Norwich bulletin., 1913-03-07

tative estimates of the Departments crop reporting service, be made short time before harVest So that the far ner may have in mind a fairly def nite idea of the volume of the crop throughout the country in order that he may occupy a place Tn the market that is fair to the consumer
 General market news service is not recommended. If such service were de- rived from telegraph reports, the ex- pense would be enormOus One farmers marketing association spends $25, 5,00G a year in teIegrap phing alone and a fruit growers organization spends S75,009 for this service.
 Field Agents and Correspondents.
 It is proposed that a corps of trav- cling field agents and a large corps of local agents and correspondents be eS- tabIfshed for the following items of ser vice: To help producers organize for associative marketing, to examine and remove local difficulties in the way of such marketing to help producers to find markets; to report the current descriptive condition of crops, in ad- ditiOn to the work already done by the Departments crop reporting service; to estimate the probable production or crops a short time before harvest; to report the beginning and ending of the shipping season: to report the crop movement from producing polnts through %gateways" to prinsipal mar kets.
 Subjects for investigation.
 Among the subjects whose investf- gatiOn is suggested are the storage of farm products either on the farm or elsewhere pending their sale; the bus mess of commission dealers; the vari- ous costs of marketing, properly item ized- and compared with prices of pro ducts at the farm and with consum- CTS prices: a description of principal markets and of chief producing regions and some problems of transportation
 Some information with regard to foreign markets. it is advised, might be made useful to producers. It is pro posed also to keep an 1abOrate record of prices of farm products in which prices at the farm shall be parai1eled by whole sale and retail prices. Among the other recommendations are the maintenance of 3, fist of marketing associations; and the collections of statistics concerning the business done by them; the invest fgation of systems of marketing farm products in other countries, with special attention to those features which 1t may be assun ed might be adopted benefic- ialiy in this country
 Proposal to Aid Consumers.
 The Secretary of Agriculture closes his recommendations by making one concerning the participation of consuna- CTS in the solution of marketing prob leInS. "A cheapentng of farmers costs Of marketing will naturally result in gain to the producer rather than to the consumer. If the consumer is to gain by changes in the costs of distribution. it seems probable that he must do 50 through cheapening or eliminating costs at his end of the chain of dfstri- button. The consumers can cheapen the costs of farm products by cooperative buying and by reducing the expenses of retail and other local distribution.
 The consumers aspect of the prob Iems of the distribution of farm pro- ducts is conspicuous one at the present time, and problems in distri- button that are concerning the consu- CT rather than the producer may well be included within the service of divis- ion of markets