St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1910-03-05
Warning To Potato Growers

80 washington, Feb. 27.-The Burea,
~ statistics of the United States De
a ratIinent OF agriculture has beer
fn ..erlng information from the pota
~ growers and dealers in the princi
f. Potato-groWing sections of the
~. Ieu states with regard to the sun
py On nand Jan. l, 1910. The result
.nese investigations Indicate that
foue 4!.2 per cent. of the crop raised
lol market in 1909 remained in the
th anas OF growers, and SO per cent. in
sue hands OF interior dealers. a SINH.
90 1 investigation last year showed that
o. per cent. of the crop raised for
market In 1903 was in the hands of
sfcWers and 11.3 per cent in the hands
M mIerlor dealers Jan. l, 1909.
mere were still available for mar
n se purposes, then, Jan. | of this wear
v.o per cent, of the 1909 cron-a If,
sse more than half-as compared with
100 per cent, Of the 1908 cron on the
same s GATE last year. We had, there
cant greater proportion by 7 per
ISM uenI' OF the 1909 crop on hand this
Year tnan was available from the pre-
,a ious years crop on the same date
ias1 year. More than this, the crop
o on i 90o was estimated at about 278.
oOo,VOo bushels, while that of 1909
Ieacned total of 376, 537, 900 bushels.
AZ the beginning of the present wear
mere was available for market pur-
poses about So, 900, 900 bushels of no.
Iatoes more than at the same time
last year. ~ '''''e
Altnough the price of most other
commodities is at the present time
gIeater Than last year at this date.
ny quotatlons on potatoes are con-
sloerobly lower. In fact, potatoes
are now selling for less than thew did
aI harvest time last fall.
living to the scarcity Of old nota-
toes on the market last wear when
the Southern crop was harvested
growers in the South received verv
ffsa1amuneratlve prices for their product.
" Wnen the Southern crop came upon
tne market last season, old potatoes
We're selling in Boston for over 81 per
cusnel In carload lots. The quotations
Tor them in New York in February
OF last year ranged from SITS to So
per barrel. At present SITS is the
highest market quotation.
FROM present indications, it would
seem very likely that the Southern
crop will be in much lighter demand
tne coming season than it was last
year. The Southern growers, there
Tore, can hardly expect that when
their crop reaches the market this
year and comes in competition with a
plentiful supply of old potatoes, the
returns will be as large as they were
last season. Although there is always
q considerable demand for new pota-
toes, still the abundance or scarcity of
old stock will control, to large ex-
tent, the market price of the new. It'll
would hardly seem wise for Southern
growets to conclude that because ear
ly potatoes brought such high prices
last year that similar returns will be
received for them this season. Sup
ply and demand control to large ex-
tent the prices of potatoes, the same
as they do other produce, and the acre
age throughout the South should be
determined from year to year by the
quantity of old potatoes likely to be
available for market purposes when
their crop will be ready for shipment.
The indications are that there will be
a considerable stock of last years po-
tatoes in the market when the South
ern crop is ready to dig, and growers
in the South would do we'll to consid-
er this when planning their potato
acreage the present season.