NEW YORK. APRIL 19. 1924 
Entered as Second-Class Matter, June 20. 1879, at the Post 
Office at New York. N. Y., under the Act of March 3. 1879. 
NO. 4791 
VOL. LXXXIII. 
Published Weekly by The Rural Publishing Co., 
333 W. 30th St.. New York. Price One Dollar a Y'ear. 
Interviews With Four Dairy Groups 
Dairymen’s League Co-operative Association 
I N the hope of finding: some means for the clari¬ 
fication of the present dairy situation, we sought 
and readily obtained an interview with the heads 
of the four dairy groups in the New York milk ter¬ 
ritory. The following report of the interviews has 
been approved by each of them. Consequently the 
statements are official. They give dairymen the 
best view of the situation that has yet been pre¬ 
sented and with the facts assembled in plain view, 
it should not be difficult to find a way to a better 
order of things. 
made with the stipulation that the price will be 
so much less than the pool Class 1 price. In No¬ 
vember we made a Class 1 price of $3.45. Sheffield 
Farms made their price $3.05. We had to reduce 
our price to $2.80.” 
Q. “Why did you not stop at $3.05 instead of go¬ 
ing to $2.SO?” - 
A. “That was because the other groups cut below 
Sheffield Farms and we were obliged to meet the 
lowest cut.” 
The present price of milk in New York should 
effect any different from an independent milk 
dealer?” 
A. “No, it is not. There cannot be any benefit 
from organization as long as these conditions exist, 
but it has in it the elements which, with proper sup¬ 
port. would change that situation. The stabilizing 
effect that organization could bring about is entirely 
lost for the present.” 
Q. “Why have the pool prices been less than cheese 
prices during the last three cheese seasons?” 
A. “That condition has not obtained for the last 
mmSm 
A Home Organization Grouped Around the Family Core. Fig. 234 
Q. “Who fixes the price of milk?” That was the 
first question asked President George Slocum of 
the Dairymen’s League Co-operative Association. 
A. “The price of pooled milk is fixed by the board 
of directors; but their action is based on market 
conditions. Today the market is in greater disturb¬ 
ance than has appeared before in six months. About 
50 per cent of city milk is sold to hotels, stores, res¬ 
taurants and such places in bulk. This sells at a 
bulk price, some of it as low as $2.30 a can. I have 
just received reports of sales on contract for a year 
at $2.60 per can by a broker selling for one of the 
independent groups. This is milk as it runs, prob¬ 
ably averaging 3.6 per cent fat. Sales are frequently 
be for Class 1 per 100 lbs.: milk, $2.33; freight, 53c; 
extra fat, 24c; pasteurizing and handling, 30c; total, 
$3.40 per 100 lb.s., or $2.89 per can. To contract this 
for a year at $2.60 is crazy work. 
Q. “Under present conditions do you yet expect 
milk to go to butter and cheese values?" 
A. “I see nothing to stop it if there is no correc¬ 
tion of the present unwarranted competitive market 
conditions. We contract only for a month, but we 
give our customers assurances that we will protect 
them in the market. On the platform we adjust the 
price up oi 1 down from day to day to meet market 
conditions.” 
Q, “In the present situation then is the pool in 
three years, and anyone consulting the records of 
any disinterested institution which has made an in¬ 
vestigation to ascertain cheese yields and making 
charges, and applying those against our cheese prices 
will find that our pool prices have exceeded the 
cheese prices as so ascertained. Unfortunately, coun¬ 
try cheese factory prices are subject to so much 
manipulation and are based on so many varying 
factors that it is practically impossible to deter¬ 
mine what the country cheese factory price really is 
for 3 per cent milk. Our pool price is based on 3 
per cent milk. Our investigations show that prices 
of milk for cheese making vary from one neighbor¬ 
hood to another, The cheese maker usually works 
