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JEFFERSON BULK MILK CO-OP Overcomes Decades of Obstacles to Work Together, Stay Together
T
he Northeast Dairy Foods Association is pleased to welcome the Jefferson Bulk Milk Co-op as its most recent member. The northern New York state co-op has a long history in the dairy industry. In the early part of January 1964, the milk market for Jefferson County (New York) farmers was economically threatened. Dealers in the Southern Tier of New York State had started charging 10 cents per cwt. For hauling bulk milk. This act, along with pressure to build larger milk houses and put in larger bulk tanks by Jefferson County dealers, made 54 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.
it the right time to organize an operating cooperative. A group of farmers was invited to sit down and discuss possibilities. From this meeting, 11 farmers committed to sell their milk as a unit and work together to organize a bulk milk cooperative in Jefferson County. An organizational meeting was held that February, and the 11 farmers signed contracts. Mert Evans and Sid Langdon of the Metropolitan Bargaining Agency with Henry Hughes of the New York State Agriculture Department turned the documents and the expertise to formulate the by-laws and the incorporation papers. The first 11 members served as the
interim board of directors with Charles Ellingsworth as interim president until the first annual meeting. Ellingsworth then served as manager, and J.W. Bedor was made the first president. The first Jefferson Bulk office was located in the back of Ellingsworth’s home on Massey Street Road in Watertown, New York. Farm products such as milk filters, electric fencers and limited soap suppliers were sold out of a shed on the Ellingsworth property. Orders were taken for fertilizer to be delivered directly to member farms. Wholesale groceries could also be ordered and picked up at the office.
