steps already been taken in this 

 direction, but much more is now being done. 



CO-OPERATIVE DAIRYING IN ENGLAND. 



Although at the present time Denmark is recognised 

 as holding the premier position in co-operative dairying, 

 it is not generally known that several co-operative cheese 

 factories were started in England during the early seventies. 



Through good and bad seasons they have continued 

 their operations for upwards of forty years, a period which 

 has seen great developments in the commercial life of this 

 country. 



It is to be regretted, however, that notwithstanding 

 the early commencement of co-operative dairying in England 

 the subsequent development of the industry has been 

 exceedingly slow when compared with that which has 

 taken place in this direction in other countries. 



As far back as 1874, a number of farmers, in the Manifold 

 Valley, Derbyshire, met to consider the advantages of 

 combining together to build and equip a cheese-factory 

 for their joint use. This they eventually did, each member 



