The border vidette., 1933-01-07
kiLN-ORieO SWEET POTATOES

Phoenix, Jan. 3.-"Sweet DO
tatoes can hardly be raised at q
profit in this valley because of
the competition of the itinerant
merchant or wild cat truckers" !"
said Fl. E Butter6eld, the larg
est producer of sweet potatoes
ii.n IN the Salt River Valley, who
this year raised 100 acres and
who next year plans to raise 200
acres. Il estimate that my pro
fits during the past year would
have been $4,000 more without
this competition.
Most of the sweet potatoes
brought into this valley come
from Portales. N. M aud from
Texas at points about two hun
dred miles east of El Paso.
These imported sweet potatoes
are OF the variety called kiln
dried" That is. they have been
processed in q kiln to take out of
them as much moisture as posi-
BILE. A lug of sweet potatoes
from the field will weigh about
81 pounds and after it is kiln.
dried it only weighs about q
pounds, that is, about 10 per
cent of the weight is extracted
through the drying process.
When these potatoes are
brought into the local market
they are sold generally through
out the state. As these dried
potatoes are good keepers, it is
quite common for the importers
to place them on consignment to
be sold as the market requires.
This custom makes it impossible
to sell local potatoes wherever q
consignment has been placsd,
As / have been accustomed to
dry about 20. 900 lugs annually of
my own product, this foreign
consignment custom has almost
entirely ruined my business, and
that of other sweet potato grow.
ers.
Whenever sweet potatoes get
up to Is cents a lug iu the local
market, it is almost certain thai
trucks will arrive either from
New Mexico or Texas bringing
in an additional cargo that could
not be sold for more than so or
55 cents cents lug on the
market where they we're raised
Previous to July /. 1891, I
was selling sweet potatoes here
out of my own crop at oae dollar
q lug. Then the Texas aud the
New Mexico importers brought
in additional quantities of sweet
potatoes which they sold at 81 90
to $l.25 bushel. and the bushel
makes two lugs. Therefore, my
price was cut about so per cent
Previous to August /, 1882,
I was selling sweet potatoes at
from 8 to II cents q pound
Then large quantities of the
Texas and New Mexico sweet
pota oes were brought in and
broke the price 81 cents q pound
In little while the price was
still further reduced so that the
wholesaler was selling sweet
potatoes at cent q pound. I
could have put into storage 20,
600 lugs, but owing to the de
moralization of the market caus.
ed by this competition, I only
kiln dried 5000 lugs at u cents
q pound, which did not pay me
to process and store last years
crop, which ought to be selling
righ ht now at 1 or cents q pound
| Because Of the complete de
moralization of the local sweet
potato market, I was compelled
to haul large quantity of my
sweet potatoes to the California
markets, paying 10 cents q lug
for freight and Is per cent com
mission, but even under those
conditions / was able to make Is
per cent more than I would have
been able to, by selling them on
the Phoenix market.
ITO show how this wild cat
competition affected me I will
cite that 3 years ago I sold q
crop Of sweet potatoes ( raised
on Is acres at 6 cents q pound,
making $500, and this year,
from the same Is acres I sold q
crop, equally good, for 81, 500"