The Lexington progress. (Lexington, Tenn.) 1884-current, 1921-06-17
TALK TO FARMERS
By Capt. T. F. Peck

While there are many problems in
farm work and management the in
/ dlvidual farmer can solve on his farm,
the problem Of marketing farm prod
ucts can be best worked out by COM
munity cooperative effort. Variety,
quality and quantity of product are
+ necessary to command best prices.
The individual can attain quality Of
/ product working alone, but on the
small farm he cannot produce quaint
/ ty and variety to get the best prices.
/ Of necessity his product must be sold
to dealers at minimum prices. The
dealer accumulates quantity and va
riety and sells at maximum prices,
because buyers in quantities cannot
afford to hunt up and assemble the
small lots, even at lower prices,
Hence for want of community concert
of action the profit of the buyer in
small lots is lost to the producer,
when it might have been saved with
out additional labor or expense, We
| buy merchandise of department
stores rather than from small stores
because we can have variety, quantity
and quality to select from, and we
find the prices more advantageous
because of the minimum overhead ex-
pense of the business.
All conditions favor diversified
farming in Tennessee. Wherever d.
versified farming is practiced, COM
munity cooperative effort is neces-
sary in marketing to assemble guam
tity Of each product to attract guam
tity buyers, saving to the producer
the profit of the small quantity buy
err without additional expense to pro-
ducers, and release such buyer to en-
gage in some productive occupation.
/ noticed recently a page advertise
ment in a daily paper protesting
against the elimination of the middle
man. The middleman is necessary,
and he should have legitimate prof
| it, but the producers object to their
unlimited number, each eXacting his
toll, until the consumer pays more
than double the price paid the produc-
er.
/ am not criticizing the dealer who
buys and sells for profit, but do
want the farmers and men in other
business as will develop community
co-opertion making their products in
quantity, get closer to the consumer,
and save for themselves the margin
of profit which is their just due.
A man who keeps flock Of sheep
and could get only 10c a pound for
his clip of wool, bought two suits of
light wool underwear, for which he
paid $500. The underwear weighed
one and one-half pounds, The wool
used in its manufacture was bought
from the producer for Is cents. The
labor and the profit of the middle
men added $7.85 to the cost to the
consumer.
The producer is not getting enough
for his product, and the consumer is
paying too much. There are too many
profits between the producer and the
consumer. Eliminate the unnecessa-
ry middlemen, and let them find pro-
ductive work. Give the producer, the
dealer who supplies the manufactures,
the jobber and the retailer each le-
Ultimate profit.
The farmer working as an individ-
ual, no matter how intelligent and
how industrious, cannot correct these
conditions. But by community coop
erative effort they can strengthen
their position. There is no need for
new forms of organization. The
community unit, those communities
blended into county councils of agri-
culture, and later those blended into
state council win put the agricul-
tural producer in position to secure
the recognition they merit.