The Climax-Madisonian. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1914-1917, 1915-11-15
CITY MARKETING.
Methods Employed Largely Influence
the Prices Paid to Producer and
Cost to Consumer.

The farmer has a direct interest in
the efficiency of the marketing organ
ization in cities, since lack of efficien-
cy may be reflected in the poor prices
he receives for his products. Sooner
or later the great majority of perish
able produce raised on the farm for
sale finds its way to the cities for dis
tribution; and whether it passes from
the ownership of the farmer before
or after reaching shuch centers, the
sales are usually based on city-quoted
prices. Many farm products, espec-
tally perishables, are consigned to the
city commission merchant to be sold
for what they will bring, the prices
received in such cases being directly
dependent on their city market value.
Prices based on these values are paid
also when such products are sold by
the producer directly to the whole
salers or jobbers after shipment to
city trading centers. Even the pro-
ducts which the farmer sells at the
nearest railroad station are bought
largely for consumption in cities and
so are paid for, in most at prices
which are dependent on those prevail
ing in the city markets. The city,
therefore, through operation of city
demand in relation to supply, largely
determines the prices which the far
mer receives for his perishable pro-
ducts.
The purely local marketing organi-
cations of cities are more important
elements in shaping these prices than
is generally recognized by the farmer.
Many perishables will not stand re-
shipment, and once in a city must be
sold for the prices prevailing there.
If, after products reach the cities,
there are high marketing costs due to
wasteful or inefficient marketing
methods, there must be greater mar
gins or differences between the prices
received by producer and those paid
by consumers. The economic machin-
cry for marketing farm produce is
such that many of the losses express
ed in abnormal margins may be visit
ed on the producer in the form of low
buying prices, while others may be
charged to the consumer through high
selling prices. If, on the other hand
city marketing cost may be reduced
through the employment of improved
methods, economic laws should oper-
ate under normal conditions to give
higher prices to producers and lower
costs to consumers, while the move
ment to produce should be accelerated
sufficiently to make marketing more
profitable at the same time to whole
sale and retail dealers.
Direct Marketing Facilities.
These considerations in regard to
city marketing to the farmer have to
do with the marketing of farm pro-
duce in general by all farmers. There
are, in addition, more specific ways
in which the marketing machinery of
the cities may affect the farmers liv-
ing in their vicinity. Farmers within
varying distances of fairly large cit
les, the distances depending to a con-
siderable extent on the condition of
roads, may haul their produce to such
centers by wagons and market it di-
rectly with profit if proper facilities
are available. Where such facilities
have been furnished, the farmers may
assemble their wagons at particu-
lar market point and sell at retail to
consumers who gather there to buy;
they may stop at point devoted to
wholesaling and dispose of their
wares to varinous kinds of dealers;
or they may drive from house to
house throughout the portion of the
city, retailing to housewives.
Such methods of marketing are a
distinct advantage to many general
farmers living near cities who grow
small amounts of truck and to the
more extensive truck growers in such
territory who do not specialize on
particular products. Ordinary meth
DDS of marketing through shipment to
wholesale dealers and commission