Increased economy through ''every-other-day'' milk delivery

              O \00?> NE'V i12^100 COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTSLibcary NwC^roSftier
AND AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
Press Bulletin 1008
INCREASED ECONOMY THROUGH "EVERY-OTHER-DAY" MILK DELIVERY
Many small market milk plants find it difficult to operate economically and yet
pay wages comparable to those in larger plants. For this reason the workers in the
smaller plants are more likely to lack experience, efficiency, and reliability than
those in the larger plants. Often proper management will increase the efficiency of
operation to a point at least equal to the efficiency of the larger plants, and make
it possible for labor to have privileges similar to those in the larger plants.
This was accomplished at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts by
I adopting the every-other-day milk delivery plan and arranging all other work to co-
I ordinate with it.
Before the war, the practical training of students majoring in dairying was
: considered the most essential factor in management. Therefore, the work was arranged
[ to interfere as little as possible with regular classes rather than to give the most
| efficient operation. Usually from three to six students.were paid by the hour to
perform all the duties pursuant to processing the milk produced by the college herd.
The operations included pasteurizing, testing, bottling, and distributing fluid
milk, as well as the manufacture of chocolate milk, cultured buttermilk, cottage
cheese, -and ice cream. This program continued practically throughout 1942, which
may be assumed to be representative of normal times and may be used as a basis for
During 1942 the volume of milk handled was snail, being limited to the production of the college'herd, which was an average-sized-dairy- producing about 150 gallons of milk per day. With this volume an average of 71.6 pounds of milk was processed per hour of labor. The low wage rate, averaging 27.9 cents per hour, partly
compensated for the inefficient use of labor. Consequently, the total labor cost
represented only 8.7 percent of the sales value received for the product and was
within the range of economical operation. However, the operating margin, obtained
by subtracting the sum of the costs for milk and labor from the total sales value
received for the product, represented only 8.23 percent of the sales value. This
indicates uneconomical operation due mainly to insufficient volume. The inefficient
operation of the retail route is shown by the average of 2.14 bottles handled per
mile of truck travel.
In 1943 an increased need for milk made it necessary to discontinue the manufacture of ice cream and to supplement the production of the college daily herd with
milk purchased from nearby farms. Also, the withdrawal cf most of the civilian
male students made it necessary te employ non-student workers. With the same equipment 11.7 percent more time was required to process 30 percent more milk than in
1942. This made an average of 83.7 pounds of milk processed per hour of labor at an
average wage rate of 38.7 cents per hour, an increase of 38.7 percent above the wage
rate of 1942. However, the total labor cost remained at the 1942 level of 8.7 percent of the sales value received for the product. The saving in man power, as well
as in labor cost, was partly accomplished by adopting every-other-day milk delivery
on the retail route and employing the deliveryman in processing milk on the alternate
days. The increased efficiency in the use of labor and equipment was partly due to
the larger volume of milk handled, and resulted in an operating margin approximately
2 2/3 times that >f 1942. Increasing the efficiency of the retail route received
first attention in an effort to conserve tires, gasoline, and man power. This was
accomplished by obtaining m-re customers per mile of travel and eliminating portions
of the route where customers purchased less than 3 quarts of milk per mile of travel.
This policy, together with the every-other-day milk delivery, effected an 18-percent
reduction in mileage of truck operation, and an average of 4.69 bottles handled per
mile of truck travel.