146 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



ter substitutes work a hardship on the producer of high grade 

 butter. 



Perhaps one of the greatest barriers in the past against im- 

 provement in quahty has been this aforesaid shifting of the 

 blame to the nearest dumping ground until they have all been 

 piled so high that they finally come tumbling down at the stable 

 door of the farmer. 



We as farmers recognize that there are certain duties in- 

 cumbent upon the producer of milk, if our state is to rank high 

 among those making quality a paramount issue, and that there 

 are certain precautions necessary to be taken, about stables and 

 care of utensils, if the best grade of milk and cream is to be pro- 

 duced. But, if we leave off at this point, as has been done in the 

 past, we are unfair and do not make an even distribution of the 

 responsibility. Lack of care will as quickly ruin the dairy pro- 

 duct in one place as another. The desirable characteristics may 

 be destroyed in the condensing plant. Filth will ruin cream as 

 quickly in the factory as on the farm. Milk and butter may 

 spoil in the housewife's cellar. So what we are clamoring for 

 is not some one to blame but co-operation on the part of all 

 those who have a part in handling the dairy product in any of 

 its phases. 



From the producer's standpoint we readily understand that 

 the best raw material is not obtained in stables reeking with foul 

 odors. It is now a matter of common knowledge that the sour- 

 ing of milk and the development of bad flavors is largely a bac- 

 terial process, the presence of which in large numbers, is usu- 

 ally accomplished by unsanitary surroundings. So the dairy- 

 man's problem is largely one of diminishing the number of these 

 organisms and producing conditions unfavorable for their 

 growth. This means careful washing and sterilizing of the dairy 

 utensils and making the best use of the well water at hand for 

 cooling purposes. In this connection one word is appropriate, 

 concerning the transportation of any of the dairy products. Es- 

 pecially is it true concerning the handling of milk. The unfav- 

 orable conditions that often prevail are the delivering of milk 



