Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 May 2017
There is some concern that geographic patterns of dairy cooperative membership, and customary relationships among milk assemblers and processors, may inhibit milk marketing efficiency in the Northeast. Raw milk assembly patterns and hard product manufacturing plant locations are here developed which minimize total regional costs of these functions. Solutions are highly sensitive to season, day-of-the-week, and capacity assumptions. Evidence strongly suggests that regional coordination of milk assembly and manufacturing would result in cost savings and in some re-alignment of present milk shipment patterns.
This paper summarizes results of the research project “Study of the Milk Assembly System in the Northeast,” financed by a grant from the Office of the Deputy Administrator for Cooperatives (Economics, Statistics, and Cooperatives Service), U.S. Department of Agriculture. Special appreciation is owed to George Tucker of ESCS, who cooperated closely with the authors during the study period.