Creamery Expansion
Co-operative creameries continue to spread across rural Ireland under the influence of Horace Plunkett and the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society. The movement encourages farmers to combine their milk, capital and labour so that butter can be produced by modern machinery, graded to a consistent standard and sold through an organisation owned by the suppliers themselves. County Limerick, with its strong dairying tradition and growing network of creameries, occupies an important place in this agricultural transformation. Supporters argue that co-operation allows small farmers to overcome disadvantages that none could manage alone.