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Bell, Florence C. (Florence Colfax), 1899- / Farmer co-ops in Wisconsin
([1941])
Dairy distributers cooperative retails in Milwaukee, pp. 22-23
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Page 22
sale of butter, cottage cheese, powdered skim milk, and ice cream. More than 100 retail routes and 9 wholesale routes are operated, and other outlets have been developed by the maintenance of an ice cream parlor in the city, and the construction of three roadside "Milk Jugs," where milk drinks, ice cream, and other refreshments are served. No surplus milk problem exists for the distributing cooperative since it takes the milk of the producers only as it needs it, leaving the balance in the pool of the Guernsey Milk Producers Cooperative. The up-to-date main plant has a valuation of $260,000. Operation of a new ice-cream plant was begun in 1940. The Golden Guernsey Dairy Cooperative is financed on a capital-stock basis. It was organ- ized in 1929, and in 1939 paid cash dividends aggregating over 845.000. Customers Kept InFormed oF Marketing Situations The association has developed un- usual relations with employees and * customers. A junior board of directors is elected by employees and one mem- ber attends all regular board meetings. Employees also have the opportunity to purchase preferred stock. The cooperative follows the practice of informing customers of marketing situ- ations and problems and the reasons for the adoption of certain operating policies. All through the winter cus- tomers and their friends are invited on designated evenings to visit the dairy in order to observe all depart- ments in operation, and to enjoy dairy pancake parties. Products of excellent quality, low surplus, a rapid and steady growth, sufficient financing, stable and pro- gressive management-these are some of the factors that have contributed to this co-op's success. Dairy Distributers Cooperative Retails in Milwaukee Dairy Distribumers, Inc., Coopera- time.-Another organization that retails milk in Milwaukee is Dairy Distribu- tcrs, Inc., Cooperative of Watertown, Wis., which in 1940 succeeded the Watertown Milk Cooperative Asso- ciation. The Watertown Association was organized in 1921 for the purpose of selling the milk of its members. When the plant at Watertown was completed on April 1, 1926, the coop- erative began delivery of the members' milk to the Chicago market. The association withdrew from that mar- ket in 1931, and in the following year sponsored the organization of Dairy Distributers, Inc., in Milwaukee, in order to retail producers' milk there, and to establish a permanent direct market in that city for the cooperative members. Subsequently, milk of non- member patrons also was handled. Milk available for the Milwaukee market that is not needed there, is combined in the Watertown plant with milk from the other members of the parent organization, and manu- factured into butter, milk powder, and other dairy products. Activities of the Watertown associa- tion were expanded in 1938 when evaporating and canning operations were started. The two plants in Watertown and Milwaukee now have - 22 -
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