The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 8, 1921, Page 7

the.portions thus far sold have brought on an av- erage over $5 an acre. As the country becomes developed it will, of course, rise in value; and it was calculated that the sales would be sufficient to pay whatever of the interest on the bonds the road might fail to earn, and to pay the prin- cipal likewise at maturity. Anything that remain- ed would be the property of the stockholders. “Whex the bonds were issued they were offered in Europe, but were declined. European capitalists considered the risks assumed by the road too great to render the bonds a safe investment and they de- clined to have anything to do with them. The com- pany, thus driven-back upon a home market, re- solved to make the people of the United States pay for the road in another sense. They made a popular loan of their scheme. They succeeded ia enlisting the house of Jay Cooke & Co. in it and Messrs. Cooke & Co. agreed to place the loan in the market, using in its behalf much the same sys- * tem that they had found so successful in their man- agement of the great war loans of the general government. The truth is, the Cookes had commit« (Continued on page 11) A Model Co-Operative Milk Agency How the Twin City Milk Producers’ Association Helps the Farmer, Distributor and Consumer—Handles Nearly Hundred Million Pounds Yearly BY CHARLES OLIVE OW to get milk to the city in a sweet lem with the farmers. During winter and early spring the cold weather keeps the milk sweet, but as soon as the days get mild hundreds of gallons of milk reach the city in such a high state of acidity that the product is unfit for bottling, and often is too sour to be run through the separator. Always the producer, directly or indirectly, must stand the loss. Where the farmers have no co-operative milk agency the distributors usually do not care much in what condition the milk arrives, for the same amount of the product is shipped them the year around regardless of demand. Consequently their ‘supply, especially in spring and summer, is greater than the demand, so that even if much of the milk is sour there is still enough to go around. This con- dition existed in the dairy business near the Twin Cities before the co-op- erative plan was adopted. However, there came a great im- provement when the Twin City Milk Producers’ association was organized four years ago. This agency was one of the first of its kind making it pos- sible for the farmer to handle his dairy products on a business basis and at the same time benefiting the con- sumer. Though the organization had a doubtful beginning, it is now one of the most important dairy selling agen- cies in the country. The association can safely be used as a model in other sections where a co-operative selling milk agency is needed. ~ The Twin City association, with its main office at Raymond and Univer- sity- avenues, St. Paul, is incorporated for $500,000, according to H. R. Leon- ard, the manager, and almost every milk-producing farmer within 40 miles of the Twin Cities is a stockholder in the concern. No member, however, can hold more than $1,000 worth of stock, and no stockholder, no matter how many shares he has, is allowed more than one vote. At present there are over 3,000 farmers and dairymen in the association, which, within the 40-mile zone, owns and operates 14 plants equipped to make cheese and The association makes a yearly con- tract with the members to sell all their milk, and the price is based on the prevailing cheese and butter quotations each month. From the plants the milk is shipped to pasteurization creameries, where it is made ready for family use. The farmers are guaranteed payment for all milk sold through the association, and because there is shipped to the cities from the various plants only enough milk to take care of the immediate need, the consumers are assured a fresh supply every day. FARMERS ARE GETTING MORE FOR MILK AS A RESULT OF PLAN The surplus milk, if any, is distributed in the vicinity of the plants. Through this co-operative plan the farmer is getting a higher return for his milk, while at the same time the cost to the ulti- mate consumer is smaller than in other cities of ‘ comparative size. The reason is that with the help of the agency it costs less to handle the milk through its various courses until it reaches the con- sumer. - Another benefit is that when the wholesale price is reduced the retail price is also reduced. The farmers belonging to the association can now condition has always been a big prob-. be said to handle their milk in a businesslike way. As already stated, no more milk is let in on the . market than needed, and the surplus is taken care of at the country plants, where it is manufactured into cheese and butter. Thjs method not only saves transportation cost, but also makes a better finished product. The better product means that milk sent to the cities must be so handled that it reaches the market in a sweet condition. Therefore the agency, as soon as organized, gave much attention to the handling of the milk. Month- ly meetings were held in the main office, where gathered the managers of the association factories to-talk over their business conditions with the best dairy experts of the state. The distributors also were present to tell of their troubles. Thus those who did the marketing of the milk learned how to do it in the best way. Sometimes fieldmen were sent to the newer districts to set the members right, l A PIONEER PAGEANT IN NEBRASKA I This is a picture of John Harshfield, Nonpartisan leaguer, proprietor of Hills- dale ranch, Sutherland, Neb., and a winter view of his place. is interested in a big carnival and pageant of pioneer days to be put on near Sutherland August 22, 23 and 24. It will be a big outdoor event in a natural amphitheater, picturing the hardships and adventures of the pioneers, with many entertainment features as an added attraction. butter Indians will participate. Let’s have more pictures of Leader ‘readers and interesting things they are doing! where they were jus;t starting to ship. Many of these farmers had been shipping ¢ream to city firms , before, and they did not kmow that it requires / greater precautions to ship milk than cream, there- fore they started to ship their milk in the same manner that they had been shipping cream. In 1919 the agency inaugurated a sanitary de- partment with Anton Chryst as chief.- This depart- ment has done a lot.-of good in bringing the con- sumer purer and better milk. The department sees that sediment and acidity tests are taken from each member’s milk at the time it is-weighed in. The sediment test, taken with the cotton disc, shows how much dirt there is in a pipt of milk, and the acidity test shows the stage of sourness. The tests are sent to the members, so that they will be able to know the exact condition of their milk. In localities where unusual troubles are encountered someone from the department calls on the farmers, and if it is found necessary sanitary meetings are held to- remedy the troubles. 5 The co-operation of the members can often be - made to bring quick results. For instance, in a particular locality members of ome local ‘associa- PAGE SEVEN Mr. Harshfield Cowboys and tion thought it best to have a certain stage of acid- ity which the milk must not exceed, and they had the sanitation department instruct their manager at the local factory not to accept milk with a higher acidity than that decided on. The result was that the average acidity of the milk accepted at the fac- tory was lowered about 20 per cent in six days, COOLING OF THE MILK IMPORTANT; ASSOCIATION SUPERVISES THE WORK It has been found that in almost every case where the milk reaches its destination in a bad state, the cause can be looked for either on the farm or in the transit. Though there are many ways of cooling the milk, most of them are poor, consequently im- proper cooling is the cause for most sour milk. The stock tank is used as a cooler on a majority of the farms, and the cattle are depended on to consume enough water to keep the tempenature down; but as ‘ the tanks are usually of large size, the water is not changed often enough to give the desired effect. That the main thing in cooling milk is to use water which is cold enough, has been well learned by members of the Twin City milk agency. On many farms there are splendid water suf- ply arrangements, yet the water does not have the chill to get the milk quickly down to the proper tempera- ture. Experts of the agency have often found relief in such cases by a simple change in piping, which has enabled the water to be pumped di- rectly into the cooling or storage tank. ‘Where individual cooling tanks are used, these are usually too small and contain so little water that when the milk cans are set in there is more milk in the tank than water. In such tanks it is necessary to have a grate on the bottom so that the water can circulate under the cans, then rise up and flow out. Nearly all members of the Twin City association use grates in their cooling tanks, whether large or small. The members have also learned the importance of frequent stirring. Be- fore joining the agency many farmers stirred the cream with almost any- thing that came handy, if they stirred at all. Now they use long-handled metal stirrers, which are very effec- tive. They also use the sanitary cot- ton disc strainers, which remove all dust and dirt. These improved methods are saving the members thousands of dollars in better grades of milk. The acidity test of the milk is taken as a shipment leaves the factory and when the distributor receives the milk he, too, takes the test. He keeps a card index, so that the inspectors can know the stage of gourness of all the milk shipped from any locality. The factory managers also send a daily report to the main office. If the milk has a higher test when it reaches the distributor than it had when leaving the factory, the trouble is in the transit; but if the test was higher at the factory, the milk was not here graded or tested correctly. The test is then _ taken from every farmer bringing milk to the fac- tory and the trouble followed up to its source. The Twin City Milk Producers’ association has been a great success and has not only saved its members much money and worry but has also fur- nished the consumer with a cleaner and better prod- uct. Last year the agency handled 94,500,000 pounds of milk, 676,000 pounds of butter and 750 pounds of cheese. Surely this farmers’ co-oper- ative plan is one that works. i ¢ S S