The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
519 
Facts  and  Figures  about  Milk 
THE  Dairymen’s  League  Co-operative  Association 
reports  $2.31  per  100  lbs.  as  the  pool  price  for 
3  per  cent  milk  for  the  month  of  February.  From 
this  it  deducts  10  cents  per  hundred  for  its  capital 
fund,  making  a  net  return  to  patrons  of  $2.21.  The 
price  for  January  was  $2.21.  with  10  cents  deduction 
for  capital  fund,  making  the  net  price  to  producers 
$2.11.  It  reports  an  increased  quantity  of  milk 
handled  -in  the  pool  plants  in  the  higher  classifica¬ 
tions. 
The  fiat  price  of  the  Non-poolers’  Association  for 
February  was  $2.50. 
The  Sheffield  Farms  Company  producers  received 
a  flat  price  of  $2.50. 
The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  re¬ 
ports  the  prices  paid  producers  at  country  stations 
for  a  number  of  cities.  The  prices  are  based  on  3.5 
per  cent  milk.  Allowing  20  cents  for  the  extra  five 
points  to  correspond  with  the  New  York  base  of  3 
per  cent  milk,  the  quotations  for  February.  1922  and 
1923,  are  as  follows:. 
Washington,  D.  C . 
Chicago,  Ill . 
Baltimore,  Md . 
Boston,  Mass . 
Trenton,  N.  J . 
Buffalo,  N.  Y . 
Cleveland,  O . . 
Cincinnati,  O . . . . . . 
Philadelphia,  Pa . 
Harrisburg,  Pa . 
Providence,  R.  I . 
League  pool,  net . 
1922. 
$1.90 
1.50 
1.81 
2.4S 
1.89 
2.84 
1.40 
1.90 
1.88 
1.77 
1923. 
$2.30 
2.30 
2.19 
2.91 
2.47 
2.50 
2.00 
2.00 
2.39 
2.15 
3.09 
2.21 
These  figures  represent  the  cash  return  by  the 
pool.  In  1922,  20  cents  was  deducted  for  capital 
fund,  and  in  1923,  10  cents  was  deducted  for  the 
same  purpose,  making  the  gross  $1.97  and  $2.31,  re¬ 
spectively. 
In  January,  1910,  when  the  Borden  Company  made 
the  price  to  producers  for  all  milk  in  the  New  York 
zone,  the  flat  price  was  $1.00.  The  February  price 
was  $1.55.  This  was  a  flat  price  for  3  per  cent 
milk,  the  dealers  taking  all  that  was  produced.  The 
average  price  of  cheese  for  the  month  of  January, 
1910,  was  17%  cents  per  lb.  The  average  price  of 
92-score  butter  for  the  same  month  was  32.04  cents 
per  lb.  Figured  on  the  value  of  the  milk  to  manu¬ 
facture  into  butter  and  cheese,  the  price  of  3  per 
cent  milk  in  January,  1916,  would  have  been  $1.57. 
In  February,  1916,  the  Bordens  -set  the  price  of 
3  per  cent  milk  at  $1.55  per  100  lbs.  The  average 
price  of  cheese  that  month  was  17%  cents,  and  of 
butter  33.85  cents.  Estimated  on  these  values,  the 
price  of  milk  would  have  been  $1.01,  so  that  Bor¬ 
den's  voluntarily  paid  3  cents  above  the  butter  and 
cheese  values  in  January,  1910,  and  0  cents  below 
the  butter  and  cheese  values  in  February  of  that, 
year.  That  was  the  year  before  the  war  and  before 
the  first  milk  fight,  which  began  October  1  of  that 
year. 
In  January,  1923,  the  average  cheese  price  was 
27.70  cents,  and  of  butter  51.27  cents  per  lb.  Figur¬ 
ing  on  the  same  formula  as  before,  the  value  of  3 
per  cent  milk  would  be  $2.01  per  100  lbs. 
In  February,  1923,  the  average  cheese  quotation 
was  27.05  cents  and  of  butter  49.88  cents  per  lb. 
Again  using  the  same  formula,  the  value  of  milk 
would  be  $2.59  per  100  lbs. 
The  pool  paid  40  cents  less  than  the  butter  and 
cheese  value  in  January,  and  28  cents  less  in  Febru¬ 
ary,  but  the  deductions  for  capital  fund  make  the 
difference  20  and  18  cents  less,  respectively. 
In  January,  1923,  the  Sheffield  Farms  Company 
paid  $3.15,  or  54  cents  above  the  butter  and  cheese 
value,  and  in  February  this  company  paid  $2.50,  or 
9  cents  below  the  butter  and  cheese  value,  as  esti¬ 
mated  by  the  formula. 
The  formula  used  for  these  computations  takes  the 
average  quotations  of  butter  and  cheese  for  the 
month,  and  adds  the  value  of  skim-milk  and  whey. 
No  allowance  is  made  for  manufacturing,  as  the 
purpose  is  to  get  the  real  value  of  the  milk  as  ex¬ 
pressed  in  terms  of  butter  and  cheese  quotations. 
The  formula  is  the  one  used  by  the  Dairymen’s 
League  and  the  New  York  Milk  Conference  Board  to 
establish  prices  of  milk  in  1919.  It  makes  a  gradu¬ 
ated  allowance  for  skim-milk  and  whey,  based  on 
the  quotations  of  butter  and  cheese.  There  may  be 
some  question  about  the  value  of  the  by-products  at 
this  time:  but  for  comparisons,  at  least,  the  formula 
is  fair. 
To  carry  the  comparison  a  step  further,  it  is 
proper  to  state  that  in  1910  the  consumer  in  the  city 
paid  9  cents  per  quart  for  bottled  milk.  She  now 
pays  15  cents  and  more  in  proportion  for  A  grade 
and  pint  bottles. 
No  one  can  form  a  sound  judgment  on  business 
matters  until  he  has  full  and  correct  information. 
New  York  City  is  beyond  question  the  best  fluid 
milk  market  in  the  world.  We  hope  to  assemble  all 
the  information  available  in  reference  to  it,  and  help 
everyone  who  is  working  for  a  development  of  the 
industry  and  for  a  square  deal  for  the  most  impor¬ 
tant  factor  in  that  development — the  men  who  pro¬ 
duce  the  milk. 
The  Agricultural  Population  of  N.  Y. 
A  SHORT  time  since  we  spoke  of  a  set  of  figures  of 
farm  population  in  New  York  State  which  have 
been  compiled  by  Prof.  Geo.  F.  Warren  of  Cornell 
University.  These  figures  refer  to  the  population  on 
New  York  farms,  and  are  of  great  interest  to  any¬ 
one  studying  the  agriculture  of  this  State.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  table  shows  the  number  of  persons  living  on 
the  farms.  February  1,  of  various  years: 
Ratio  to 
Persons,  Preceding  year, 
Year.  Number.  Per  cent. 
1917  .  897,912 
1918  .  858,404  95.0 
1919  .  824,008  90.0 
1920  .  800,747  97.2 
1921  . .. .  784,052  98.0 
1922  .  794,400  101.25 
1923  .  702,304  90.0 
These  reports  are  thought  to  be  quite  accurate, 
and  they  probably  give  a  very  fair  statement  of  the 
gain  or  loss  in  farm  population.  There  is  a  gain  to 
and  fro  between  the  farm  and  city  each  year.  Thou¬ 
sands  of  farmers’  sons,  farmers  themselves,  and 
other  workers,  go  to  the  city  for  employment  and.  in 
return,  city  workers  go  out  to  the  farms.  In  the 
year  ending  February  1,  1923,  about  34.000  men  and 
boys  in  the  State  of  New  York  left  farming  to  go 
seek  employment  in  other  industries.  During  the 
same  period  8,000  men  and  boys  left  factory  and 
town  to  go  to  work  on  the  farm.  This  was  an  un¬ 
usually  large  loss  of  farm  labor,  for,  in  the  year 
ending  February  1,  1920,  17.000  men  and  boys  left 
the  farm,  and  14,000  returned  to  the  farm,  and  in 
that  year  the  farm  population  increased  a  little.  At 
that  time  the  conditions  on  the  farm  were  not  good ; 
but  the  city  conditions  were  worse  still,  and  that 
meant  a  transfer  of  workers  as  here  given. 
During  the  year  1922  the  average  farm  wages  av¬ 
eraged  50  per  cent  above  the  year  1914  level,  where¬ 
as,  on  the  other  hand,  the  earnings  of  the  factory 
workers  were  about  double  those  of  1914,  and  with 
all  this,  the  average  price  paid  for  the  farm  product 
was  only  33  per  cent  higher  than  in  1914. 
As  a  rule,  the  farmers  have  more  children  than 
the  average  city  household,  and  of  course  that  means 
that  there  are  more  male  workers  likely  to  go  to 
town,  so  it  happened  that  in  the  past  four  years 
123,000  male  farm  workers  have  left  the  New  York 
farms  to  do  other  kinds  of  work ;  while  49,000  have 
left  other  kinds  of  work  to  aid  in  farming.  That 
means  that  the  farms  of  the  State  have  made  a  net 
contribution  of  74,000  workers  to  the  city,  and  in 
addition  to  that  many  young  boys,  farm  raised  and 
bred,  have  also  gone  to  town.  It  is  figured  that 
probably  about  one-half  of  the  children  born  on 
farms  go  to  the  cities  finally,  so  that  one-luilf  of  the 
rural  school  expenses  are  really  training  people  for 
city  occupation.  Prof.  Warren  puts  it  in  this  way. 
He  says  that  if  the  farm  contributes  a  horse  or  a  pig 
to  the  city,  some  cash  wil  come  back  and  will  be 
available  for  farm  improvement,  for  taxation  and 
other  expenses.  If  a  farmer  contributes  a  boy  that 
costs  a  large  amount  of  money  to  raise  and  educate, 
and  this  boy  is  also  sent  to  the  city,  nothing  of 
tangible  property  comes  back  in  return.  Those  who 
have  raised  and  attempted  to  educate  a  good  many 
boys  know  very  well  that  you  cannot  feed  a  boy  or 
prepare  him  for  the  job  of  earning  his  own  living  or 
to  become  self-supporting  very  much  under  $5,000, 
and  the  cost  is  more  than  that  in  most  cases. 
These  things  are  pointed  out  to  show  the  large  and 
constant  drain  away  from  the  country  to  the  city 
that  is  steadily  going  on. 
It  has  come  to  the  point  where  the  greater  part 
of  the  farm  work  on  the  New  York  State  farms  is 
now  done  by  the  farmers  and  members  of  the  fam¬ 
ilies.  The  following  table  shows  the  estimated  num¬ 
ber  of  hired  men  on  New  York  State  farms  Febru¬ 
ary  1.  1923.  During  the  Summer  months  this  num¬ 
ber  would  be  increased,  but  the  total  for  all  times 
tlie  year 
is  very  muck  smaller 
than  in  former 
rs: 
Hired  men. 
Ratio  to 
Preceding  year, 
Year. 
Number. 
1  Vr  cent. 
1910  .. 
.  70.988 
1917  .. 
.  05.132 
84.0 
1918  .  . 
.  53.599 
82.3 
1919  .. 
.  45,559 
85.0 
1920  . . 
. .  37,708 
82.9 
1921  .  . 
91 .5 
1922  .  . 
100.1 
1923  .. 
•  •••••••••••#  *j0  • 
88.3 
We  see  that  on  February  1  there  were  30,540 
hired  men,  against  70, OSS  in  1916.  There  is  now 
about  one  hired  man  for  every  six  families  in  the 
State,  and  if  this  condition  continues  much  longer 
the  actual  hired  man  will  rank  among  the  extinct 
species. 
So  far  as  can  be  judged  ahead  of  the  season,  it  is 
expected  that  the  total  area  in  crops  this  year  will  be 
about  the  same  as  last  year.  The  use  of  machinery 
and  increased  efficiency  is  largely  making  up  for  the 
decrease  in  population. 
We  understand  that  for  the  last  several  years 
there  has  been  more  food  produced  than  could  be 
properly  distributed  under  the  present  system  of  dis¬ 
tribution.  It  is  not  possible  with  the  present  work¬ 
ing  force  to  keep  up  fences,  to  dig  new  drains,  or 
to  do  much  of  the  other  work  which  is  necessary  to 
maintain  efficiency.  Until  the  purchasing  power  of 
farm  products  rises  these  things  will  continue,  and 
the  farm  in  many  sections  will  continue  to  decline. 
Neglect  of  repairs,  fences  and  drains  will,  in  time, 
make  itself  felt  in  production. 
Prof.  Warren  thinks  that  the  run  of  low  prices,  or 
low  consuming  power  of  farm  products,  is  now  com¬ 
ing  to  its  end ;  he  thinks  there  is  to  be,  in  the  next 
few  years,  a  slight  improvement  in  these  conditions; 
but  he  does  not  believe  that  a  boom  is  coming,  or 
that  there  is  to  be  any  immediate  resumption  of  high 
prices. 
Why  Am  I  a  Farmer? 
Why  a  farmer?  I  often  wonder  why  so  many  of  us 
are  farmers.  It  can’t,  be  because  of  the  money  there 
is  in  it,  for  a  great  many  could  make  more  in  some 
other  business,  it  can’t  be  because  a  man  is  afraid  of 
work,  for  farm  work  is  harder  and  the  hours  longer  than 
almost  any  other  business  or  profession.  It  is  no  get- 
rich-quick  investment.  Take  the  average  farm,  especially 
in  the  East,  where  the  land  value  is  high,  and  the 
farmer  has  at  least  $25,000  or  $30,000  tied  up.  After 
all  expenses  are  paid,  including  wages  for  himself,  he 
has  nowhere  near  six  per  cent  left.  Besides,  it  is  often 
six  months  or  more  before  he  gets  any  returns  for 
money  invested. 
8o  much  for  the  financial  end  of  it.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  is  working  in  God’s  out  of  doors,  lb*  is  not 
standing  at  a  machine  or  sitting  at  a  desk,  doing  one 
thing  all  day  and  the  same  thing  every  day.  His  work 
has  variety,  and  variety  is  the  spice  of  life. 
It  is  with  great  interest  that  I  read  about  the  baek- 
to-the-landers.  I  often  wonder  how  many  of  them  are 
fitted  for  a  farmer’s  job.  There  are  so  many  kinds 
that  try.  Some  have  done  manual  labor  all  their  lives, 
for  someone  else,  and  have  no  executive  ability  at.  all, 
but  they  think  if  they  work  hard  that  is  all  that  is 
required.  Others  have  had  indoor  positions,  and  most 
of  them  think  about  all  there  is  to  farming  is  to  plant 
the  seed  and  reap  the  harvest.  As  a  rule,  neither  kind 
lasts  very  long  at  farming. 
I  think  the  greatest  absurdity  is  the  millionaire 
farmer.  If  they  ran  their  businesses  the  way  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  them  do  their  farms,  they  would  never  have 
become  millionaires.  I  often  wonder  if  they  interfere 
with  the  heads  of  their  different  departments  the  way 
they  do  with  the  farmer  on  their  farms.  If  I  should 
ever  come  down  to  the  necessity  of  running  a  place  for 
one  of  these  so-called  farmers,  I  should  have  it  under¬ 
stood  before  I  started  to  work  that  he  should  tell  me 
what  he  wanted  raised,  the  different  stock  he  wanted 
kept,  and  after  that — no  interference. 
In  my  opinion  there  are  some  things  that  do  not  go 
together,  as  truck  farming  and  dairy  farming.  They 
are  two  entirely  different  kinds  of  business,  and  either 
one  or  the  other  would  suffer  in  combination.  If  you 
like  cows,  stick  to  the  dairy  business,  as  you  will  no 
doubt  make  a  success  of  it. 
What  does  it  take  to  make  a  successful  farmer?  If 
I  could  answer  that  question  I  would  not  be  dependent 
on  my  farming  for  my  living,  as  I  am  now.  But  I 
think  these  things  are  among  the  essentials.  I  believe 
the  most  important  thing  is  a  good  wife,  one  who  loves 
the  country  and  who  wants  to  bring  up  her  children  in 
the  fresh  air  and  sunshine;  one  who  thinks  there  are 
some  things  more  important  than  money,  and  who  is 
i  ot  afraid  of  work.  I  do  not  mean  by  that  that  she 
should  work  in  the  field.  I  do  not  think  much  of  the 
man  who  uses  his  wife  as  a  hired  man.  There  are  few 
women  in  this  country  who  can  work  in  the  field  and 
not  pay  up  for  it  later  in  life. 
Then,  too,  a  farmer  must  have  some  executive  ability. 
He  must  know  how  to  handle  men  and  not  lx*  afraid 
of  work  himself.  At  the  present  time  he  has  to  he  a 
machinist  or  understand  quite  a  bit  about  the  different 
machines  and  implements  he  has  on  his  farm.  This 
knowledge  will  save  many  hours  of  time  and  quite  a 
few  dollars  when  something  goes  wrong  or  breaks  down. 
A  knowledge  of  carpentry  and  plumbing  also  does  not 
come  amiss.  If  he  is  in  the  dairy  business,  he  must 
be  somewhat  of  a  veterinarian.  lie  must  be  a  sales¬ 
man,  else  what  he  makes  in  the  growing  might  be  lost 
in  the  selling.  Of  course,  it  is  understood  that  lie  must 
understand  crop  rotation,  the  different  chemical  formu¬ 
las  for  different  crops,  when  and  how  to  spray  and 
dust,  and  how  to  mix  his  spray.  If  in  the  fruit  busi¬ 
ness.  lie  must  know  how  to  prune  the  different  kinds  of 
trees,  besides  many  other  things  I  have  not  mentioned, 
i  The  farmer  is  often  looked  down  on,  perhaps  not  so 
much  now  as  in  the  past,  but  I  am  positive  that  if  one 
were  to  compare  the  average  American  farm  home  with 
the  average  city  or  suburban  home,  lie  would  find  a 
bigger  and  better  library  and  better  magazines  in  the 
farmer’s  home.  Also.  I  think  he  would  find  that  the 
farmer  is  a  better-read  man.  not  only  in  his  own  busi¬ 
ness,  but  in  the  general  topics  of  the  past  and  present. 
Now  as  to  his  reward.  He  is  sure  of  his  living,  as  he 
raises  a  good  part  of  it  himself.  Strikes  and  the  like 
do  not  worry  him.  People  have  to  eat,  and  although 
some  years  do  not  bring  him  in  as  much  as  others,  lie 
generally  manages  to  get  along.  He  can  have  the  best 
there  is  to  eat  iu  the  fruit  and  vegetable  line.  For  mv 
part,  when  I  go  visiting  in  the  city,  I  generally  go  light 
on  vegetables,  as  I  do  not  enjoy  them  after  having  h  id 
them  fresh  from  the  farm.  weal  demakest. 
New*  Jersey. 
