4 N. H. Agr. Experiment Station [Bulletin 272 



method, and the per cent total solids was calculated from the percentage 

 of fat and the lactometer reading, using Babcock's formula. The amount 

 of sediment was found by passing a pint of milk through a cotton disc. Re- 

 ports were returned to each producer regarding his sample. 



General Picture: 



Laconia is favorably located in the summer-resort section. Its resident 

 population of 12,400 is greatly increased by out-of-state visitors during the 

 summer months. This increased the demand for milk during a period of 

 low-cost production. 



Although 87 producers were licensed to sell milk in Laconia, only 65 

 were found who performed part or all of the distributing functions during 

 the year, April 1, 1931, to April 1, 1932. The 65 sold 1,969,001 quarts of 

 milk during the year at a total sales value of $177,299.40, or at an average 

 price of nine cents a quart. 



Many sold through more than one outlet so that the sales of all occurred 

 in the following manner : 62 per cent retail ; 15 per cent to stores ; 3 per cent 

 to hotels and restaurants; 16 per cent to dealer-distributors, and 4 per cent 

 to surplus buyers. The fact that so small a part of the milk was sold as 

 surplus shows these men do have a definite advantage over other types of 

 marketing. In those instances where surplus milk was reported and not 

 sold, it was used at home. At other times, two neighbors would exchange 

 milk so as to keep a balance between their supply and demand. (See 

 Table 1.) 



The 65 producers may be divided into two principal groups : one of 54 

 producer-distributors who retailed over 74 per cent of their yearly supply 

 direct to consumers, and another group of 11 producers who sold over 89 

 per cent to dealer-distributors. The marketing problems of the producer- 

 distributors would be more numerous than those of the smaller group which 

 sold almost entirely to dealers. While both groups perform part of the 

 retail functions, such as washing bottles and bottling and delivering the 

 milk, those selling retail usually have bottle losses, bad debts and many other 

 selling problems not experienced by the others. 



The 54 producer-distributors sold 1,626,930 quarts of milk during the 

 year in the following ways : 74.2 per cent retail, 18.6 to stores, 3.8 to hotels 

 and restaurants, 0.4 to dealers and 3 to surplus buyers. Although all of the 

 men in this group retailed milk, over half of them or 29 delivered to stores, 

 and seven sold surplus milk. During the months of June, July and August, 

 sales averaged 5,117 quarts daily, or 846 quarts (16 per cent) more than 

 the daily average of the fall, winter and spring months. This summer in- 

 crease occurred in the following manner: 686 quarts retail, 129 to stores, 

 109 to hotels and restaurants, and 12 to dealers. The increased volume is 

 due to the greater demand created by summer visitors. See Table 1. 



On the other hand, the smaller group of 11 producers supplying dealers 

 only, averaged fewer quarts daily during the summer months than during 

 the balance of the year. The surplus sales of this group were over three 

 times as great as those of the producer-distributors, and with very little 

 seasonal variation. This group sold 342,071 quarts of milk during the year, 

 89 per cent going to dealer-distributors in Laconia. 



