The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1923-07-10
COOPERATIVE MARKETING0F CR0PSII
IS EXPLAINED|BY AARON SAPIRO

fall, so as not to break down an al
ready ridiculously low market. Thel
they borrowed money to the extent O
almost 10O,000,000, at rates averagin,
less than 51a per cent, and distributes
the money among their growers 81
as to enable them to pay their crol
liens and store accounts.
The cotton associations then solo
cotton-and they sold skillfu1ly on
steadily rising market. The loves
of these co-operatives will average
about 25 cents pound, and some ever
higher.
The grower members of the CO.
operatives will probably average from
$40 to S35 bale net return greater
than the unorganized growers This
IS not because they were wiser than
the unorganized growers, but solely
because the cooperative marketing
associations, through orderly market
ing, enabled their members to take
advantage Of the operation Of supply
and demand and to get for themselves
part of the inevitably higher prices
| for cotton.
The cotton that the average unor-
ganized grower dumped in the fall
was not resold at that time-much of
1t is still in the hands of the cotton
merchants and spectators. These
men will eventually resell it at higher
prices, and will legitimately gain that
difference.
Supply and demand makes the
price, but the individual grower is I'M
able to benefit by it-except as he
goes in with his fellow growers and
organizes for orderly marketing.
This principle is absolutely the
same with both grain and livestock.
Livestock will be harder than any
other commodity to organize, because
you have there the combination of
commodity being produced at the
same time that it is in the process of
marketing.
With cotton, when once the crop is
harvested and ginned the period of
production is over Not so with
things that walk on four legs
Then, in one sense, livestock is a
perishable product, although it can
be converted into some relatively non
per1shable products. The handling of
any perishable product is harder than
the handling of non-perishable pro-
ducts. With perishables it is a prob
lem OF routing and controlling the
supply that moves into any particular
market. With non-perishables, stor-
age and finance and slow selling help
to control that supply.
Above all things, no cooperative
association is a holding
movement. If growers hold for a spe-
cific price, they deserve to fail Just
as any speculator who tries to squeeze
the market beyond it's normal COM
mercia1 price.
Our second question: What can be 4,
done to prevent overproduction of a |
comparatively marketed crop? Ad-
vertising will help, but how can you |
keep sales ahead of production when |
a crop is highly profitable?
Sapiro's answer: Nothing can be |
done to prevent overproduction of any |
crop except steady education as to |
the absorbing power of the consum- !
ing markets.
1t is possible to extend markets by |
Advertising and collateral means, but |
here is always the likelihood of |
reaching the saturation point. If this
is done, overproduction will be in |
evitable. The only way in which it
can be faced is by education and by |
coordinate action among farmers.
AS it is now, we frequently get |
as we did with pota-
Toes in this last crop. The potato
armers were absolutely helpless.
Only about the normal crop moved
nto market-but that crop was sold
1t the lowest possible prices. Over |
100000 bushels of potatoes rotted |
n the ground in the northern line
If states because it would not pay
he farmers to dig them.
These 100000 bushels of pota-
oes rotting in the ground deter
mined the price of the entire crop
moving to market Overproduction
las it's terrors at all times; but it is
likely to be held in hand more easily
f the growers are organized than
when each man rushes his products
o market, so that his neighbor and
lot he himself will be stuck with the
That is what unorganized farmers
lways do, and the buying world
.nows it. The result in an overpro-
uction year is that farmers get ar
bnormally low price for that part of
he crop which they do manage to
ell; and therein lies the greatest
oss. If they could receive fair value