The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1923-11-21
Five Hundred Ohio Farmers Find More
Profit and Stable Demand For Their
Crops AS Result of Using Modern
Marketing Methods.

It pays growers of fruits and vegt
tables to consider the consumer frs'
In grading, packing and marketin
plans
The 500 odd members of the Mar
cite Truck Growers Association ar
thoroughly sold to this idea and poin
to sixteen years successful opera
ton as proof of its soundness.
The story Of the Marietta associa
tion 10 one of never ending effort t.
improve quality, to raise grading
standards higher and to better theil
pack. These standards, coupled with
m eflcient distributing service that IL
flexible enough to meet the widest
fluctuations in production, has result
ed in making the Ohio association
one of the foremost In the country as
Tar - successful sales are concerned.
Back In 1907 few dozen growers
Of corn. cabbage, tomatoes and Gu
cumbers around Marietta decided to
work together in an effort to put up
. uniform grade of vegetables that
would command a better price.
Sixty-five Of them banded together
~ the Marietta Truck Growers Asso-
citation. They did not attempt to mar
ket collectively the first few years but
bent every effort toward improving
their pack.
Slowly but surely the association
members began to win respect for
their pack and as its reliability be-
came known their output found favor
with buyers.
BY 1910 the association was so SOL
idly organized that the membership
decided to attempt to sell collectively.
They had been gathering data on mar
keting agencies during 1909 and as a
result Of their investigations they re-
Quested the firm of Crutchfield &
voolfolk, with headquarters In Pitts
burgh to present marketing PROPOSE
ton.
The Crutchfield & voolfolk COM
pany, which later was expanded with
other organizations into the American
Fruit Growers Incorporated was &C
tive even In those early days as an
exponent of better grading and pack
ing. 1t was well equipped to dis
tribute for such group as the Mari
eta Truck Growers and early in 1910
the association decided to sell its
entire output through the Crutchfield
& voolfolk sales organization.
Advertising was one Of the first
steps taken by the marketing organ
isation. A campaign was conducted
IN the Packer exploiting the Marietta
vegetables and through the Crutch-
field & voolfolk organization they
were quoted on the various markets.
Wide publicity was given the associa-
ton pack and the results we're 80 graf
flying that the distributing organiza-
ton has continued the trade paper
publicity every season.
The new selling arrangement was
success from the start and the mem
bership and acreage grew rapidly.
rose from IS in 1910 to
b06 In 1922 and the sales receipts rose
from $4,000 in 1910 to s346,62O25 in
1922. The association when organized
handled only 20 per cent Of the pro-
duce from the district-now it handles
30 per cent.
In 1911 the association handled A.
1923 crates of cabbage and 44,841 bas-
kets Of tomatoes. In 1922 it shipped
80 .010 crates of cabbage and 27O,426
baskets of tomatoes.
From the very beginning the asso-
,iation has been eager to adapt its
methods to suit the requirements OF
and the trade. With the
cooperation of its distributing organ
ration It keeps in close touch with
astes Of buyers in the market and is
quick to effect improvements to meet
hetr needs.
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