The RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
<21 
age consumption. All producers must be in a posi¬ 
tion of friendly co-operation with the buyers of 
their products to these ends. The farm organiza¬ 
tion must be built and operated to further these 
ends, not for one group, but for all producers. By 
this kind of co-operation all producers may help 
establish a uniform price, so that all will receive 
the same price for the same quality of product. 
A unified organization cannot stop at merely 
protecting its group membei's, or all organized mem¬ 
bers. It must protect all producers whose product 
goes into their market in competition with them. 
This is co-operation. Let us build and proceed ou 
this line, giving service to all, and we must suc¬ 
ceed. c. w. NEWTON. 
A Concrete Suggestion 
Please accept our thanks for the privilege to ex¬ 
press our views in helping to reach an understanding 
of the milk situation in the State of New York. It 
has been a wonder how sane business men and farm¬ 
ers could stand aloof so long under such an un¬ 
bearable condition. 
Answering your question. “What 
keeps dairy groups apart?" I will say, 
leaders Who are not large enough to 
recognize the rights of others, using 
small and unfair tactics, posing as a 
friend to the farmer, in order to fur¬ 
ther their own private gain. The prin¬ 
ciple under which I think all of this 
can only be improved is to pick one 
man from each group who has been 
weighed in the balance and not found 
wanting, and in turn these men meet 
at some central point and go over the 
whole ground in a thorough business- 
manner. My reason for suggesting one 
man is that too many amount to noth¬ 
ing but a lot of noise, all of which the 
farmer is heartily tired. It is results 
he wants. It has always been our pol¬ 
icy, and we are at all times ready to 
co-operate with all other groups, pro¬ 
vided the “cards are on the table and 
none up the sleeve.“Gordon Law, Pres. 
MIDDLEVILLE MILK & CREAM CO. 
Misunderstandings 
In my mind there is only one thing 
that keeps dairymen apart, just plain 
misunderstanding. There are so many 
dairymen in our State who cannot see 
anything except fluid milk and fluid 
milk prices. These men should realize 
the milk is going and should go into 
different classes. They all know that 
milk is used as fluid, condensed, evap¬ 
orated and powdered milk, butter, 
cheese, plain cream, ice cream and sev¬ 
eral other dairy products. They also 
know that these dairy products are and 
must be sold at different prices. We 
all know that manufacturers of con¬ 
densed milk will not and cannot pay $3 
per 100 for milk in New York State 
when it can be bought elsewhere for 
$2 per 100. The same is true for but¬ 
ter, cheese and other dairy products. 
may have to be done in order to open the eyes of 
some that refuse to see. The only possible way 
that some will see is through their pocketbook. I 
do not think the time is far off when this will have 
to come true. 
If some way could be found -where all leaders in 
the community, or better still, all dairymen in each 
county, could get together, bring their wives and 
have co-operation honestly explained to them it 
may do a little good, but I almost think that that 
time is past and some other way must be found. 
JOHN ARFMANN. 
The President of the Non-poolers 
In answer to your question “What in your judg¬ 
ment is keeping our dairy groups apart?" I will 
give what I think are a few fundamentals govern¬ 
ing. 
It seems to me that many of the fundamentals 
underlying milk-price troubles are overlooked by 
many. 
Any concern, organization or group of men, 
CHARLES S. GREENE 
A long time friend and contributor to The R. N.-Y., and one of the most 
successful poultry managers in the country. 
We know ihis is so, then how are we going to de¬ 
cide just what dairymen are going to sell milk at 
fluid milk prices and get $3 per 100 for their milk 
and what dairymen are going to sell at butter and 
cheese prices and get $2 per 100 for their milk? 
Mr. Montgomery of the Nestle’s Food Company 
says that milk should all be sold at one price, and 
that price should be whatever milk is worth for 
butter and cheese. That means if Denmark, where 
farm labor is $25 a year and labor in creameries 
$4 a week, will ship over plenty of butter we would 
soon get back to 75 cents per 100 for milk. Other 
dealers tell us that the only reason they will not 
recognize the pool is because they want the dairy¬ 
men to get all there is in the milk, as they know 
we need the money. At the same time these same 
men know that there is plenty of milk in New York 
State; they know that lots of milk is manufactured 
at less than cost of production, but still these same 
men go out further and further after milk. Canada 
is shipping milk to our State. I suppose these good- 
hearted milk dealers go into Canada and other 
States to get milk just to help the dairymen in New 
York State. 
One thing is sure; if the Dairymen’s League Co¬ 
operative organization should start tomorrow and 
dufnp the milk that is now being manufactured by 
them on the fluid market then all milk in our State 
would drop to $1.25 to $1.50 per 100 in a very few 
days. I for one would hate to see that done, but it 
whether it be farmer-owned milk shipping stations; 
a group of or a combination of the same or any or¬ 
ganization such as the “pool" in the scramble for 
the fluid milk market will always be a disturbing 
factor in the fluid milk market because they are 
in a position to go out and sell what milk they have 
at such reduced price as is necessary to obtain the 
business and return what is left to their producers. 
Those who are familiar with the subject know that 
the independents and the “pool” do not have to pay 
an established price to the producers, the same as 
the Non-pool buyers and the Sheffield Farms, who 
have their prices fixed in advance so that their 
producers know what they are going to get for 
their milk the following month. This plan of the 
farmer-owned plants has apparently not proved as 
satisfactory as where the price has been fixed by 
an agency not engaged in the milk business other 
than as a selling agency for all. If you will go 
over the prices distributed by the independents and 
those distributed by the “pool" and the price paid 
by the Sheffield Farms and the Non-pool buyers, 
for a period of one year or longer, I think it will 
convince anyone that the plan used by the inde¬ 
pendents and the “pool" has cost the milk producers 
included in them from 10c per 100 and up, gener¬ 
ally, considerably up in the loss of price received 
for their product. 
The milk producer’s money that he has invested 
in his plants is worth G per cent or better to him. 
and in many instances he has borrowed that money 
and is paying 0 per cent ou it. The depreciation on 
his plant is just as heavy for him as it is or would 
be for a dealer. Generally the milk producer is a 
borrower rather than in position to loan money, so 
the pooling plan or farmer-owned plant plan which 
requires a heavy investment of the milk producer 
is a burden which added to his loss. When it comes 
to receiving his check it makes that system much 
more of a burden than the milk producer as a class 
is prepared to assume, comfortably, at least. 
I know it is claimed that it is a good investment 
and insures a milk market. The simple and inex¬ 
pensive old-fashioned cheese factory would take 
care of the producer’s milk in case of einergency and 
did not cost him very much to maintain. However, 
we must admit that the farmers already have their 
money invested in the farmer-owned plants in a 
good many instances as well as in the “pool.” The 
principle of co-operation is all right. The matter of 
financing co-operation is one that seems to* me has got 
away from sound judgment. The principle of pooling 
_ seems to have resulted like a good 
many hospital operations—“the opera¬ 
tion is successful but the patient died." 
My answer to your second question 
“Under what broad principle and gen¬ 
eral policies can dairymen and dairy 
groups work together in permanent 
co-operative union?” is, there should be 
but one selling agency; that agency 
should not be in any marketing busi¬ 
ness other than selling the producer’s 
milk to the manufacturers and dis¬ 
tributors. That agency can be op¬ 
erated on a charge of lc per 100 lbs. 
It will be in a position to act equitably 
and justly between the producers and 
the milk dealers or manufacturer, and 
also between the milk dealers and 
manufacturers. The selling agency 
should not handle the producers’ 
money, but rather the buyer should 
pay direct to the producers. Under 
this plan the jir^pe would be uniform 
and the opportunity to cut the price 
would be greatly eliminated. It would 
put it up to the dealers and distribu¬ 
tors to depend on their efficiency rather 
than cutting prices to get business. 
The price fixed would include a proper 
station charge for handling and pas¬ 
teurizing, so that the farmer-owned 
plants would be in a position to dis- • 
tribute the established price to their 
producers. As it is now, each farmer- 
owned plant is competing against every 
other farmer-owned plant as well 
against the large dealers. 
The plan might also include a deduc¬ 
tion of %c per 100 lbs. to be set aside 
as an insurance fund against bad debts, 
although it probably would not be nec¬ 
essary, because if all the milk was sold 
through one agency, that agency 
could require all buyers to give a suffi¬ 
cient bond to insure a payment for ail 
milk received. As it is now, a good many times 
chances are taken on the financial ability of the 
buyer in order to get the business. 
I contend that the Non-Pooling Dairymen’s Co¬ 
operative Association, Inc., is the best vehicle with 
which to accomplish what we are looking after, viz., 
uniform and sufficiently high price to be paid to the 
producer so that his business will be on a fairly 
good paying basis. Our association is prepared to 
do this. We are incorporated under the law which 
will permit us to do it, and we steadfastly maintain 
that we are the best equipped organization in ex¬ 
istence to do the work in an impartial way for the 
milk producers. We are in a position to provide for 
representation from the various larger groups on our 
board of directors, so that the best talent from the 
various groups would have an opportunity to assist 
in establishing and negotiating milk prices. Our 
organization exists primarily for the milk producer, 
although we believe that the milk buyer is our cus¬ 
tomer, and that there is an opportunity for closer co¬ 
operation between the dealer and the producer. 
We stand ready to sell the milk for any group or 
groups of producers for the charge of 1 cent per 100 
lbs., and give representatives from those groups an 
opportunity to assist in saying what the price shall 
be, and we hope and expect that the time will come 
when this will happen. w. s. Rhodes, 
President Non-Pooling Dairymen’s Co-Operative 
Association. Inc. 
