Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1924-06-19
Belt Valley Times,
Belt, Montana.

Dear SIrs:
| ] noticed in your paper some tim
back an article on producing potatoe
in Montana on-a large scale to be solt
on the outside market.
IN the early part Of April this yea
Deyine & Asselstine, wholesale com
mission merchants Of Great Falls
shipped to this part Of the country q
train load Of Burbank and Melted Cen
or Russell potatoes grown in Montana
and we bought some Of them and sold
to our customers here in the store and
will say that they were the finest po-
tatoes in quality and flavor we have
been able to get here in California and
we had a great deal Of comment from
our customers and continual come
back as long as they lasted.
The Burbanks were the beat Of the
two and generally viii sell at the high
est price on this market
One Of our largest potato growers
here has just brought in q sample Of
Russet potatoes grown here from Mon
tana seed and as / believe the farm
ers of the Belt Valley win be inter-
ested to know about this am send
ing you under separate cover one Of
these potatoes as sample and will
say for California these potatoes are
away above the average and means
that soon a market will open up for
Montana or Northern grown seed po-
tatoes which generally sell for 3 much
higher price than ordinary eating po-
tatoes. From our experience here
selling, Montana potatoes Of the right
kind and stock could be sold in this
market every year and at much
higher price than the ordinary potato
shipped in.
For example, on the Burbank pota-
toes we bought from the Devine &
Asselstine lot, we paid them $40 per
hundred and sold them out at $4.25I
per hundred, when at the same time
Idaho Russell potatoes, which is the
big seller here, was selling for s2.75
per hundred. At that our supply was
soon exhausted and we were not able
to get any more.
Quality potatoes properly graded
viii sell at premium any time and
in any market and one thing Montana
can produce is the finest potatoes
grown in the United States and this
being a fact, you should be shipping
car loads and train loads out Of the
state every year.
The only way this can be success
fully done is for the farmers of your
district to organize a potato growers
association for growing and market
ing potatoes and select some one or
two potatoes for the season and all
grow the same kind. Then have ware
houses and pits for storing on the
railroad ready for shipment at all
times and properly grade each sack
and label it with your own brand like
the Sunkist Orange or Diamond Wal
nuts raised here in California. Pack
your potatoes in new clean sacks all
of the same size, 100 pounds in sack
preferred.
Hire the best and highest priced ex-
perieneed market and shipping man
yeuea get to market your potatoes
and with the quality potatoes you can
produce in Montana, YOU cannot fail
A farmer can raise potatoes but he
can't market them for he is not
trained in this line of work. The Cal
ifornia Orange Growers association
pay their head man here salary Of
81, 100000 per year to handle the mar
keting of their product and he is con-
sidered the cheapest man they have
at that.
would advise you to try out the
Burbank potatoes to start with as
they are splendid eating potatoes and
always sch for considerably more than
any other potato and if you can pro-
iuce Burbank potatoes anything like
those shipped as this spring from
Montana, then the Belt Valley should
Become one Of the richest spots in the
U. s. Also don't overlook the possi-
bilities Of seed potatoes for all the
south part Of the United States IS
their seed has run out and they must
get northern grown seed or quit rails
ing potatoes.
Yours very truly,
s. c. PURDY.