Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1914-02-27

upon where the car happens to be
when sale is made. When a car
reaches a primary market it is open
ed and inspected, either by authority
of the grain exchange of that market
or by authority of state officials.
Among the states that inspect grain
at primary markets are Illinois, Mis-
souri,, Minnesota, Kansas, and Wash
ington.
A grain elevator may not only
serve to store grain, but to clean and
mix as well. 1t frequently happens
that a wagon load of wheat may be
extra good No. 2, but not good
enough for No /. A certain amount
of No. 3 can be mixed with this and
it will still pass as No. 2.
The cost of this form of marketing
includes the following items:
Freight, inspection and weighing.
Switching.
Re-inspection when required.
Storage.
Insurance.
Commission.
Interest.
Profits Of middlemen.
Because it is cheaper to haul the
grain by boat $4,000 miles to Euro
pean markets than by rail 1000
miles across the Rocky mountains,
the farmers of the Pacific slope find
their market in Liverpool and other
ports of Europe. Warehouses are
used at interior points rather than
because this grain is nam
died in sacks and not in bulk, as in
the Mississippi valley region. 1t re-
quires considerable time for a cargo
to reach it's destination; for instance,
a shipment made in October may not
reach its destination until late in
February or some time in March.
This in part accounts for the fact
that the export trade is in the hands
of few strong firms.
The cost of marketing on the Pa
cific coast includes the following
items:
Commission for buying from the
farmer.
Railroad freight charge.
Fire insurance.
Weighing.
Warehouse charges.
Marine insurance.
Ocean freight.
Brokerage for selling in Europe
This article is based upon a re-
port of Systems of Marketing Farm
Products by the Department of Agri-
culture, in which the statistician
shows that the total charges for the
items enumerated above may vary
from 1906 cents per bushel low to
40.525 cents per bushels high on
wheat from Oregon, Washington and
Idaho.
You will note that these charges
begin after the grain has left the
hands of the farmer and do not in
clude cost of sacking, which was of
course borne by the producer.
The mechanical processes for han
ding the wheat are very efficient.
Machinery handles the grain from
the wagon box to the elevator, from
the elevator to the car, etc. But does
the distribution of the profits from
the transaction compare in equitable
results with the mechanical pro-
cesses?
The grain farmer is very phiIan-
thropic person. For the benefit of
society, or rather the benefit of a
few manipulators, he is willing to
take all the risks of the seasons and
to finance the sowing, harvesting,
threshing and hauling to the local
elevator without a thought of protec-
ton to himself. On the other hand,
every dealer connected with the han
NAAuS oAtSl 6ldiu lSdNSS Inc ldTu 0rS
hands protects himself in some man
ner and reduces his risk to the mini
mum. If he buys spots" he sells
contracts" If he sells spots" he
buys contracts" He does this to
insure a profit in the transaction, or
at least to keep from sustaining a
loss.
The present methods of marketing
grain illustrates in a very striking
manner the attitude assumed by the
American farmer to farm crop mar
keting in general. He finances the
heavy end of the business and this
during the only period when there is
"a serious risk to the business, and
Just at the time when he should be
prepared to compel a profit for his
seasons labor he lets go his hold and
auctions off his crop.
1t requires no long drawn out ar
gument to convince the intelligent
farmer of the Middle West and
Northwest that his only hope for in