The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1919-03-14
To Help Merchants Pay Farmers
high Prices
By n. o. PATE.

Market Specialist Of the Farm Bureau.
Memphis Chsmber of Commerce.
Recognizing the necessity Of the farm.
ers themselves receiving the hightst
ob,ainsk prices for their produce II
the territory about Memphis 10 TO reach
it, rightIuI prosperity. the ,aemphls
Chamber Of Commerce through its
Bureau Of Farm Dew, lopment OF which
Q j Haase - chairman and E. r
Lloyd. DTtct,r, has started farm
prOducts marketing service. The 90
j,t II this servica is Co find and T. aIu
In enlsTging ex'sting marketing chan
nells tor any saleable cOmmodi,, 0, tn
farms Of North Mlssislppi. Est rl
Arkansas, and West Tennessee.
Assist nee to the merchants of this
territory IN finding ready markets. ano
In standard Ziag lhe produce shipped IL
one Of the surest methods Of reaching
and benefiting every farm home 10 the
territory and it 10 planned to make this
q feature Of the market service. This
does not mean that no direct selling
from farm to consumer will be done,
or that new marketing machinery will
not be encouraged when necessary. In
formation and aid will be given direct
to farmers. and cooperative shipping
will be encouraged in communities
where ready markets at good cash pri.
ces do not exist. Where, however, the
merchants will perform the buying and
assembling as well as selling service
these methods are largely unnecessary.
The farmers logical market has been
and still is his home town He is not
in touch with the outside world with
which the merchant deals daily. Nor
has be the time and facilities for main
tanning contact with the general mar
kets Of the country In order to sell his
relatively small amount of prodnce
Establishing this contact with outside
markets and selling direct BY means of
cooperative shipment with the neigh
bors has come about because of the
lack of a home market.
In some Of the counties In North Mis-.
sissippi where the good results from CO.
operation have been secured. by far th.
larger part of the produce 10 now bought
By the home merchants who have a.
wakened to the necessity of functioning
both as buyer from and distributor to
the farmers, In these towns it is only
when the merchants do not pay within
a fair amount of the market price that
the farmers aided by the county agents
assemble their goods in car lots and
seek other markets.
The merchant with marketing facili.
ties already established, who does not
attempt to buy every good article the
farmer has to offer is overlooking one
side of the two sided merchandising
business. When cotton was practically
the only product the farmer had to sell
there was an ever ready home market.
In some sections the merchant is not
diversifying as fast as nis farmer
friends, however. and with the latter
offering corn. cowpeas, hay. lespedeza
seed, wool. sorghum, poultry, eggs.
horey and various other fruits Of diver
sification he finds himself unable to buy
at satisfactory prices. Frequently it is
not the fault of The merchant that be
Goes not pay the top prices he would
like to, bnt because he himstlf is not IN
touch with the markets where these
commodities can be sold to the best ad-
vantage. To remedy this condition as
far as possible is one Of the aims of the
market service of the Bureau Of Farm
Development. Information as to mar
kets viii be collected and furnished to
the merchants of the territory and es-
pecial efforts will be made to aid those
merchants to dispose of their goods,
who pay their farmers the highest pos