210 



DAIRY FARMING 



One who under such conditions produces butter or cheese 

 is using more expensive raw materials and gets little if any 

 more for his product. 



In 1912 farmers who sold milk to cities in different parts 

 of the United States received an average of 3.57 cents per 

 quart above all shipping costs. The averages varied from 

 2.9 to 4.4 cents for different cities. 1 In the same year the 

 average farm price of butter was 26.1 cents per pound. 2 

 The price received for the milk was probably equal to 36 

 cents per pound for butter. 



How difficult it is for farmers near cities to compete in 

 butter production with those who have cheaper feed is 

 shown by a comparison of prices in New York and Iowa. 

 The average farm prices in 1914 are given in Table 24. 



TABLE 24. AVERAGE FARM PRICES IN IOWA AND IN NEW YORK 3 



Butter was only 19 per cent higher on New York farms 

 than on Iowa farms, but hay was 45 per cent higher and 

 corn 51 per cent higher than in Iowa. Other feeds are in 

 about the same proportion. It is evident that butter and 

 cheese production must shift to the regions of cheap feed. 

 This shift is most strikingly shown by census figures. All 



1 U. S. Dept. Agr., Weekly News Letter to Crop Reporters, Sept. 24, 

 1913. 



2 U. S. Dept. Agr., Yearbook, 1912, p. 686. 



3 U. S. Dept. Agr., Yearbook, 1914, pp. 516, 570, 626. 



