Evening star., 1946-12-08
Marketing Is Big U. S. Puzzle
Admitted Weaknesses Call for Changes
To Benefit Producer and Consumer
By Howord l. stier
Head. aaryiand sia,. Marketing Departp.n,

A summary Of the money spent by
the Agriculture Department in the
fiscal year 1945 reveals that IL per
cent was expended for various phases
of production and II per cent for
marketing work. Most OF the money
spent for marketing was for service
and administration of the various
marketing laws and regulations.
Very little was spent on research
designed to improve marketing as
such.
Most agricultural produce is mar
keted and many commodities have
become localized in certain high
producing areas. Such specializa-
ton tends to separate production
farther and farther from the con-
sumer and to make the problems OF
marketing more complex. 1t is more
important than ever that the mar
keting system be made more efficient
and that farmers produce the kind
of commodities in the proper quanti-
ties needed to meet the needs of
the marketing system available to
them or which can be developed
for them.
With the marketing system more
complex and rapidly changing, it is
inevitable that great deal of work
needs to be done to improve it. Yet
it is equally difficult to know specif-
ically what improvements can be
made. We must have more facts.
Weaknesses Are Acknowledged.
We have heard and no doubt will
hear great deal of complaints about
marketing costing too much. These
complaints are especially numerous
when prices and consumer incomes
are low. People point to the wide
price spread between the producer
and consumer. They are diSap-
pointed by the fact that products
may be left on the farms on the
West Coast when our consumers in
New York City might like to have
them. They see the fault in our
inadequate marketing facilities for
delivering perishables. You can go
through the various parts Of the
marketing system and find these and
other weaknesses.
1t seems apparent that the answer
is not that our marketing system is
so bad that it should be discarded
and a new, theoretical and umtried
plan adopted We have the best
marketing system yet developed ac-
cording to our way of doing things.
We cannot correct weaknesses by
generalizing and conditions can be
improved only by finding specific
features that need changing.
do not believe anybody has given
enough study to the different parts
of our marketing system so that they
can lay OUT complete plan of i'm
provement. To find the answers,
study and research in the field must
be continuous.
Food distribution is still initially
an operation by small businessmen,
therefore public agencies such as
State and governmental research
and service agencies should take the
lead in marketing research and
recommending improvements. It is
in such way that State and gov
ernmental agencies can give the
greatest assistance to the marketing
system of the country.
News Presentation Is Inadequate.
The present market news service |
Is inadequate in many respects in
meeting present day needs. Ade-
quate informatio as to shipments,
supplies and prices by grade and
time is lacking. Availability from
all of our larger markets of timely
and accurate market information is
important in helping the marketing
system to deal with the day-to-day
problems that arise and producers
would be materially assisted in |
planning their operations in check
ing on their returns when they sell
their produce.
One of the most serious deflcien-
cies in the market news service is
the inadequacy of information on
movement of produce by truck. 1t
has been estimated that nearly half
of the receipts of fruit and vege-
tables at 40 of the largest terminal
markets arrive by truck; SO per cent
of the live poultry and go per cent
OF the eggs received in l6 large
cities are transported by truck; at
So public stockyards SO per cent of
the cattle and 70 per cent of the
hogs arrived by truck.
Obviously when the market news
contains information on the move
ment of such products by rail only
it is far from adequate. Adequate
marketing and crop information is
very important in price support,
particularly with regard to perish
able products.
1t is desirable especially in the
case of fresh fruits and vegetables
to establish provisions restricting
shipments that do not meet mini
mum standards of maturity and to