SECONDARY MILK MARKETS IN MASSACHUSETTS 

 IN THE PERIOD OF FALLING PRICES, 1930-1932 



By David Rozman, Assistant Resezircli Professor of Agricultural Economics 



INTRODUCTION 



The competitive conditions of milk marketing in Massachusetts, prevalent for 

 some time in the large cities of the state, have spread within recent years into 

 smaller communities previously dependent almost entirely on nearby producers 

 for their supply of milk. Although there has always been a certain degree of 

 dependence of small milk markets on conditions in Boston and other large cities 

 in the State, not until the beginning of the present depression did it become 

 especially prominent. The price structure of these markets has been affected by 

 the pressure of an additional supply of outside milk as well as by the changing 

 methods of local milk distribution, characterized by the attempt of an increas- 

 ing number of local producers to enter the distributing field to take advantage 

 of the spread between prices received for their milk from dealers and those pre- 

 vailing in retail distribution. 



As a result of various forces, a complete breakdown of marketing machinery 

 occurred in a number of small markets during 1932, causing large losses both 

 to the producers and to the distributors. 



In many small markets there has been a considerable increase in new regula- 

 tions for the sale of milk designed to prevent the influx of outside milk and to 

 keep within reasonable bounds the rapid movement of producers into the distribu- 

 ting field. However, in most cases the restrictions both in price and in sources of 

 supply proved to be effective only for a short time, and led eventually to greater 

 dislocation of local markets by preventing the readjustments which had to take 

 place in the face of the fall of purchasing power of consumers and general un- 

 employment. 



Method of Investigation 



In the summer and fall of 1932 a special investigation was made in three cities 

 situated in different parts of the state — Gardner, with a population of 19,399; 

 Attleboro, with 21,769; and Newburyport, with 15,084 — with the object of 

 studying their milk marketing set-up and analyzing the changes which have 

 taken place since 1930. The information was collected on the b'^sis of a ques- 

 tionnaire through personal visits to all the distributors and producers in Gardner 

 market and to the dealers and distributors in the other two cities. The main 

 points covered included supply and sale of milk, location of producers and dis- 

 tributors, and marketing machinery with price plans of producers, dealers, and 

 other distributing agencies. Special emphasis was placed on information in- 

 dicating the position of producer-distributors in the distributing field and their 

 relation to the maintenance of an Orderlv and stable market in these communities. 



