June, 1933] Retailing Milk in Laconia 19 



Three plans are suggested for reducing distribution costs : 



No. 1. Under the ideal conditions described in the preceding paragraph, 

 a small group of ]iroducers could form a neighborhood co-operative for 

 delivering milk, each one continuing to bottle milk, but one man collecting 

 from the farms and doing all of the distributing. The latter would receive 

 a definite amount per quart for delivering and for recording and prorating 

 the returns. 



Each producer would receive an original rating based on his percentage 

 of the total volume sold at time of forming the association. This rating 

 could be revised if the group desired. 



The milk sales would be pooled weekly and returns made to each pro- 

 ducer after deducting the fixed delivery charge, bad debts, and bottles lost 

 or broken on the route. 



The chief advantage of this plan is that all producers would share equally 

 in the savings through more economical distribution. 



No. 2. One producer would purchase all of the bottled milk from the 

 neighbors on his road or immediate vicinity. He would also buy out the 

 milk routes of each, thereby increasing his volume several times. 



The difficulty with this plan would be the variable butterfat and quality 

 factors of the milk. If all kept the same breed of cows, the variation in 

 butterfat would be negligible. It would be inconvenient to keep the milk 

 separate for each farm and continue to give each customer the same milk, 

 unless each producer had his own printed bottle caps. Even then some of 

 the trade would probably be lost because the personal relationships with the 

 producers would be broken. 



It would be difficult to set a selling price which would invite all producers 

 to stop delivering. As has been previously pointed out, there is much varia- 

 tion in their returns for labor. Those receiving small returns for their time 

 in delivering would be more willing to make a change than those obtaining 

 high returns. 



There are many other factors to be considered, such as size of farm, 

 possible increases in production, and alternative use of extra time. Under 

 this plan, however, the one who took on the extra volume would receive 

 greater returns for his time and use of his truck. 



Plan 3. Two neighbors might alternate weekly in delivering the milk 

 from both farms, thereby cutting delivery costs in half. Each producer 

 would continue to be responsible for his own customers, credits, and bottle 

 losses. Such an arrangement would have definite advantages where the 

 men are honest and of equal ability. 



