Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-03-18
COOPERATIVE MARKETING
Most Vital Subject is Fully Explain,
ed TO Farmers,
WOULD MEAN SAVING OF MONEY
Plan is After California System Where
Crops Valued al S3oo,ooo,ooo Are
Marketed acknowledgements Will
ho 1hu;fad s, sh.rs RcnaFtc

Hamer, president of the South Caroline
Cotton Association gave cons!derab biz
time to discussion of cooperating
marketing association for South Caro-
lima. Probably the best prepared
statement on the subject of Co-opera
tive Marketing has been issued by D
w. Watkins, assistant director Of the
Clemson College Extension course. l,
was compiled largely from data secured
from Aaron Sapiro. the famous Cali
fornia expert on cooperative market
ing. In addition, to securing informa
ton from this expert, Prof. Watkins
has had access to government publica-
tions and to conferences with extern
sion workers OF wide experience.
The statement issued is Of consider
able extent but owing to the valuable
information % timely nature, its con-
tents are ! being reproduced in The
Yorkville Enqnirer:
Cooperative Marketing of Farm Pro-
- ducts.
In marketing !: farm products, CO.
operatively oEotherwise. certain things
must be done! Most Of these necessary
steps are Included in the following
l. The commodity must be assembled
or concenrrated. -
.. It must be graded and standardiz-
OH - s. =; &c.
3. Part of the crop must be ware
housed or processed.
4. The marketing operation must be
financed
5. Cheap transportation must be pro-
vided.
6. Expert salesmanship must be
brought into play.
7. The commodity must be retailed or
distributed to consumers.
The above mentioned steps coming
between the growing: and the consum-
ing of crop are at present largely
conducted by the so called middle-men.
BY looking over the list it is seen that
the "middleman" includes the rail-
roads. bankers, jobbers, retailers. ware
houscmen and in the case Of some COM
modities the manufacturers. in addi-
tion to spectators. OF course, almost
any one of those mentioned might also
sometimes speculate in the commodity.
Cooperative marketing by the grow
ers If it accomnlishes3ts.ob object will ef-
feet sayings in those steps between the
growing and consuming of Il commodi-
" where loss or unnecessary waste
now occurs. In other words CO.
operative marketing association of
growers will do those things necessary
to marketing which are not now being
done efficiently and will leave alone
those steps which are being handled
properly.
2,7!1 Cooperative Associations.
While most of the work Of marketing
is done by others than growers there
are 5,424 farmers organizations in the
United States doing marketing work.
o.. S. Department OF Agriculture Bn!-
letin No. $40 Of this number 2,711
are reported as being cooperative.
From this we sec that the cooperative
marketing of farm products is already
carried. on on rather large scale.
California has taken the lead in CO.
operative marketing by growers. About
300 million dollars worth of farm pro-
ducts are marketed comparatively each
year in that state.
The following principles of co-opcta-
tive marketing are put into practice by
the California associations and clearly
apply TO the cooperative marketing or
any commodity.
The Principles Of Cooperative war
ketins of Farm Products.
!. Organization by commodity o" crop.
.. Membership limited to growers
and landlords who receive part or
the crop as rental
3. Binding crop contracts between
grower and association.
4. Grading of the crop or COMMODITY
and pooling according to grade.
s. The business Of the association 10
be handled by experts.
G. Organization without capital STOCK
and therefore i non dividend paying
association. All profits are paid TO
growers, thus making the association
purely cooperative.
These principles are discussed ny
number in the following paragraphs.
/. 1t seems we'll established that or
panization Of a farmers association by
commodity rather than by LOCALITY Is
essential for success, An organization
set up for the purpose Of efficiently
marketing peanuts might be utterly
unable TO cope with the problems IN
yolved in marketing cotton or tobacco
Efficiency demands organization by
commodity. In California there are
approximately twenty co-operallVes
each organized by commodity. II
would not be advisable to try to COM
bine the marketing of cotton and pea
nuts but would be entirely feasible 70
market several kinds of truck crops
through the same organization because
of the similarity Of the problems IN
Volved.
For Growers Only