retail routes, and a larger proportion, 44 per cent, was used as cottage 

 cheese. The quantity dumped or used as feed for livestock was approximately 

 30 per cent. The report from New Hampshire also indicated a relationship 

 between the size of the operation and utilization of the skim. In the large 

 plants, 66 per cent of the skim milk was used as cottage cheese or sold on 

 retail routes. Only 18 per cent was dumped or sold as livestock feed. In the 

 case of the small plants, approximately 90 per cent of the skim milk was 

 dumped or fed to livestock. 



Of the 167 dealers who were attempting to balance receipts with fluid 

 sales, 28 had manufacturing facilities. Two of these dealers had a butter 

 churn in addition to facilities for ice cream manufacture. Twelve of the 

 dealers with manufacturing facilities or 40 per cent of the 167 who were 

 attempting to balance were located in the state of West Virginia. 



The analysis of methods used by dealers who attempted to balance milk 

 receipts and fluid sales showed that 27 per cent had a planned program of 

 "buying short" or "buying long". The remaining 73 per cent tried to balance 

 producer receipts with fluid sales as much as possible. All but 18 per cent 

 of them, however, had to do some buying and selling. While 85 per cent of 

 the dealers did some separating this was not a surplus disposal program but 

 was primarily for local sales of fluid cream. 



Prices of Milk — Other Dealer Transactions 



Information on the prices received for milk sold or prices paid for milk 

 purchased from other dealers was difficult to obtain. Many dealers did 

 not wish to divulge information of this nature. The data that were obtained 

 can only be considered as an indicator of how the pricing mechanism oper- 

 ates. The prices obtained related only to sales and purchases of fluid whole 

 milk, Table 10. The responses tabulated include dealers in the states of 

 Massachusetts and West Virginia who were attempting to balance receipts 

 with fluid sales but found it necessary to either purchase or sell milk with 

 other plants. In nearly all cases the prices were given in relation to the 

 classified prices which prevailed at the time the transactions were made. 



Table 10 Prices Paid and Prices Received for Milk Received and Sold to 



Other Plants, Twenty-three Respondents in the States of 



Massachusetts and West Virginia, 1956-1957. 



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