A STUDY OF FARM BUTTERMAKING 

 IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



Introduction. — According to the last census report 143,981,000 

 pounds of milk is made into butter yearly on New Hampshire 

 farms. With an average test of four per cent, this amount of 

 milk would contain 5,759,240 pounds of butter fat from which 

 6, 719,113 pounds of butter can be made, figuring one and one- 

 sixth pounds of butter to each pound of butter fat. At 28.5 

 cents per pound of butter the total value of farm butter amounts 

 to $1,914,947.21. 



CONDITIONS FAVORABLE TO FARM BUTTER- 

 MAKING. 



It is generally accepted that the days of farm butter-making 

 are passed within the shipping zones of large cities. Undoubt- 

 edly there has been a decrease in the amount of farm butter 

 made in New Hampshire since the last census, but nevertheless a 

 large amount is still being made, due to the following conditions: 



1. Location of Farm. — In some sections many farms are lo- 

 cated at considerable distances from a railroad. This makes the 

 transportation of milk for the market very difficult if not pro- 

 hibitory, especially if the roads are stony and hilly, and if there 

 are no creameries or cheese factories in the locality, the milk and 

 cream is most commonly made into butter on the farm. 



2. Closing of the Creameries. — Due to an increased demand 

 for milk for city consumption many of the creameries in the 

 state have either been bought or forced out of business by the 

 milk contractors. Often the creameries were located at a dis- 

 tance from the railroad station. The result was that many farm- 

 ers living on the opposite side of the creamery from the railroad 

 station found the distance too great for daily transportation of 

 milk to the station, and therefore either gave up keeping cows 

 or began to make butter on the farm. Many smaller creameries 

 have failed, due to poor management and lack of cooperation or 

 confidence in the enterprise. In sections where creameries have 

 failed a suspicion has sometimes prevailed among the farmers 

 that they had been cheated in the butter fat test, and could get 

 more out of their cream and milk by making it into butter on 

 the farm. 



