PROFIT FROM THE DAIRY 135 



one which has attracted much interest and discus- 

 sion within recent years in all the large dairy sec- 

 tions of the country. This is especially true in the 

 dairy districts which furnish the milk supply of 

 Chicago. Farmers, on one hand, claim that the high 

 cost of feed and labor has made the production of 

 milk at present prices unprofitable, or at best given 

 only a narrow margin of profit. The distributors 

 say that the increased cost of handling the milk, 

 due to more stringent sanitary regulations, as well 

 as to the general increase in labor and other ex- 

 pense items, has made it imperative that they re- 

 ceive more money. 



This contention between the producer and the 

 distributor has resulted in the formation of associa- 

 tions among the farmers calculated to insist upon 

 higher wholesale prices. Whether or not any ap- 

 preciable gain will come to the farmer through agi- 

 tation, it is certain that somebody was getting I cent 

 per quart more for milk in 1910 than in 1909, be- 

 cause the consumer had to pay 8 cents then, instead 

 of the 7 cents formerly demanded. 



There is no question that the expense of pro- 

 ducing milk has risen very materially and much 

 out of proportion to any trifling increase farmers 

 may have received for their product. However this 

 may be, there are dairymen who have made profits 

 even under the most unfavorable conditions of pro- 

 duction, cost and the markets. The average dairy- 

 man has likely just about been holding his own, 

 while there is a considerable class of farmers of 

 indifferent methods, whose dairy operations are re- 

 turning them a net loss. The dairymen who have 

 put the maximum amount of intelligence and busi- 

 ness management into the conduct of their business 

 are not seriously complaining about low markets 



