The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1921-04-21
CONCERNING COOPERATIVE
MARKETING
2. What Constitutes Marketing

| marketing Dy growers Is expected to
solve is, "How may the grower oh.
tain a larger share of the consumers
dollar?" 1t would be we'll now to ex.
plain what constitutes marketing of
commodity, as there is much mysti-
fication on the subject. Marketing a
crop includes all those steps through
which a crop is put in passing 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 or as.
sembled into lots of marketable size
and similar grade and quality. Grow.
ers frequently sell their crop in q
lump, the good with the bad, the to.
tai amounting to a small lot of mix
ed goods. 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 concentrat-
I'd and graded, but since consumers
cannot Immediately purchase the en-
tire crop as soon as it is harvested, a
part of the crop must be warehoused
and protected until there is
| demand for it from consumers. Some
farm commodities require only shell
ter while some require cold storage.
( Some may be held a short time and
some long time. A part of practical
ly every important crop is warehoused
or stored in some way before it is
| consumed.
| Most crops also require treatment,
| processing, manufacturing or some
J kind of additional handling which en-
! hances 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.
J Farmers seldom use expert sales
manship 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 salesmanship is one 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 deliv.
cred 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 aftarward In the
meantime somebody has capital in,
vested in rhc cor modify, and inter
est mus be paid 70, the use Of sutf
capital. Hence, financing the move
ment of commodity, Especially nol
perishaDic commodities. is one Of tho
important steps in marketing.
Still another step in marketing but
one which is of less immediate impor.
t&nce to the growers because so fan
removed from them is the final retail.
ing of the commodity after it has
been through the other steps.
Real Marketing Necessary
Summarizing the various steps, we
sec that marketing crops consists of
| CD Concentration or assembling OF
the commodity; (2) Grading and
standardizing; CD Warehousing, stor-
ing, processing; ca Transporting
! 90 Financing; CO. Expert salesman.
ship; CD Final retailing.
From this we see that marketing a
commodity means more than handl.
ing it as soon as produced to the near.
est concentration point and dumping
it for whatever price may be offered
on glutted primary market. Market.
ing only begins when that is done, and
the wide differences between the
! S'O"'ic iNSSiPIo anu COUSuIneIS
prices indicate that those who look
after the various steps in marketing
| exact very good wages indeed fol
sheir services. In fact, in some OF
these steps farmers are coming to be.
lieve that economies might be effected
through cooperative marketing to the
| advantage of growers and consumers
! Cooperative marketing would reduce
! expense, eliminate waste, and add eff.
iiciency wherever possible in the va
rious steps in marketing. Wherever
the commodity is being handled as
efficiently as possible already the CO.
operative association would take no
action.
1t is remarkable that some growers
object to cooperative marketing on
the ground that it would take the
marketing of their crops out of their