14 ANNUAL REPORTS OK DKPARTMENT OF ACIMCl'LTURE. 



together and put in satisfactory sliape, it will be published in order 

 that farmers may be in position to determine what the trend in the 

 future is likely to be and what they may do to adjust their operations 

 next spring to world conditions. In this work, the dej^artment has 

 had the cooperation of a committee representing the agricultural 

 colleges and experiment stations and also of representatives of farm- 

 ers' organizations. 



MAUKETING WORK SHOULD BE EXPANDED. 



We must see to it that the road between the producer and the con- 

 sumer is open and direct and that the farmers have a free and com- 

 petitive market in which to dispose of their products. "We must omit 

 no effort to improve our marketing machinerj^ and practices and to fur- 

 nish necessary market information to the farmer so that he may take 

 full advantage of modern business methods in the distribution of his 

 commodities. The Bureau of Markets, created in 1913, is devoting its 

 attention to the solution of the nujn v complex problems arising in con- 

 nection with the marketing of fa rni products. It is dealing, first of all, 

 with several fundamental steps which are essential to constructiA^e 

 work in this great undeveloped field. These include particularly the 

 accumulation of fundamental data regarding marketing processes and 

 costs; the dissemination of accurate, disinterested market informa- 

 tion ; the elimination, wherever practicable, of waste and unnecessary 

 marketing expenses; the development of standards for the grading of 

 farm products and the standardization of containers ; the promotion 

 of efficiency in the storing, handling, and shipping of farm products ; 

 and the regulation of marketing machinery in order to prevent any 

 abuses or sharp practices that may exist. Work along these lines is 

 being prosecuted as vigorously as possible with the available funds 

 and facilities, and provision has been made in the estimates, to be sub- 

 mitted to the Congress at its next session, for its further development 

 during the next fiscal year. If the necessary appropriation is 

 granted, special emphasis will be placed upon studies relating to the 

 costs of marketing and the systematic collection and dissemination 

 of statistics regarding the production and supply of, and demand 

 for, agricultural products in foreign countries. 



COSTS OF MARKETING. 



For some time it has been evident that reliable data regarding the 

 costs of marketing should be gathered in order to supplement similar 

 data concerning the costs of production. In fact, such data are essen- 

 tial to the correct understanding of our marketing processes and are 

 fundamental to the development of plans for their improvement and 

 the elimination of lost motion and unnecessary expenses. We should 

 be able to indicate, with a fair degree of accuracy, the proportion of 



