The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-04-20
CONCERNING COOPER
ALIVE MARKETING

first article of this series stated thai
the problem which cooperative mar
keting by growers is expected 70
solve is, Chow may the grower OBJ
tain a larger share of the consum'
er's dollar?" It would be well now
to explain what constitutes marketing
Of a commodity, as there is much
mystifcation on the subject. Market
ing a crop includes all those steps
through which a crop is put in pass
ing from the grower to the consumer
There are a number Of these steps.
In. the first place, the crop or COM
modify must be concentrated OF as
sembled into lots Of marketable =
and similar grade and quality. Grow
ers frequently sell their crop IN a
lump, the good with the bad, the TO-
tai amounting to a small lot of mixed
GRADES. Consumers do not buy this
way. however, and therefore some
body must take the crops composed
of a mixture of grades from a great
many farmers and assemble from
them even running lots suitable for
supplying the demands Of consumers
Not only must crops be concen-
trated and graded, but since con-
sumers cannot Immediately purchase
the entire crop as soon as it is har-
vested, a part of the crop must be
warehoused and protected until such
time as there is demand for it from
consumers. Some farm commodities
require only shelter while some re-
.quire cold storage. Some may be held
a short time and some a long time.
A part of practically every important
crop is warehoused or stored in some
way before it is consumed.
~
Most crops also require treatment,
processing, manufacturing or some
kind Of additional. handling which
enhances, the value, after the grower
disposes of it.
Transportation is another Of the
steps in marketing that come be-
tween the growing and the consuming
Of most of our farm crops.
Expert Salesmanship and Financing
Most Important.
Farmers seldom use expert sales
nanship in disposing Of their crops
Individually, and consumers seldom
buy these crops until after someone
has applied expert salesmanship at
one or more points on the journey
from the grower to the consumer.
Therefore we may consider that ex-
pert craftsmanship is n of the most
essential steps in marketing.
Another important step in market
ing is the financing of the movement
of commodities from grower to con-
sumner. Growers ordinarily receive
cash for the commodity when deliver
ed at the first or primary market
place. The product may not be put
through the necessary processes,
reach the merchants shelves and be
finally sold to the consumer in whose
possession it disappears from COM
merce until months afterward. In the
meantime somebody has capital in
vested in the commodity, and inter-
est must be paid for the use of such
capital. Hence, financing the move
ment of a commodity, especially non
perishable commodities, is one of the
important steps in marketing.
Still another step in marketing but
one which is of less immediate impor-
lance to growers because so far re-
moved from them is the final retail
ing of the commodity after it has
been through the other steps.
Real Marketing More Than Dumping
On Primary Markets.
Summarizing the various steps, we
see that marketing crops consists Of:
fermentation or assembling of
the commodity; 2-Grading' and
standardizing; 3-Warehousing, stor-
ing, processing; Transportation;
Enhancing; 6-Expert salesman
ship; Final retailing.
From this we see that marketing a
commodity mean more than hauling
- ~, 800 81. -roJrood - tho noarocf