10 P.D. 123 



the State, southern Worcester County and parts of eastern Massachusetts. It is 

 impossible to cover the entire State each year. Violations of the law as far as store 

 owners are concerned are to be handled through hearings rather than by prosecu- 

 tions. 



Inspection Work Covers Wide Field 

 Inspections of this Division have been unusually active during the year, as 

 shown in the following table. It has been exceedingly gratifying to note very 

 evident signs of improvement in all lines of work effected by inspections. 



Stores inspected for oleomargarine violations . . 4,474 



Stores inspected for seed law violations . . ... 346 



Seed samples collected . . . . . . . 346 



Poultry farms inspected ....... 139 



Dairy farms inspected ....... 1,480 



Pasteurizing plants inspected ...... 316 



Raw milk dairies inspected ...... "249 



REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF MARKETS 



For a decade the Division of Markets has been assembling facts, compiling 

 figures, disseminating information and rendering service to those engaged in the 

 production and distribution of food products in Ma.s.sachu.setts. 



\Ahen at first it seemed that the assembling and di.stribution of market news 

 information was the primary work of the Division, step by step more and more 

 duties devolved until in 1930 the personnel as well as time and money have been 

 taxed to the utmost in attempting to cope with the broader and more general as 

 well as far reaching scope of marketing problems. 



As Massachusetts farmers are facing more and more outside competition as well 

 as the occasion to seek outside markets, the problem of grading and standardiza- 

 tion of their products have become more and more acute. The Division of Mar- 

 kets has. therefore, endeavored to find out the facts regarding market require- 

 ments and consumers' needs in order that any recommended standard would be 

 as practical as possible upon which to base future work. When such standards 

 and grades are established it has been the policy of the Division to see that they 

 are maintained. This has been furthered by a system of inspection by frequent 

 conferences with producers, by general educational campaigns, public meetings, 

 exhibits, demon.strations and the like. 



Standardization and Grades 



The interest by producers in grading this past year has come from two sources: 

 first, those growers who are sending shipments in quantity outside of the state, 

 and other producers who want to obtain the premium that good (juality local 

 products bring in our markets. 



The greatest stimulus which the marketing program received came from the 

 strawberry growers. Sixty-seven producers organized into a co-operative asso- 

 ciation and adopted a Massachusetts grade for strawberries. The result of this 

 voluntary movement on the part of producers increased the demand for their 

 product, netted the individual a larger price return, and new markets were found. 



Another group of producers raising tomatoes organized into an association and 

 again adopted a grade for their product. As a result of this movement approxi- 

 mately twenty-five thousand half bushels of graded and labeled tomatoes were 

 offered to the trade. An outstanding result of this project was that the graded 

 and identified tomatoes sold when tomatoes not graded did not get favorable 

 recognition. 



The other type of producer mentioned is well represented by the poultrymen, 

 as he is trying to sell a special product to those consumers who are willing to pay 

 a premium for a nearby egg. Their increased interest is shown by the fact that 

 over 300,000 egg labels have been distributed during 1930, representing an increase 

 of fifty per cent over the previous year. At present the label users are individual 

 poultrymen not concentrated around any one market or combining with each 

 other to sell or advertise. However, a committee has recently been appointed 



