46 THE MODERN MILK PROBLEM 



those whom his activities affect. He must, therefore, 

 be prepared to deal with difficulties and justify his 

 course. 



THE PRESSURE ON THE FARMER 



It is from the producer, the dairy farmer, whether he 

 retails his product himself or sells to a middleman, that 

 the loudest opposition to higher sanitary requirements 

 has come. His most frequent protestation relates to 

 the price that he receives, namely, that he cannot 

 make sanitary improvements which necessitate greater 

 expense and care without some increase hi that price. 

 He argues that his labor is becoming harder, his ex- 

 penses heavier, and his margin of profit (if, indeed, it 

 exists) smaller, while time-honored ways are being 

 replaced by " new-fangled notions" which bring him 

 no benefit. "The complaint is," as an agricultural 

 journal remarked not long ago, "that everything used 

 in the production of milk has increased in cost during 

 recent years, while the price of milk has remained prac- 

 tically the same or [is] in some cases even less." 



In corroboration of this protest of the farmer a milk 

 specialist of the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture writes: 



If the dairy farmers of this country were asked this ques- 

 tion, "What can be done to encourage the production of 

 clean milk?" I am sure that nearly all would answer, "Se- 

 cure better prices and markets for our product." There- 

 fore, the conditions as they exist to-day are these: many 

 dairymen do not receive enough for their product to warrant 

 any extensive changes or outlay, and many dairymen who 



