Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1869-09-10
farm, @araen & 9loasehola.
A WORD TO FARMERS ABOUT SELL
ING THEIR PRODUCE.

Farmers are often blamed for not selling
their produce as soon as tits ready for mar
ket. And It must be confessed that those who
do so, taking one year with another, do quite
as well, all things considered, as those who
hold on in hopes Of getting higher prices.
They obtain their money soon after harvest,
and are enabled to use 1t 70 advantage. Deal
ers in grain can obtain money much more
easily than farmers, and can consequently
hold the grain longer
While. therefore, we think farmers often do
better by selling early, there is still room for
the exercise ofjudgment One reason why
it is usually best to sell early is, that most
farmers are disposed to hold on to their grain
as long as possible, and when the tine comes
that they must sell, there are more sellers
than buyers, and the price declines.
1t isa curious fact that people generally are
more inclined to sell when prices are low than
when they are high. When wool was scots a
h., It was more difficult to induce farmers
to sell than when it was 40 cents per ID. Last
fall. with red wheat at 3, ,25 in the interior
Of Michigan, farmers hesitated longer IN
making up their minds to let their crops go
than they did last summer when they were
offered 81, ,25 for the same wheat. It's good
rule to sell when YOU can get price that will
afford good living profit. Farmers, at the
rreseut time, would have been richer by mil
lions of dollars than they now are had they
adopted this rule last autumn. We know of
a great many who sold wheat this summer for
one dollar bushel less than they refused for
il last fall. The whole nation suffered greatly
BY this indisposition to sell when good price
could be obtained. We might have shipped
all our surplus wheat to England at fair
price, but BY holding on we lost the opporru-
nifty, and finally sold at price below the cost
of production. We should take the lesson to
heart.
On the other hand, when prices are low,
we should not be in hurry to sell. Sound
wheat is an article that will keep, and it is
an article that is always required, and it is alb
solutely certain that it cannot long remain at
a price much below the actual cost Of pro-
duction. We cannot hold out hopes to such
farmers as grow only ten or twelve bushels Of
whea. per acre, that they will obtain prices
sufficient to compensate them for their labor.
The country must be in a very unsatisfactory
condition when such is the case; but we do
firmly believe that there is no reason to doubt
a farmer who raises good crops is safe in cal
culating that sooner or later be will be able
to obtain such price for his wheat as will en-
able him to ma ie fair profit.
There is one fact in this connection that
should not be overlooked. In a cool, wet,
late season in England, the wheat crop is al
ways below the average. And they have had
such a season the present year. On the 9TH
er hand, it is very doubtful if the wheat crop
of the United States is as large as was anticl.
pated. We feel toerably certain, therefore,
that before another harvest, wheat will bring
a price sufficiently high to afford the wheat
grower a good living profit. He should be
satisfied with this. He should be in no hurry
to take less.
The question arises: What price should
we obtain for wheat, to afford us fair profit
At the present price of implements, machines
and other necessary articles, not forgetting
labor and taxes we shall not obtain extrava.
giant profits if we sell good, sound red OF am
Der winter wheat-say in Michigan-for ST.
so per busbel farmer who raises any.
thing less than twenty bushels per acre will
not get very rich, even if he obtains, in our
present currency, $l,75 for red wheat, and
$500 for choice white wheat. When we can
get these figures in ordinary seasons, it is not
safe to hold on too long; bat when, immedi-
ately after harvest, the price is much below
these figures, those who can afford to hold
their wheat run very little risk of loss in do
ing Samaritan 4gric,dturist.