the traffic will bear."i Price varies with the income district, the rate of 

 turnover in the store, and gross sales. Consumers generally buy potatoes 

 in the store where they do other shopping, and quality and price are not 

 as important in their decisions to buy as would be necesssary for an accepted 

 giading system to increase sales. The major decisions on purchases are 

 made at the wholesale level. 



The size of the quantity purchased at retail is no doubt related to the 

 degree of discrimination in purchasing. A bag of potatoes at 25 cents is 

 "probably not sufficiently important to induce the average homemaker to 

 spend much time shopping around for potatoes."- 



NEW HAMPSHIRE GRADES 



The strict grading procedure, adopted by Maine potato growers, has 

 meant that Maine potatoes moving on to New Hampshire markets offered 

 severe competition for local products not graded or poorly graded and with- 

 out extensive quality controls. To assist producers in maintaining or find- 

 ing new outlets for their produce, the New Hampshire Department of Agri- 

 culture established a new potato branding law on July 1, 1949. This law 

 h intended to complement the U. S. Standards for Potatoes as developed by 

 the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



"The principal provisions of the law are that all shipments, pack- 

 ages, containers, or displays in which potatoes are packed, distri- 

 buted, sold, offered or exposed for sale are required to have the fol- 

 lowing markings: 



(a) The proper grade ("U. S. Extra No. 1", "U. S. No. 

 1", "U. S. Commercial", "U. S. No. 2", or "Un- 

 classified", as the case may be). 



(b) The name and address of person or persons re- 

 sponsible for grading and packing. 



(c) The true net contents as required by the State 

 Weights and Measures Law on open or closed pack- 

 ages. -^ 



In spite of the legal penalties for violation of this law, its success 

 in improving the quality of potatoes is dependent upon the degree to 

 which returns to producers are increased by its adoption. It is inevitable 

 that some producers should have different evaluations of the benefits to be 

 gained from grading procedures and their market behavior will follow ac- 

 cordingly. The variation in quality and grade refinements of New Hamp- 

 shire potatoes will affect their acceptance by trade in comparison with 

 ether sources. In the past, handlers have criticized New Hampshire pota- 

 toes because of their (1) dirty appearance, (2) variation in size and shape, 

 (3) turning black when cooked, etc. Such complaints, however, have little 

 meaning unless they are related to a specific grower on a specific market. 

 Further investigations showed that the small growers who try to sell at 

 the time of digging are the worst offenders in regard to the quality of pota- 



^The retail price in June 1050 varied from $.39 to $.69 per peck in a sample of retail prices 

 in the state. 



^Russell and Childress, How Mrs. Consumer Buys Potatos in New York City (Cornell Department 

 of Agricultural Economics), p. 11. 



^New Hampshire Potato Branding Law, July 1, 1949 (Bureau of Markets, New Hampshire Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture.) 



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