Imperial Valley press., 1922-03-11
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TODAY'S BORROWED 6
EDITORIAL 6
BEATING THE MARKET TO IT
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The Imperial Valley is looming
back from Il period Of depression
and the same is true of the Coachella
and Palo Verde vallers-bv beating
the market TO it.
What do we mean by that!
Simply this, these valleys instead of
depending on Il single crop like cotton
are diversifving and are specializing
in early market products. Imperial be-
gins shipping lettuce in January, when
the east is shivering under a blanket
IF ice and snow Then peas, spinach
and asparagus come along, followed by
string beans, tomatoes and onions. All
these are put on the market earlier
than anywhere else in the country and
bring prices accordingly.
Then come melons, 10000 or $4,000
carloads all marketed before melons
from any other point in the country
are ready Next come table grapes.
Ard by December the grapefruit harv
est is on, thus completing the round of
months. This wear it is practically as
sured that the Imperial Valley will
ship 10000 carloads Of perishablc pro-
duets under refrigeration to markets
where they have monopoly.
Can you beat that as basis of pros
perity.
Even in this time OF depression in
the price of agricultural products, the
farms of the valley are marketing
from 100000 900 10 $60,000,000 worth
Of products Il year and more and more
the crops will be highly specialized
along the line Of Vegetables and fruits
that will have an exclusive market at
the time they are shipped.
Some fabulous figures are being re-
ported on the profits on lettuce this
wear, such as $500 an acre and even
Il 600, 81 200 and 81, 400. These, how
ever, should be taken with some con
siderable degree of allowance. Rare
instances of remarkable profits for Il
single year do exist and ] heard of one
lettuce grower who leased q tract of
and from A. b. West on " shoestring'
Of capital and will clear up about $780,
300 on his crop this year. Nobody, how
ever, ought 10 rusl. into the lettuce bus
mess, or any other line of farming ex
pecting such returns as that. There
are many problems OF production and
marketing vet to be solved, and all we
can safely say is that specialized pro
duction of perishable crops that are
marketed out OF the ordinary season
looks like the best bet - of the future
in the valley and promises q basis of
prosperity that is sound, enduring and
capable of very great expansion.
IT does not follow, however, that the
valley is going to give up cotton, milo
| maize, barley, alfalfa, dairying, beet
cattle or other farm "staples. - Those
L. I.tt .i.l
| phasis will be put on crops that the
"eternal sunshine Of the valley
makes il possible TO produce 80 that
| they will "beat the market TO it. -
| want TO emphasize in this conncc-
ton Il point that ! made in the news
article that | wrote on the trip and
! that is the vital and indispensable
! service rendered TO the valley by the
| Southern Sierras interests in putting
| in their three great ice plants. With
out them the peristable vegetable bus
iness of the valley would be tremend-
ously Handicapped and curtailcd Now
the growers can go ahead with their
| development knowing that the lee is
there in the valley ready for their use,
instead of having to be shipped in
| from great distance.
The power lines of the company cover
the valley, extend on to Yuma, and
deliver Juice to Mexican corpOr.
alton that distributes it below the
border.
The power has been and will con.
tinue to be a tremendously important
factor in the development of the valley
and at no other place in the world is
electric power transmitted so far from
the place of generation, some 500 miles
The people Of the valley have had some
differences with the power people and
am not going to undrtake 10 pass on
them; but l was deeply impressed with
the high value Of the service rendered