The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-01-11

lima, wool from the northern Rocky
Mountain States, and to some extent
rice in Louisiana and Texas The
growers or their representatives, with
their produce, meet the buyers at
| these warehouses.
While farm products are in tran
sit by rail, there are certain points at
which the consgnor may designate a
final destination. The purpose of this
practice is to enable the consignor to
| find the best market for his goods.
This is the plan followed in shipping
fruits and vegetables by rail from
California to the East and from
Southern States to the North.
The Secretary Of Agriculture has
much to say concerning associative
marketing by farmers, and the eco
nomic advantages are stated in de-
tail. "A survey of the systems of
marketing farm products clearly dis
| covers what the farmers can best do
to their advantage. They must as
sociate themselves together for the
| purpose of assembling their individual
contributions of products Of shipping
IN carload lots, of obtaining market
news at places to which it is practical
to send their products, to sell in a con-
siderable number of markets, if not
in many markets, and to Sc
cure the various other economic gains
Of associative selling"
To carry out this suggestion, it is
recommended that if Congress es-
tablishes a division Of markets. a
corps of travelling field agents be main
tanned to assist farmers to form as
sociations for marketing their pro-
ducts.
1t is also recommended that esti-
mates of the prospective supply Of
fruits and vegetables, and perhaps
other products not now represented
In the quantitative estimates of the
Departments crop reporting service,
be made short time before harvest,
SO that the farmer may have in
mind a fairly definite idea of the VOL
ume of the crop throughout the
country in order that he may occupy
place in the market that is fair to
himself or, as the case may be, a
place in the market that is fair to the
consumer"
General market news service is not
recommended If such service were
derived from telegraphic reports, the
expense would be enormous. One
farmers marketing association spends
$4,000 a year in telegraphing alone
and fruit growers organization
spends $4,000 for This service.
II IS proposed thai corps Of uay-
cling field agent, ana d larsc corps
Ci local agents ana correspondents be
established for the following lssl.!S OF
service: To help producers organize
for associative marketing; to exam
way Of such marketing; to help pro-
ducerY to find markets; to report the
current descriptive condition Of crops,
In addition to the work already done
by the Departments crop reporting
service; to estimate the probable pro-
duction OF crops short time before
harvesting; to report the beginning
and ending of the shipping season; to
report the crop movement from pro-
ducing points through "gateways" to
principal markets.
Among the subjects whose investi-
cation is suggested are the storage Of
farm products either on the farm or
elsewhere pending their sale; the bus
mess Of commission dealers; the va
rious cost of marketing, properly
itemized, and compared with prices
of products at the farm and with con-
sumers' prices; a description Of prin-
cipal markets and of chief producing
regions; and some problems Of trans
portation.
Some information with regard to
foreign markets, it is advised, might
be made useful to producers. 1t is
proposed also to keep an elaborate
record of prices of farm products in
which prices at the farm shall be par
alleled by wholesale and retail prices.
Among the other recommendation
are the maintenance OF a list of mar
keting associations and the collection
OF statistics concerning the business
done by them; the investigation Of
systems of marketing farm products
in other countries, with special atten-
ton TO those features which it may be
assumed might be adopted beenficially
in this country.