Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-05-02

Hsore Market News Needed

rhs United states department OF agriculture
through its market news bureau. and with the coop
Grafton OF the various state departments OF agriculture
a. nrov,dina n highly valuable service to growers. buy
ers, shippers and consumers OF irut ana Nese'aoieS
and other farm products.
Eeports on the vegetable and fruit movement COM
r,iad ~ w ID Googe. local representative OF the
limited states market news bureau are OF great BEN
Eft to the farmers. the shippers and all concerned
with the movement OF the various crops OF the valley
20 market.
This service Is provided daily through the coop
Grafton Of the state and federal departments and tne
leading shippers o fthe Valley.
II discusses the movement of various prooucts
from the Valley and tells what quantities OF the same
uroducts are moving daily to the markets from otner
sections. It reveals how much Of each fruit or vege-
table IL available In the various markets and now
many cars were shipped to the various markets dur
ing the day.
II contains the weather bureau forecast for the
dav II even discusses at times the quantity Of va
rious products being grown in the various producing
centers and the probable yield OF the crop.
There is another bit Of information which We De-
lieye would be highly valuable If 1t could be complied
That is the return to the growers from Day 70 oay
for each crop.
FOR instance: Suppose 1t is early in the season and
snno cars OF cabbage have been shipped to the mar
hats If the nation from all producing centers. Sup
uose this cabbage has averaged a return OF SOU per
car to the growers. Then the crop at that stage OF
tina game would have Melted the growers Sl,25O,OOO.
Suppose the day following an additional 1000 cars OF
cabbage are shipped which average 5000 per car. then
the return to growers would have increased TO $780,
600. And so on for the season.
Then at the end Of the season it would be known
hcw much cabbage had moved to the markets OF the
nation and what the gross return TO the grower
amounted TO. Suppose the following year It was found
that exactly twice the amount Of cabbage had been
shipped to market but that the return to the grower
had shown only q small gain.
Would not this be proof Of oyerproduction and Of
price being reduced by the law of supply and demand?
Would not the day to day reports be graphic and
powerful warnings for reduced shipments? Would II
not enable farmers to determine more correctly what
crops to plant2
After It had been shown that 10000 cars Of cabbage
uculd hiring thu same return as $4,000 cars, would It
not prove the futility OF growing the extra 10000 cars?
A w. Mckay, market expert with the federal de-
uartment OF agriculture. has found that a 20OOO-acre
lettuce crop In the Imperial Valley OF California
netted the growers ~s6.327,OOo. whereas q 244oo-acre
cron brought q total return Of only s4T96.O00. a clear
case OF overproduction.
This same expert finds that 1890 acres planted In
strawberries In Missouri in 1925 yielded az the rate o.
7tno quarts to the acre and that the crop sold tor
s4772OOo. In 1928 the acreage was increased 70 2o4sO
and the yield dropped to loss quarts. However totai
production increased and the return to the growers
was only S. 100000. a loss Of a million and three quar-
tiers dollars to the growers despite increased produc-
ton. The 1925 per quart price was 10 cents the 1923
per quart price fell TO II cents.
Mckay has found that when the acreage Is unduiy
expanded poor prices cause a portion OF the crop %
remain In the fields unharvested: a clear waste Of
time. labor ard money.
s---1 - ~~nrara5 nv the Government
.rd should be highly valuable TO the growers.
But a report day to day on the return TO the grow
es would paint a picture Of gain or loss which could
not be ignored.