130 ESSAYS ON WHEAT 



XXVIII. Financing the Crop Movement 



The grain which a farmer raises in western Canada, rep- 

 resents a very large part of his yearly revenue, and it is 

 therefore most important that he should be able to sell it 

 for cash soon after it has been threshed. Money is the 

 universal medium of exchange ; and the farmer requires it 

 to pay those who assist him in his work, to buy horses, 

 cattle, implements, machinery, etc., to erect farm build- 

 ings, and to purchase all the necessities requisite for the 

 existence and comfort of himself and his family. "^^ 



The farmer naturally desires to be supplied with money 

 as he requires it, and the problem of giving him cash for 

 his wheat, whenever he wants it, is a considerable one. 

 The ultimate consumer, as represented by the miller, does 

 not buy at once all the wheat he can make use of for a 

 whole year, because, if he did, he could not store it all 

 and could not pay for it all in cash. If the ultimate con- 

 sumer were to pay the farmer for his grain, the farmer 

 would be badly inconvenienced in his farming operations 

 by the necessity of waiting for deferred payments. 

 Months would elapse between the delivery of the grain to 

 a country elevator or into a box-car and the receipt of the 

 money which would be owing to him. It is therefore clear 

 that some agency must step in between the farmer and the 

 consumer, which will give the farmer cash for his wheat 

 as he requires it and carry the grain until the consumer 

 uses it and pays for it. This agency, acting indirectly, is 

 the bank. 



The amount of credit used to move the grain crop of 



70 C. B. Piper has discussed the principles involved in financing 

 the crop movement in his Principles of the Grain Trade of West- 

 ern Canada (pp. 183-191) and his discussion has been of consider- 

 able assistance to the author in writing this Section. 



