The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 25, 1917, Page 10

e A New Kind of Is Powdered After Cream is Removed—Factorles Perfect Process and Are After Contracts With the Farmers—Someé Facts and Figures About It—A Chance for Co-operative Dairies A big da:ry farm of Clay County, anesota, in.the.Red River valley. .Powdered milk prom:ses‘to furnish anoiher outlet for:the products of the farm flnt farmers would da well to look into.: BY E. B. FUSSELL make a certain kind of. cake. The baker, who- was-.accom- modating, started in to. tell her how to make it on a small gcale. He said: * “You should- take two cups of flour, two ‘eggs, half a cup .of -powdered milk’— “You mean powdered sugar, don’t you?' the woman interrupted. ' “No, I mean powdered milk,” said the - baker. .“It’s easier to keep than the fresh milk, a little cheaper and we use it for practically all our baking now.” This was news to this woman, who had never heard of powdered milk be- fore, and it will be news to many other housewives and a good many dairymen, too. the large cities are coming to use powdered -milk almost exclusively. Private consumers who.can not afford fresh milk, or where the milk supply is not good are also coming to use it to a considerable extent. The United States government is in the market for all the powdered milk it can buy for the army, the use of any considerable amount of fresh milk being impossible. MILK, IS:SPRAYED IN HOT CHAMBER The result has been that the whole- sale price of powdered skim milk has jumped from 18 to 24 cents in the last few months, with further advances in sight, and factories for the manufac- ture of powdered milk are springing up in every part of the country. There are many factories in the eastern and,middle western states. In Minnesota one com- pany has factories at St. Paul and Anoka and is planning to invade the Dakotas. California has’ many fac- tories and their apparent success indi- cates that the business is good where- ever a plentiful supply of cheap milk can be obtained. The most common process for the -manufacture of powdered milk is by the use of a spray and heat. In this process the milk ‘is raised by pipes to the top of a tank or chamber, and is. forced through needle-point. holes so .that it comes out as a fine spray, some 30 or 35 feet above the bottom of the tank. A blast of hot air, heated to 220 degrees, is turned into: the tank and this dries up all the moisture in the spray, the powder, which contains the . solid part of the milk, drifting down to the bottom. It is in the form of a very fine, slightly yellowish dust, look- ing very much like flour. Milk contains 87 per cent water, 4 per cent fat (butter) and 9 per cent albumen, milk sugar and mineral salts. The drying process can be used for whole milk but it works better with skim milk. A little heat or moisture coming into contact with the dried whole milk is apt to turn the fat rancid, but the dried skim milk will keep almost indefinitely. . ONE POUND MAKES ABOUT SIX QUARTS . One hundred pounds of skim milk (twelve and one-half gallons) put through the drying process produces eight and one-half pounds of powdered milk, Up until recently the Anoka (Minn.) powdered milk factory had been selling its powdered milk whole- gale at 18 cents a pound, and it retail- WOMAN asked a Minneapolis' baker the other day how. to - The fact is that many bakers in’ . ed from 26 cents to 30 cents. ‘Now the _wholesale price has jumped to 24 cents and the retail price to 35 cents. 4 One pound of powdered milk, mlxea - -with water, will make six: quarts: of fresh milk:" ‘It is"used in-this propor- tion for baking purposes. In Chicago, the ‘writer has: been told, there-is con- siderable sale of the powdered milk to be used. as a beverage. . By mixing. it' with - “sweet butter” ’(churned. in a : specxal manner and made without salt) in an instrument: called a “homogen- “izer”’ the butter fat, extracted before the: drying" process, can be put back 'agaln. 3 The chief disadvantage of powdered milk'as at present manufactured is that it is somewhat difficult to mix it with water, the powder being so fine, almost exactly like:flour. = The" new factory, gunder constructmn at. St. Paul, pro- | poses to use a new. method. - The pro- pnetoxs of the factory - are secretive If you don’t know anythmg about powdered - milk, read this. Processes to preserve food products or transform them for more advan- tageous use are constantly being invented or ; 1mproved. But does the farmer get any bene- - fit when something is invented that uses his product to better advantage and gives bigger profits to the factories and middlemen? Rare- ly. Perhaps powdered milk will prove a good line for co-operative later for publicly owned plants. farmers’ dairies, and Let the pro- ducer and consumer benefit from improved processes in food manufacture. That’s only fair. Comes Out Even Harrison, Mont. Editor Nonpartisan Leader: 1 am sending you my account of my crop this year, and I think it will be a fair estimate of conditions here in Montana, at least in this neighborhoogd. As I have not threshed yet, I am fig- uring on 1000 bushels -of wheat and oats. It will not go over that—and no potatoes ACREAGE - Wheat ....ccoconsnseccesss...90 acres Oats ..... ceeeeses 12 acres Potatoes .....cieicecsecnvsesss b aCres ‘Wheat per-acre ..............11 bush. COST OF THE CROP Seed wheat and oats........$ 200.00 Seed potatoes, ..........0ee... 80.00 Horse feed for year ... «e.. b500.00 Blacksmith work ...........c. 60.00 Plowing and harrowing (extra) 146.00 Hired 1abor . iiorisies s saisaslins 100200 Threshing- 1000 bushels ...... 120.00 Interest on $800 borrowed..... 20.00 Interest on $3500 mortgage.... 280.00 Depreciation on horses ....... 200.00 General exXpense ............. 114.00 Total crop cost for year....$1,880.00 INCOME FROM CROP 1000 bushels ‘No. 2 wheat at $1.88 local elevator price...$1,880.00 Profit and loss .......... e Note: The extra plowing and har- rowing was done in accordance with | government request to put the land in condition for an extra sure crop; the $800 borrowed was for three months at 10 per cent; the $3500 mortgage was figured at 8 per cent for the year; the last item called ‘“general expense’ in- cludes my own labor, labor of wife, and what was paid out for our living for one year, Investment in the farm 0.00 - totals $5500, upon which no return is made; depreciation includes that on $1000 worth of herges, and on all ma- chinery estimated at 10 per cent. JOHN RASMUSSEN. STIRRING UP THE ANIMALS Longmont, Colo. Editor Nonpartisan Leader: The League’s growth in Colorado is sure stirring up the animals. The big beasts and their cubs are growling but farmers:and laborers through their or- ganizations are sawing wood quietly for . campaign purposes next season. Ninety per cent of farmers visited sign up. Small kept “weaklies” are work- ing overtime to get a raise out of the members who just saw wood and don’t even look up. The Colorado gang is getting “scart” earlier than we expected and that’s the best sign of the growth of the League in this state, ALBERT DAKAN, Secretary, Inter-state Farmers Association, A NEW MEMBER ' Blueshale, N. D. Editor Nonpartisan Leader: I received my League membership . Creases as it apparently is doing at certificate and I am very glad to be a ~ Present, some strong local creameries member of the organization, for I think that this is the only organization that will benefit the farmer and working class of people. I will do all T can to help the good work along in my vicin- ity, JAMES STROUD. It is said that John Baer used to like to play Rummy when he lived out in Beach; his favorite game in Washing- ton is Solitaire. R S : . PAGE TEN : about this method, which has not been put into operation yet, but it is known that it involves the use of a centrifuge, operating on the principle of a cream separator, for separating the solid mat- ter in the milk from. the water, in- stead of the spray method.. This meth- od, it is claimed, will produce a coarser, more . granular form of dried milk, There will be about the same differ- ence between this and- the usual form of powdered milk that there is between. granulated sugar and powdered sugar, and it is claimed that the granulated” form will mix more readily with water and will command a higher price. HOW THE PRODUCER FARES IN THIS CASE It was mentioned previously that the present wholesale price of powdered milk was 24 cents a pound, with a ris- ing market. What does the producer of the milk get of this? _ The St. Paul factory at present is signing up farmers on contracts calling for the payment of $2.40 for every 100 pounds of milk testing from 3.5 to 3.8 per cent butter fat. Butter fat is now selling for about 50 cents a pound. The factory plans to sell the butter fat locally. At the present prices of butter fat and powdered milk this is what the factory will. get out of every 100 pounds: 31%2 pounds butter fat at 50 cents..$1.75 81% pounds powdered milk at 24 cents .Total Paid for milk Margin ........ o e s s 91489 If the milk tests higher than 3.5 per cent- in butter fat the profit will be greater. The St. Paul factory, which will cost complete about $20,000, ac=- cording to the men in charge, can handle about 20,000 pounds of milk a day, which would mean a daily profit of $278 exclusive of running expenses which - are comparatively small. A gasoline engine is sufficient to operate all the machinery. Fuel to supply heat for the drying is the largest ltem of ex- pense. COMPANIES FIGHTING OVER PATENT RIGHTS As the butter fat'in the 100 pounds of 3.6 per cent milk could be sold for . $1.75 (at 50 cents per pound) without further treatment, the producer of the milk really sells his skim milk for 65 cents. It produces a manufactured product that sells at wholesale for $2.04. If - promoters of private powdered milk factories come to sign up farm- ers for their product the farmer should calculate closely, to see whether he can sell his skim milk to advantage at the rates offered, or whether he can use it more profitably on his own farm. If the powdered milk demand in- may find it advantageous to put in - powdered milk plants of their own, to be operated in connection’ with the creameries. Before making any defi- nite plans of this nature, however, the question of patent rights should be in- vestigated carefully, as lawsuits be- tween two rival powdered milk com- binations are now before the courts, each side claiming that the other is in- trlnging upon its own patented Pro- Cesses. )