10 BULLETIN 690; U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGKICULTUEE. 



the stripped, tub of butter is Aveighed. By recognizing half pounds 

 the weights obtained would approximate closely the actual net 

 weight and eliminate a large part of the difference between the 

 weights at the creamery and the market. 



MARKETING OF BUTTER BY CREAMERIES. 



The various buyers of creamery butter may be classified as con- 

 sumers, retailers, jobbers, and wholesalers. The i)atrons comprise 

 the principal outlet for the sale of butter direct from creameries 

 to consumers. Approximately 4 per cent of the butter produced by 

 Wisconsin creameries, and 6 per cent of that produced in Minnesota 

 was sold to the creamery patrons. At some creameries nearly all the 

 patrons obtained their butter from the creamery while at others the 

 sales to patrons were limited. 



Creameries located in large cities sold a large part of their butter 

 at some seasons to retailers, while some of the country creameries 

 sold practically none to this class of tarde. Of the total amount of 

 creamery butter produced in Minnesota, less than 7 per cent was sold 

 to retailers, while in Wisconsin approximately 15 per cent was mar- 

 keted in that way. 



Many jobbers who function as wholesale distributors in supplying 

 retail trade bought a large portion of their supply in print packages, 

 from creameries. Centralizing creameries located in large cities sold 

 local grocers large quantities of butter in prints. That which was 

 not sold locally was usually marketed through their own sales or- 

 ganization or distributed in ^Drints or tubs through jobbing agents. 

 The principal cities to which butter was shipped to wholesale butter 

 distributors were Chicago, New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. 

 These four markets received about two-thirds of the butter produced 

 in these two States. Chicago received approximately one-half of 

 Wisconsin's butter and less than 15 per cent of Minnesota's, while 

 over one-half of Minnesota's was marketed in New York City, and 

 less than 10 per cent of Wisconsin's. 



CREAMERY METHODS OF MARKETING. 



The general practice of Wisconsin and Minnesota creameries in 

 marketing tub butter was to ship it to wholesale receivers upon an 

 informal agreement between the creamery and the receiver under 

 which the price to be received usually was based upon a designated 

 market quotation for "extras." About 80 per cent of the Wisconsin 

 creameries based their agreements on the Elgin quotation; 16 per 

 cent on Chicago; and 4 per cent on the New York quotation. Min- 

 nesota creameries which shipped to New York generally used the 

 New York quotation as the basis of their price agreement. The 

 agreements frequently varied, including market quotation net f . o. b. 

 shipping station; market quotation net f. o. b. receiver's station; 



