i2 4 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY 



convenient for export purposes or that they may 

 supply the trade of Eastern sections. The farmer 

 can sell to these distant markets either directly 

 or through marketing agencies which have sprung 

 up, usually in the form of elevator companies. 

 Let us consider the processes involved in each of 

 these two plans. 



Direct Marketing. Farmers who live but a 

 short distance from town are inclined to haul 

 directly from the thresher, since only a small force 

 of men is necessary to handle the grain thus. 

 From farms which are 6 to 10 miles from town this 

 custom does not exist. Here the large number of 

 haulers needed because of the longer distances 

 involved makes it difficult to obtain a sufficient 

 force of men to dispose of the wheat as fast as it 

 is threshed. 



In direct marketing the hauler loads the wheat 

 into the cars by hand, by means of a scoop shovel 

 holding about a fourth of a bushel. With the 

 shovel he throws the wheat from the wagon into 

 the car. This is hard and tedious labor. The 

 loaded cars are then sent to the large milling or 

 market centers, which, depending on the locality, 

 may be Minneapolis, Chicago, Omaha, Kansas 

 City, or St. Louis. When the car arrives at its 

 destination, the purchasing company pays the cur- 

 rent market price and remits by draft to the sender. 



The theoretical advantage of this plan is the 



