The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1921-12-15
EARLY CROP GROWERS
URGED TO ORGANIZE
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/ OAS0A1 - O4ONA - NAoD0-
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always had carry-over. They sold tt
numerous local buyers and up till 1917
they received for these grapes from
one and one-half to two and hall
cents. This was starvation price
The farmers that had not left the dis
trict were still striving to exist in 6
bankrupt condition. Of course, it fol
lows that the banks and merchants
were far from prosperous.
In 1912 the same thing happened in
Fresno that can happen here. If the
farmers and merchants here were In
the same condition as the Fresno PEG.
pie were the same thing would un.
doubtedly happen. The producers ir
the raisin-grape country got together
and bound themselves together with
an iron-bound contract to sell their
grapes collectively for a period OF
years.
That year these growers thru their
own selling agency, sold their entire
crop for four and one-half cents, in
stead of from one and half to two
and half and the usual carry-over
as they had in distributing under the
old system. In 1919 the Associated
Raisin- Grape Growers sold 100000
tons of raisins for ten and half cents.
This was 5000 increase in seven
years in both production and price in
the raisin-grape industry, because the
growers produced and sold their own
products, under the same general bus
mess principles as does the Interna-
tiona1 Harvester Co. produce and sell
their own machinerw; the same as the
Standard Oil company sell their enor-
nous quantity of oil and gas; and as
the Ford Motor company and other
large successful concerns produce and
sell their own commodities.
The producers of these manufac-
tured commodities do not produce and
sell them Unfortunately to buyers
and dealers at the price which those
dealers set on their commodities.
Speculation and unnecessary exchange
are eliminated in the distribution of
the commodities produced by these
large and successful business concerns.
The farmers must build up their own
efficient and adequate selling system
thru which they can distribute their
own products, or they will continue in
exactly the same condition they are
now in. The farmers of California
and Denmark and other places have to
a very marked degree solved their own
marketing problem. And the farmers
Of this district can solve their market
ing problem. No one else can. or will
do it for them.
The principles of cooperative mar
keting that have been provided for in
the new cooperative marketing act as
passed by the last legislature, have
made other marketing organizations a
success and will work here.
The first essential in a pure coop
erative marketing association is to get
a large volume of the commodities
signed up under head which will
eliminate competition between individ-
ual crowns and also give the selling
agency sufficient volume Of busircss
to operate Upon. The contract must
be long-term contract. Adequate
commercial connections cannot be
made, credit and reliability establish
ed, and warehouse and other neces-
sary physical facilities provided for,
when you have a short-lived concern.
Volume of business for a period of
years make sound business and is
absolutely necessary to success.
The policy of handling each COM
modify separately must be adhered to.
Early potatoes must be handled un-
der potato department, likewise the
Strawberries and asparagus must he
handled separately. And there must
be no confusion of funds received from
these separate commodities. Mass
organization and mass handling al
ways cause trouble. A specific COM
modify organization is essential to
success in cooperation as well as any
other business organization.
There should be two distinct parts
to cooperative organization. The
selling agency and a subsidiary stor-