What would it cost to put up a cold storage plant? I have approx- 

 imate figures from one who installs cold storage plants. He says that 

 a plant will cost in the neighborhood of one dollar per case of eggs 

 stored. For example, a plant for ten thousand cases would cost ten 

 thousand dollars. The larger the plant, the less per case. If this 

 plant could put out a by-product of ice, it might be able to make 

 operating expenses. Otherwise, the operating expenses during^ the 

 period of storage would not be more than one-fourth cent per dozen. 

 Some say six cents per case. 



I have tried to get exact information as to the total cost of storing 

 eggs. Members of the merchants' exchange say that it costs six cents 

 per dozen to store eggs. For example, if they pay 21 cents, they must 

 sell for 27 cents to come out even. At 28 cents they would make 1 cent 

 per dozen. A private commission man says that it costs him four cents 

 per dozen to store eggs, and that buying for 21 cents and selling for 

 28 cents leaves him a profit of 3 cents per dozen. A cold storage man 

 says that eggs can be stored for 2 cents per dozen, and that this covers 

 operating expenses, interest on total investment, loss in eggs, etc. If 

 this price of 2 cents per dozen is correct, there is a large margin of 

 profit in cold storage eggs. 



Suppose that a district would erect a cold storage plant for ten 

 thousand cases. This would accommodate one hundred poultrymen 

 with an output of one hundred cases each during the four months of 

 cold storage period. Suppose this was erected at a cost of $10,000. 

 Suppose that these eggs were stored at 21 cents per dozen. This year 

 cold storage eggs were contracted for 28 cents. If these ten thousand 

 cases were sold for 28 cents per dozen and it cost 2 cents per dozen for 

 storage, this would leave a profit of 5 cents per dozen, or $1.50 per 

 case, or $15,000 for the 10,000 cases. This would give $150 each to 100 

 poultrymen for the storage period. Fifteen thousand dollars left each 

 year in your home community would be worth while. This would be 

 pretty good for a ten thousand dollar investment. 



What would be the advantages of .the local cold storage plant? 

 First, it would save freight rates both ways to the city on all cold 

 storage products for home consumption. Second, it would be cheaper 

 to erect a cold storage plant outside the city where property is less. 

 Third, eggs would reach storage fresher and be better quality. Fourth, 

 and not the least, it would leave your money right at home where it is 

 earned and belongs. 



It would also be possible and feasible to have a grain warehouse in 

 conjunction with this packing plant, where feeds could be delivered 

 direct to the poultrymen at bare cost of handling. 



This scheme brings the problem home to each rancher, and it is 

 perhaps the only way to get down to possibilities. When the locals are 

 so organized, it will be a simple matter for all the locals to get together 

 and arrange the central clearing house in San Francisco and Oakland, 

 which would receive all the overflow from each district. 



How shall we finance this enterprise? It would be a simple matter 

 after the equipment is installed, for the banks will loan as high as 

 80 per cent on cold storage eggs, and this would carry us over the 

 spring months. How shall we raise the money to build our plant? 

 There are two ways. First way would be to approximate how many 

 eggs each individual would place in storage for the year this being 



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