Agricultural Finance & Co-operation. 540 



[December, 1911 



Benefit of Co-operative Dairies to 

 Smaller Farmers— The immense benefit 

 of this movement to the smaller farmers 

 can hardly be over-estimated. It was 

 formerly practically impossible for the 

 smaller man to deal with the milk 

 produced on his farm in such a manner 

 as to secure a high and uniform standard 

 of butter and cheese. He had to rely on 

 the local market for the sale of his 

 produce, and there was besides a con- 

 siderable wastage of by-products. Under 

 the co-operative system— which owes its 

 success largely to the introduction of 

 the centrifugal separators, which render 

 it possible to deal with larger quantities 

 of milk expeditiously— the smaller farmer 

 is assured of the best market obtainable, 

 has more time for properly attending to 

 his farm and stock, is able to buy back 

 at a very low figure by-products such as 

 separated milk, which he may need for 

 his own purposes, and, most important 

 of all, he has won the reliance of the 

 market on the high and uniform standard 

 of his produce, 



Management of a Co-operative Cream- 

 ery.— The Society having been formed, 

 an executive committee is selected, it in 

 turn electing its chairman, vice-chair- 

 man, and treasurer. The elections hold 

 for a year. The committee appoints a 

 manager, who is generally paid a lump 

 sum yearly, out of which he has to pay 

 the employees and himself. This system 

 has many obvious disadvantages, and it 

 is not unlikely that it will in time be 

 changed. The manager, besides engaging 

 the employees and supervising the work- 

 ing of the dairy, has to keep the books 

 and generally control the whole business 

 of the undertaking. 



Fittings of the Creamery. — The cream- 

 ery is almost invariably supplied with 

 steam-driven centrifugal machines, and 

 has one or more separators and pasteur- 

 isers, according to the amount of milk 

 dealt with. The machines generally 

 drive an electric plant and a cooling 

 apparatus. All utensils are very care- 

 fully cleaned, as are the milk cans before 

 their return to the farmer. Most of the 

 machines and utensils appear to be of 

 Danish manufacture, but English and 

 German marks are sometimes seen. 

 Great attention is paid to cleanliness in 

 every department, and the farmers also 

 are required to observe a very high 

 standard in this respect. 



Cartage of Milk.— The cartage of milk 

 is generally done by the dairy society, 

 who, in most cases, let it out to a con- 

 tractor. The dairy charges the farmer 

 so much per hundred pounds of milk. 

 These charges vary from three to ten 

 ore (rather less than |d, to about 



The farmers are bound to deliver th e 

 milk on the main road, where it is collect- 

 ed by the carrier. It is common sight 

 in Denmark to see two or three milk 

 cans standing by the side of the road for 

 the carrier to pick up. These cans hold 

 a hundred pounds of milk and are 

 supplied by the dairy. 



Treatment of the Milk.— The milk is 

 weighed on receipt at the creamery and 

 entered to the subscriber's account. 

 Payment is made according to the 

 amount of butter-fat contained in the 

 milk. Every dairy makes regular tests 

 of the milk supplied by its subscribers, 

 and any falling below a certain standard 

 is immediately notified to him, and if 

 the fault is not remedied his milk is 

 refused. Great care is also exercised to 

 prevent milk from any diseased animals 

 being sent to the creamery. Some co- 

 operative societies even go the length of 

 undertaking partially to indemnify a 

 subscriber who suspects one or more of 

 his cows of being tuberculous, and, in 

 consequence, does not send his milk to 

 the creamery. 



Formation of a Co-operative Dairy. — 

 The capital required to start an average 

 Danish creamery varies from £1,200 to 

 £1,500. This sum, which would cover 

 everything, is advanced to the Co-oper- 

 ative Society by a bank or other insti- 

 tution having money to invest. The 

 farmers forming the society pledge 

 themselves, each according to the 

 number of cows on his farm, to be 

 liable for this loan. The bank holds a 

 mortgage on the factory or creamery, 

 and has further right of recovery 

 against each farmer in proportion to the 

 extent of his guarantee. The farmer 

 undertakes to sell all the milk produced 

 on bis farm for a certain number of 

 years — the period varies in the different 

 societies from seven to twenty years — to 

 the co-operative dairy, and to observe 

 a certain number of rules as to feeding 

 of cows, treatment of milk, utensils, and 

 so on. Infringements of these rules are 

 punishable by fine, but such cases are of 

 very rare occurrence. Each member 

 signs an agreement drawn up in the 

 above sense, binding himself and his 

 farm to the observance of the rules there- 

 in contained. It thus follows that if a 

 farm changes hands during the period 

 for which the farmer has become a 

 guarantor, the liability rests on the new 

 owner. 



Number of Creameries in Denmark in 

 1908.— The figures for the year 1908 show 

 that there were in all 1,345 creameries in 

 Denmark at the beginning of the year. 

 Of this number thirty •three belonged to 



