FORTY-FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION 295 



IMPROVING THE CREAM, 



Prof. G. L. McKay, Chicago, Secretary American Association 

 Creamery Butter Manufacturers. 



From statistics furnished by the United. States government, 

 we find the production of butter manufactured in factories or 

 creameries is 627,000,000 pounds. Butter manufactured on the 

 farm, known as dairy butter, 995,000,000, giving us a total of 

 over one and a half bilHon pounds. 



From such information as available, I think I am safe in 

 saying that only fifteen percent of our factory butter grades ex- 

 tras and above. This means that 85 percent of our butter grades 

 first. Between firsts and extras there is ustially a difference of 

 about four cents per pound. On February ist, 191 5, we found 

 from New York quotations that there was a difference in price 

 'between the best and poorest butter of 16/^ cents per pound; ex- 

 tras was quoted at from 34 to 34 J^ cents per pound, and packing 

 stock sold from 18 to 21 cents. This difference is due to ignor- 

 ance or neglect, as no doubt the fat when drawn from the cow 

 was as good in the one case as in the other. If we take the con- 

 servative estimate of 4 cents per pound difference between the 85 

 percent of our butter that graded first and the 15 percent 'that 

 graded extras, we get a loss in the creamery butter alone of over 

 $25,000,000. If you include the dairy butter also, the annual 

 loss would be $60,000,000. In addition to the difference that 

 may occur in price, and the fact that part of the dairy butter 

 would be consumed at home on the farm, the making of good 

 butter tends to increase the consumption of butter which in turn 

 decreases the sale of oleomargarine and other substitutes. There- 

 fore, the making of good butter is of interest to everybody en- 

 gaged in the dairy business, and the farmers in particular. This 

 matter should challenge the attention of our agricultural and 

 dairy educators as well as our dairy farmers who bear the great 

 loss. 



