The Raymer enterprise., 1923-08-16

purpose.
What is cooperative marketing?
Almost everyone seems to be able
to give some sort of reply to this
question these days. II is almost as
easy to answer as the question, "Will
Ford run for PRESIDENT"
And the answers show something
Of the same variety.
s Some see cooperative marketing as
a holp-up staged by the farmer to
force exhorbitant prices for his pro-
ducts. Others think that the move
Is a plan to squeeze out the middle
man. Still others label 1t new poll
tical move and let 1t go at that.
The truth Of the matter is that
cooperative marketing is none Of
these things, 1t is neither fad, a
political move nor an experiment
There Is nothing new about Il, be-
cause In almost every other business
out farming 1t has been In operation
for 100 years. 1t is merely another
name for modern business methods
in marketing.
! Cooperative marketing has only
one obtect-the orderly marketing OF
products;. the selling OF one-twelfth
Of the yearly supply each month OF
the. year. There is no other def
milton.
When a farmr joins in coopera-
,tiye marketing agreement, he is only
binding himself to sell In an orderly
manner. Instead OF rushing his
wheat or beets or potatoes to market
as soon as he gets them harvested,
and at the same time that all other
farmers are rushing their things to
market, he agrees TO feed the mar.
tet a little at time.
II you fed your horse his whole
weeks ration Of grain in one day.
your horse would not ammount, to
much. When you feed your markets
heir whole years supply OF grain in
ixty days. the markets don't amount
% much either Neither OF them can
successfully absorb an over-supply.
AT the grocery store you pay about
The same price for a can Of beans,
all the year round. You pay about
he same price for. farm implements
40 MATTER what time Of the year
you buy. The reason, as you know,
y that the manufacture of the articles
- regulated SO as to fill the de-
'ushd, and the manufactures don't
ftod their markets at any time. 4
An Independent farmer, OF course,
;annot regulate the supply OF wheat
IT beets the way a shoe-manufacturer
can regulate the number OF shoes
hat are manufactured But he can
.stimate the demand for his products
m Just the same way, and when he Is
telling collectively with other farm
RS. he can see to 1t that the markets
are not oyer-supplied. In other words
ne can see 10 1t that the prices are
not forced down.
The law Of supply and demand will
make money for anybody. The farm
Or always can sell advantageously
when the market needs grain. But
what is he going to do when the de-
nand comes after he has knocked
The bottom out Of prices by dumping
al his grain in the fall?
The farmer who dumps his grain
aas no more excuse to complain OF
prices than the wife who chased her
husband out Of the house with a
and then cried because he
didn't kiss her goodbye.
There are several results that are
accomplished through cooperative
such as stabilizing the
market; cutting down handling ex.
penses, and eliminating speculation. |
But cooperative marketing itself |
means only one thing-orderly mar
teting. 0ne-twelfth of your grain
zach month Of the year.
Next Week: Wrong Guesses on Co |
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