The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1924-03-21
Tentative Grades
for Can Tomatoes
Hoped That Specific Stand
ards Will Result in I'm
provement Of Stock.

prepared by the United States Department
Of Agricuture.)
Tentative grades for cannery toIna-
toes have been formulated by the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture for the purpose Of providing
basis for agreements and purchases of
raw material used in the manufacture
Of canned tomatoes and tomato prod
ucts. 1t is hoped that the use Of spe-
cific standards will produce better
business relations between manufac-
turers and growers, and ultimately re-
suit In a measurable Improvement in
the quality of the stock delivered to
the cannery.
The principal Of Standardization is
now firmly established and becomes
more popular each year, the depart
ment says. Grades are widely used In
the buying and selling Of farm crops
and are now. considered necessary
feature Of any well-ordefed system ,of
marketing. It is felt that grades prob
ably can be made applicable to most,
IL not all, of the fruits and vegetables
grown for cannery purposes. rs
No Standard Grades.
Up to the present time there has
been no standard grades for carnery
tomatoes. Some manufacturers have
endeavored to buy on more or less
definite specifications, but there has
been little uniformity in the termi1ol-
Dgy and application of such locally
drawn standards. Establishment Of
federal grades will enable all Gamers
20 buy on quality basis and enable
growers to sell tomatoes at prices
commensurate with the quality deliv-
cred, the, department says.
Success of the departments system
Of grading cannery crops seems to de-
pend largely upon the establishment
Of definite gradations In price to con-
form with the variations in quality
and condition, 1t is pointed out. Such
price gradations will furnish slim,
illus to the grower to strive to deliver
only high quality product, in order
to secure the attendant premium. A
fair basis for discounting deliveries of
lOw-grade tomatoes will also discour-
age the grover from delivering low
grade stock, and bring about marked
Improvement In the quality Of the to-
matoes grown and harvested. The
grower who finds that he is unable
to produce tomatoes that will grade
q. s. No. i will be inclined to discrim-
mate more carefully In the purchase
Of his seed or plants, and will focus
his interest on the elimination lof the
unproductive and poorly adapted
strains Of tomatoes and the constant
improvement of few well-selected va
rieties, the department feels. =
Growers Sof cannery tomatoes will
not be expected to use the proposed
grades as basis for separating the
crop into two or three classes before
hauling to the cannery, as this, prob
ably would unduly increase handling
costs. Gamers ordinarily are not
equipped to handle lots Of different
qualities separately, and since individ-
ual lots lose their identity immediate
" after being unloaded there would
be little advantage in doing extensive
sorting Of the crop in the field, the
department says. 1t Is felt that the
more logical plan, would be for manu-
facturers to employ the standards as
basis for sampling the loads as they
come to the receiving platform, there
by ascertaining the grade and fixing.
the value Of each load
To Try Out Standards.
The principle of buying cannery to-
matoes ON grade Is meeting with con-
siderable interest among Gamers of
tomatoes and tomato products and
several manufacturers have indicated
their intention to try out the proposed
federal standards as basis for their
buying next season. One manufactur-
er In southern New Jersey has incor-
porated in o. s. No. / grade in
his agreements with the growers. In
western New York the grades will
be used by one large operator on
portion of the acreage which he has
under contract for 1924. Indiana can
ners have assured the department that
they are heartily in accord with the
efforts being made to formulate fair
and workable system Of grading, and
have offered their cooperation in get
ting such a system established uni
formly in that state.
The tentative grades have been APP
proved and adopted unanimously by
the Tri-State Packers association, an,
organization representing the cannery
interests of Delaware, Maryland and
New Jersey. 1t also Is reported that
the proposed grades probably will be
established as legal grades in New
Jersey by the bureau of markets Of
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