A very small amount of produce is sold by producers directly to the
consumer at his home, but the roadside market has greatly developed
retail activity by growers. Here fine quality, attractive
appearance, moderate prices, and fair dealing are effective in
building business. Stands that plan to "fleece them as they pass" do
not last long. It is the return business that counts. The bulk of
local selling is done directly to retailers--grocers or
hucksters--either at market or store-door. The costliness of this
system is being realized and local commission business is growing,
in many cases through the establishment of commission houses
co-operatively owned and managed by growers, as in Providence,
Cleveland, Chicago and other markets.
Some effort has been made to increase the use of tomatoes as has
been successfully done with oranges and bananas. These efforts have
been sporadic and results have been hardly more consistent than the
efforts. Co-operative publicity, especially at times when large
quantities are to be moved, would seem to offer fine possibilities.
Growers of some crops are finding chain store groups very ready to
help in moving out large volumes of produce when the supply is
large.
Cannery Selling
Cannery sales are generally made at a stipulated price on contracts
closed in advance of planting. These contracts have usually devoted
more words to protecting the interests of the packer than those of
the grower, largely because the grower has accepted the canner's
initiative with little question. Farseeing companies have been fair
in enforcement of terms and liberal in their dealings, realizing
that prosperity must be mutual for the highest success. A few
canners have contract provisions that enable the grower to share in
prices realized for the packed product when they rise beyond a
certain figure. Too many canners have lacked vision, however, and
have taken all they could get. Farmers have known little about costs
and so have frequently been lured by the prospect of cash return
even though they see no money until the packed tomatoes are actually
sold. During recent years, much has been learned about the business
side of growing for cannery purposes and the knowledge has been made
available through extension channels. Growers have shown some
tendency to organize and some canners welcome this movement as
helping them to set their affairs on a plane of definite
understanding. Canners have suffered sadly through failure of
growers to live up to contracts if it suited them better to evade
the terms, and organization helps greatly to develop the producer's
sense of responsibility. Indiana has formed a federation of locals,
but an organization movement in another state failed, more because
the directors and members did not live up to their duties than
through opposition of certain hostile canners. Co-operation in this
field has the same possibilities, requirements and dangers as in
other fields.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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