The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1923-01-19


Your farmers producing a certain
crop have set up their organization
They are organized upon a big scale,
compact and powerful Now, what
do they do with that organization
Set out to stop dumping? Yes. But
that is only the negative end Of the
process. The positive end is that they
set out to mercandise their product
after the most advanced methods Of
big American business.
The large manufacturer, the mer-
chandising expert Of magazines and
newspapers, the big merchant, will |
know instantly what we mean by mer-
chandising. The average American
business man probably has an idea Of |
the word that nowhere approaches
adequacy.
Advertising Plays Part.
Yess yes" he says, "they probably |
mean, first you advertise like the die
kens and then you put a new line of I
pep talk into your force of statesmen. y
Well, that isn't so bad at that; tho
1t IS a first glimmering and nothing
more. Advertising does play a ire
mendous part in the game. Anybody
who reads the magazines and newspa-
pers today and sees certain brands of
California or Florida citrus fruits,
raisins, and other food products adj
vertised in magnificent and costly dis
play, ought to know without being
told that the cooperative marketing
associations which are handlers of
the products in question are among
the foremost believers in advertising
in this world.
CO-Ops Spend $4,OOO,OOO.
Three California. cO-Operatives are
along spending 100000 this wear
for advertising. They swear by it.
But it is only one part of the game.
Merchandising is bigger and deeper
thing than that. Merchandising is
everything that enters into the bust
ness of increasing permanently the
demand for your product. Merchan-
dlslng by a certain cooperative mar
keting association has increased bv i
six times the American consumption !
Of one well-known California food
crop within the last 10 years alone. {
did a lot of it, but adj {
vertising did not do it all. t
The first thing that good merchan- S
hsing requires is to make the supply
of the product as attractive as pos i
sible. You will find the co-operatives
changing completely the grading sys- v
TENS for the goods that they handle
the instant they enter the field. O
Develop New Uses. f
You will find them spending large
sums and tremendous energies in the | f
education Of their growers to the pro- S
auction of better and better quality. il
You will find them improving the
packing and the processing of goods. n
You will find them developing new
1ses for these goods.
The first year the California Asso- il
lated Raisin company, now the Sun n
Maid Raisin Growers, introduced the il
lse of raisins in the baking of bread, Il
more raisins, it is said, were baked in a
Dread by American bakers than had c,
'een consumed by the entire country a
'efore that cooperative organization W
anne into existence. Last year, al 81
most as many more were sold in the d;
Orm of a new scent package. Il
A certain California Poultry Pro- W
ucers' association sells eggs in the al
markets. of New York city at a prem
UNI of 3 cents dozen over eggs So
aised right in New York state, be- s.
ause of the use of certain packing b
Processes which they have evolved, fo
7hich assure a better and more re-
liable product.
Distribution Is Improved
Merchandising means the improve
lent of distribution to existing mar
cts, both as to time and to place. 1t n,
leans the avoidance of glutting one -,
market while another is starving for NJ
he goods. It means the development n
nd use of storage methods to car n
y over such portions of the crop as w
annOt be disposed of Immediately at
ny given time.
It means the constant creation of
ew markets, new places where the
GODS can be sold as well as the de-
elOpment of new uses. It means the
evelopment of manufacturing pro- CT
esses and uses for by-products. It D.
leans, as I indicated at first, every st
hing that tends to increase the total w
consumption of the product. ps
And above all, merchandising in fix
ludes that complete and slzillful gem
ralship over the distribution Of the m
roduct which has for its aim the
radual feeding Of the commodity to
he market only so fast as the market
ill absorb it and in a way that will
end to maintain as steady a price lev
as possible.
Exercise Wise Control.
This process, requiring the COM
letest knowledge of market condi-
ons and the highest type of skill, is III
othing more or less than the posi-
We antithesis Of the dumping evil
hitch the whole system is designed
} remedy.
A wise control over the flow of the
eneral supply of a product to the ia
larl1et means that, once it becomes W,
eneral, the price of farm products pI
i'll be determined by the balance of :,
apply and demand at the point of IN
as is the case with other
today, and not by the Gu
alance of wildly fuctuating demand
, point of consumption against
nOwn supply for the year at the We
pint of production.
Fluctuations Are Avoided tn
It is this last state of affairs which
YES US the absurd and narrowing 80