1198 New York State Agricultural Society 



our business has been held so closely to our eyes that we have not 

 caught the broader outlook and the wider field that we must ex- 

 plore and occupy if we are to be of most service, not only to our- 

 selves, but to the ultimate consumer of our products. 



Aside from the production of abundant crops, we must very 

 properly concern ourselves in the economic problems of their trans- 

 portation and distribution to the consumer. "We must do this first 

 in self protection, for having once produced a pure and wholesome 

 article of food, for the quality of which the state holds us more or 

 less responsible, we should demand that those other agencies that 

 intervene between the farms and the consumer, shall be held 

 equally accountable for good service, careful handling and delivery 

 in good condition to the consumer; and even more, we should see 

 that this is done in a manner and by methods that eliminate every 

 unnecessary expense or unfair profit, to the end that the con- 

 sumer's needs may be served at lowest possible cost consistent with 

 fair prices, commensurate to the cost of production. Producers of 

 farm food stuifs of all sorts have given too little thought in the 

 past to these problems of transportation and distribution, and just 

 now they are receiving a great deal of attention as very important 

 factors in the high cost of living. 



The whole problem of marketing, and market facilities and 

 agencies needs most careful study and a thorough overhauling. 

 We know abuses exist, we know that methods are too indirect, and 

 that there is too wide a discrepancy between the price we receive 

 and the price the consumer pays, but how shall we correct this ? 

 Here is a broad field for cooperative effort on sane and practical 

 lines. We have heard this afternoon of one successful example 

 in cooperative marketing, and a most important contribution to 

 the success of such movements will be the report of our Committee 

 on Cooperation which has made special studies in this field, and 

 will bring to us plans which are practical and workable. These 

 reports and discussions which arc to be given to-morrow, should 

 have your earnest attention and careful thought. 



TUK l>AIi()K SiriATION 



Farm wages in the state have slightly advanced during the past 

 year, especially for married men. The increasing difiiculty in 



