196 S'TATE BOARD O^ AGRICULTURE. 



these cars running aroung 42,000 lbs., making a total of 862,000,000 lbs. 

 of potatoes. If this average saving of $.2147 per cwt. were made on this 

 total amount of potatoes, the total saving would be equal to $1,850,714.00. 

 Extended observation would indicate that the price paid by dealers to 

 farmers in the territory not within the influence of the Potato Exchange was 

 considerably less than the amount paid the farmeis within th(^ territory in 

 which the Potato Exchange was operated. 



The average difference between the highest pricte paid to farmers and 

 the highest price that the potatoes were sold for during the period desciibed 

 in the year 1918, was $.5203 per cwt. The average difference between the 

 lowest price, as indicated by the government reports, paid to the farmer 

 and the lowest price received by the dealers and other operators during 

 1918 for the period mentioned was $.4521. Now the average price between 

 the highest price paid to the farmer and the higest price for which potatoes 

 sold during the period mentioned during the season of 1919 was $.1922. 

 The average difference between the lowest price paid to the farmer during 

 the period mentioned in 1919, and the price that the potatoes were sold 

 for by the dealers and the Exchange, as indicated in the government bul- 

 letin, was $.3500. While there is no direct evidence in these figures to 

 bear out the conclusion that the low cost was within territory of the Ex- 

 change, and that the high cost was in the territory not affected by the 

 cooperative marketing organizations, many observations throughout the 

 state would indicate that this condition prevailed. 



It is possible that there may be some other reason than the effect of 

 the cooperating marketing associations, in reducing the marketing cost of 

 potatoes, but that reason is not apparent, and to a close student of the 

 problem, there is little other conclusion possible than that it was the direct 

 effect of the cooperative marketing associations operating at cost, which 

 produced the results above described. 



THE FRUIT INDUSTRY. 



Marketing work in the Michigan fruit industry was devoted principally 

 to the uniting of organizations already established in the fruit belt. A 

 movement had been under way for several years, among the grape associ- 

 ations of Berrien and Van Buren counties, looking to the formation of a 

 central sales organization. This was practically secured a few years ago by 

 all five of the associations in the field uniting and employing the same sales 

 agency. However, a need was felt of some permanent arrangement be- 

 tween the locals other than above described, and a meeting was held at 

 Hartford early in the year, at which plans were fairly well matured for a 

 proposed federation. As the organization did not contemplate a combined 

 sales service, and interest in other problems affecting the industry was 

 not active, the organization did not thrive as is usual with farm organiza- 

 tions of this type, the principal weakness being that there was not sufficient 

 work to maintain active interest outside of the sales and supply business. 

 As the crop in the grape belt was very light, and the development of the 

 grape juice industry was such that practically all the grapes grown in 

 Van Buren county, and also a considerable portion of the Berrien county 

 output, were absorbed by the juice factories, it becme apparent that the 

 tonnage of grapes was scarcely large enough, especially in years of light 

 yield, to support any kind of a permanent organization, and it became 



