28 CONFERENCE ON MILK PROBLEMS 



Another collateral procedure is to round off corners in labor re- 

 quired in caring for the animals, the effect of which, while reduc- 

 ing the cost, imperils the sanitary quality of the output. 



This concrete illustration of the price of hay is capable of dupli- 

 cation in one way or another by numerous other crops, and appli- 

 cable to zones of various dimensions. However, whenever dairy- 

 ing exists under the operation of such influences and all other 

 things are equal, it defines the places where the poorest milk is 

 produced. This accounts for the well known and seemingly anoma- 

 lous condition that the milk handled by contractors produced rela- 

 tively near to place of disposal is frequently inferior to that ob- 

 tained at more remote points. 



Moreover, other deterrent factors attend the growth of com- 

 munities which affect the actions of farmers in close proximity to 

 such places. Land values appreciate rapidly resulting in higher 

 assessments and taxes. 



For instance, take the land in the immediate vicinity of New 

 York City. Carry yourselves back before New York State attained 

 its present proportions. There was a time somewhere or other 

 when the land was only worth $15 to $20 an acre, and when milk 

 was sold from there and consumed here in New York; but with the 

 great growth of New York City, and with the "unearned incre- 

 ment" that flows out to the country, these lands are worth even, in 

 some instances, $400 an acre. Now, a farm of from twenty to 

 thirty acres at $400 an acre, represents an infinitely greater in- 

 vestment than a farm 100, 200, or even 300 miles from New York, 

 on a basis of $25 per acre. Land situated close to a great city 

 increases greatly in value as the city grows, and the owner of the 

 land is confronted with the problem of earning a fair income on 

 his investment. That fact becomes an added cost to milk pro- 

 duction. In that way, the difference in land values alone, vary- 

 ing from those of a farm worth $200 an acre and those of a farm 

 worth $25 an acre, other things being equal, will add almost a cent 

 to the actual cost of the production of the milk itself. If you 

 do not believe that, you can make the computation yourself. It 

 is a very simple problem in mathematics. 



The labor, although more readily obtained, is of inferior quality 

 and more expensive than that at more remote points. Social rivalry 

 is more intense, demanding a more expensive scale of living. All 

 of which sooner or later change farm practices even where indi- 

 viduals at first ignore or oppose the forces enumerated. Conse- 

 quently, milk zones have been constantly extended. The total ef- 

 fect of the forces just reviewed may be graphically considered by 

 the fact that were it not for these conditions all the milk required 



