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"IT /E HAVE seen marketing in the middle west 

 develop from the trading post era to the 

 present with its gigantic modern termiinals, almost 

 JBvithin a lifetime. Under the old system buyer and 

 seller were more nearly on ajn equal footing. 

 Enterprise was largely individualistic. One man 

 matched his wits against another's. Since then 

 great corporations, mergers, a^id consolidations 

 have been effected in the field of business. The 

 small enterprise is fast disappearing. Buying and 

 selling have become highly ofganized but the 

 farmer has lagged behind in organization and now 

 is suffering the consequences. 



\ RECENT issue of a prominent financial journal 

 listed 393 leading industrial concerns of the 

 United States having net profits for the first nine 

 months in 1929 of $1,397,088,000, an increase of 

 28.3 per cent over the net inconjie of the first nine 

 months of 1928. Agriculture did not appear in 

 the hst. Contrasted with this very impressive 

 record of net earnings the U. p. Department of 

 Agriculture reports that the average farmer in' 

 creased his net earnings practically nothing for the 

 corresponding period. The satQe issue of this fi' 

 nancial journal which is a review of financial and 

 industrial development during 1929 features the 



tendency toward mergers and consolidations of 

 industrial concerns everywhere. J 



T^HERE is a striking significance in these two 

 facts. When two banks merge or a group of 

 railroads consolidate these actions are termed 

 mergers or consolidations. This tendency on the 

 part of big business has unquestionably been one 

 of the reasons why its earnings record has been 

 so satisfactory. 



There are two factors that largely determine 

 profit in any business, including agriculture. One 

 is production cost, the other is net selling price. 

 Production cost in agriculture is to a large extent 

 an individual problem. Selling price is not an 

 individual problem. It depends upon organization. 

 Business has helped to solve its selling price problem 

 through organized distribution. Agriculture is 

 just entering this phase of development. 



Co'operative marketing is the appUcation of the 

 merger principle to the selUng end of the farm 

 business. Industry, labor, and finance have helped 

 to solve the problem of profits by consolidation. 

 Both good business and necessity compel the farm' 

 er to do likewise. / | 



F^ URING recent years the farmer has had reason 

 to congratulate himself upon the great strides 



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