The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1920-08-31
Peanut Market to Open at
A Fair Price.
From the Camilla Enterprise.

from the camilla Enterprise.
There is no need for alarm over the pea
nut market according to local shelter peo-
Pile, who call attention to the fact that the
price of peanuts, so far as they are concern
ed, is not affected by the price of oil. They
state that they have every reason to believe
that peanuts will open up at fair price and
that there is now no indication of consid-
cradle slump in the market.
For some weeks rumors have been float
ing around that peanuts would probably not
bring more than $4,000 or $1,000 per ton
this year, the basis for this prediction be-
ing the radical decline in oil. The effect of
these reports has been to discourage those
who have planted peanuts this year and in
some cases farmers were talking about turn
ing their hogs in on their peanuts, rather
than gather and market dhem at loss.
The shelter people hearing these reports,
and their effect on the farmers of this Sec
ton, have announced that there is absolute
ly no basis for any such prediction and that
the present market conditions indicate the
very opposite. They state that they have
every reason to believe that the price for
the new crop will open up around what it
did last year and that the market will be
fairly stable. The shelter people supply
manufacturers of peanut butter and con-
fections and none of their stocks are used
for the production of oil. Someone has stat
ed that the high price of sugar will have
a much stronger influence on the price of
sheled peanuts than will the price of oils.
There are indications of a break in sugar
and if this occurs this factor, tending to
cut down the demand for peanuts and
thereby lower the price, will be removed.
Peanut buyers are cautioning the farm
ers to be very careful in harvesting their
peanuts during this rainy season so that
they will not be damaged. Inferior grades
OF peanuts cannot be used by the shelters
and they will go on the market at strictly
oil mill prices. Last year the farmers had
fine weather for harvesting their peanuts
and the result was a very small percentage
of low grade stuff. If the present rainy sea-
son keeps up there will be the opposite con-
dltlOn this year, in the opinion of the pea
nut men, and those who are careless in
harvesting their peanuts will be the great
est sufferers.
While the oil market will not affect the
price of peanuts it will control the price
of cotton seed, and here the farmer stands
to lose heavily this fall, unless there is a
change The importation of peanuts for oil
purposes and foreign oils of various kinds
has made vegetable oil almost drug on the
market, and the decline in the market price
of this commodity has been almost 200 per
cent. Many of the oil mills caught with a
big stock of oil on hand, made up of the
high priced cotton seed of last year have
lost heavily and are badly discouraged In
this case, contrary to the usual rule, the
farmers got the benefit of high prices and
the manufacturer was caught in the sIumn
However, the oil mills made killing when
the prices were going up and most of them
will be able to take care of themselves, but
they are not going to be inclined to pay
a premium on cotton seed this fall Anoth-
er factor which is contributing to the low
price of cotton seed this fall is the radical
increase IN the cost of fuel. Coal which
formerly cost manufacturers around $500
per ton now costs them in the neighbor-
hood of $1,000 per ton and the greater
part of this increase has been since last
season: This will add considerably to the
cost of crushing ton of cotton seed, and
of course the farmer will have to paw it.
There is a great deal of loose talk about
collision among the oil mills to hold down
the price of seed, and while there may have
been some basis for this in the past it is
mostly bunk" now as regards the present
price of cotton seed. Present conditions are
due chiefly to the reasons given above and
the oil mills are no more able to control the
situation than are the farmers