24 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 366 



Two producer cooperatives were present in the Worcester market area. One 

 of them, the Worcester division of the United Dairy System, is a combined 

 producing and seUing cooperative, the members of which belong to the NEMPA. 

 This last, the NEMPA, with Its membership comprising 51.6 percent of all 

 Worcester milk producers in Massachusetts, is a producers' bargaining cooperative 

 that is active also in the Boston market. It is of the price bargaining type, and 

 its sales committee meets with a dealers' sales committee to determine prices. 

 Under government price control, the association cooperates as much as possible 

 with the Milk Control Board and takes the initiative in requesting price advances. 



Much of the cream shipped to Worcester from Vermont was purchased through 

 the NEMPA. The intensive dairy regions of Vermont, from which more than 

 50 percent of the total Boston supply comes, can be considered a potential source 

 of milk for Worcester. 



Prices 



The average price for Class I milk was $3,281 and for Class II, $L522 per 

 hundredweight in 1935 (Table 7). 



Table 7. — Butterfat differential and gross price paid at dealers' 

 plants by worcester milk dealers, 1935 



(Dollars per Hundredweight) 



Butterfat 

 Month Class I price Class II price Differential 



January 3.0225 1.68 .0453 



February 3.0225 



March 1-9 3.0225 



10-31 3.371 



April 3.371 



May 3.371 



June 3.371 



July 3.371 



August 3.371 



September 3.371 



October 1-20 3.371 



21-31 3.25 



November 3.25 



December 3.25 



Average 3.281 1.522 .0410 



Net farm prices for milk testing 3.7 per cent butterfat have been used to com- 

 pare returns for milk among producers in different parts of the milkshed and under 

 different buying plans. Such a price represents a good basis for comparison on a 

 production cost or comparative return basis. It does not show the absolute net 

 return that a price unadjusted for butterfat would show, but a total net price 

 used comparatively would not take into consideration the increased cost of pro- 

 ducing milk of higher butterfat content. 



