THE MILKSHEDS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE 



! A Study of Their Characteristics and Relationships' ' 



By ALAN MacLEOD, Assistant Economist in Marketing 



To understand the working of economic forces in a particular mar- 

 ' ket, a knowledge of the physical factors influencing the supply of milk 

 and cream is necessary. This study attempts to supply such basic in- 

 formation regarding the dairy industry in New Hampshire. 



State-wide maps showing location of producers and their markets 

 have been prepared. For the markets operating under the State Milk 

 Control Board, estimates of sales by type of distributors and other perti- 

 nent data are presented. This combination of graphic and tabular data 

 gives detailed information regarding the milksheds of the State in a 

 manner which should prove of value in the planning, conducting, and 

 interpreting of future studies of milk marketing. 



The Problem 



Milksheds differ in their response to changing demand conditions. 

 A small market, isolated geographically and economically from other 

 markets and supplied with fluid milk and cream solely from near-by pro- 

 ducers who have no alternate outlets of any consequence, can ignore to a 

 r considerable extent price fluctuations taking place in other markets. 

 This is not true in the case of a small market situated in the center of 

 the milkshed of a large market. With producers able to change from 

 one market to another in response to price shifts, any conclusion regard- 

 ing supply in the small market must take into account the effects of hap- 

 penings in the large one. 



Therefore, it is important not to confine a study of physical factors 

 affecting the supply of milk and cream in a particular market to answer- 

 ing questions as to who produces the milk, where he lives, how far he 

 lives from his market, how he gets his milk to town, and whether he dis- 

 tributes it himself or through a dealer 's plant. 



These tell only a part of the story. Two markets may secure their 

 milk from about the same number of producers living about the same 

 average distance from town with similar methods of bringing the milk 

 to market and distributing it ; yet to conclude that similar price or pro- 

 duction policies will affect both markets in the same way and to the same 

 extent may be widely in error. It is necessary also to consider the in- 

 fluences (both actual and potential) of other markets. 



Some light upon the extent of such influence is thrown by maps 

 showing size, location, and present market outlets of dairy farms in New 

 Hampshire. Where, within a six-mile radius of a small market, a num- 

 ber of farms are now shipping to a large market (or markets), develop- 



(1) A "milkshed" is the area or region furnishing milk to a particular com- 

 munity. 



(2) This is the first New Hampshire publication in the New England-wide 

 milk marketing study, which is sponsored by the New England Research 

 Council. 



Acknowledgment is made to the State Milk Control Board, local boards of 

 health, milk distributors, and others who supplied data for use in this 

 study. 



