to be drained and gravelled. In addi- 

 tion, certain herd management de- 

 cisions must be made. Does the farm 

 tank presuppose a herd expansion? 

 If so, what does this mean in terms 

 of housing, additional pasture, feed 

 and seasonality of production? Is 

 land available for expansion? A vari- 

 ation in production through the year 

 means a variation in the use of the 

 farm tank and in income. Some in- 

 ducement to reduced seasonality may 

 be offered by a farm tank. 



4. Community Plans 



The widespread adoption of tank 

 assembly in a community may have 

 an indirect effect on the tax load. A 

 reduction in the number of producers 

 paying taxes on their farm assets or 

 any additional expenses for road im- 

 provement and bridges consequent on 

 the use of tank trucks may increase 

 the tax load of producers who stay 

 in production. This forecast will be 

 conditional on the extent to which 

 other industrial or employment ac- 

 tivities develop in the community. 

 The closing of a receiving plant or 

 depot in a community would likely 

 have tax and income repercussions 

 which would require some reorgan- 

 ization or local budgets. 



The success of complete conversion 

 to tank trucks will depend on the 

 degree of community participation 

 and cooperation. It may well reduce 

 the number of dealers who can stay 

 in business. It may reduce the num- 

 ber of truckers needed as well as 

 the number of producers. A con- 

 certed effort with the assistance of 

 county agents and the extension ser- 

 vice can provide plans to reduce the 

 financial and social impact during 

 the transition phase. 



5. Increased Dealer 

 Responsibilities 



While the initiative for change- 

 over may come from one or a few 



dealers, there are many other dealers 

 who must later decide whether to 

 change. The initial phase of change- 

 over will not give dealers the full 

 benefit they expect from a complete 

 conversion of the plant to tank assem- 

 bly. They must be prepared, at least 

 for a time, to carry the financial load 

 of premium payments to producers 

 for bulk milk or supplementary pay- 

 ments to tank truckers, or both. Also, 

 few plants in the region studied had 

 yet been able to convert 100 percent 

 to tank assembly; and a plant receiv- 

 ing milk both in bulk and in cans 

 does not show the full saving on 

 labor and equipment likely from the 

 elimination of can handling. 



Nearness of producers to the mark- 

 et may contribute to maintaining 

 competition between dealers for milk 

 supplies. Producers will favor those 

 dealers providing more services or a 

 higher milk price. Larger producers 

 may favor dealers with tank assem- 

 bly facilities. These competitive 

 forces will influence the decision of 

 dealers. In addition they must at- 

 tempt to assess the potential savings 

 in the local plant operation. What 

 labor can be reduced? What operat- 

 ing costs can be eliminated? The 

 cooling of milk in the farm tank in- 

 stead of at the plant is one fairly 

 obvious means of reducing plant op- 

 erating costs. 



6. Exceptions to Change 



On the other hand there are deal- 

 ers with can assembly who are so 

 located that they do not worry about 

 losing their producers to dealers with 

 tank assembly because they have a 

 preferred local market for their milk 

 and can pay higher prices. The pro- 

 ducer-dealer relationship is satisfac- 

 tory and there is no incentive to 

 change over from cans to farm tanks. 

 Dealers may not handle enough milk 

 to justify investment in a holding 

 tank or to guarantee an income to a 

 tank truck driver. Small producers 



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