ONION SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION. 



Ill 



When onions are bought earlj^ i.e., before thej' are harvested, a contract 

 is generally given by the dealer, and the price to the farmer is the named 

 quotation, but deductions are made if the onions are not delivered in 

 accordance with the terms of the agreement. To make the contract 

 binding, part payment on the crop is frequently advanced by the dealer. 

 Quite frequently the price quoted is for primes, which means that one- 

 half the price will be paid for picklers. The more common practice, 

 however, is to sell the entire product at so much per bag. In any case 

 the farmer does the screening and grading, subject to the conditions 

 stipulated in the contract. Too frequently the producer either willingly 

 or carelessly fails to live up to his agreement. Dealers are emphatic in 

 their contention that owners of land should supervise the screening done 

 by their share tenants. Only in this way, they say, can the responsibility 

 be placed where it belongs. 



The diagram below shows the variations in prices paid producers 

 through August, September, October and November for three seasons. 



Fig. 35. — Variations in price to farmers. Some farmers must have had onions of inferior 

 quality or lacked bargaining ability. 



A study of this diagram is illuminating. Are the conditions of the 

 market wholly responsible for this wide range of prices to farmers? It may 

 explain variations for sales early or late in the season, but it would hardly 

 account for the different prices paid on the same day even by the same 

 dealer for crops of similar quality. It would seem that the producer is to 

 a large extent responsible. At any rate, he is frequently not marketing 

 his product at the best possible price. 



If price differences are due to quality then the problems of seed, fertilizer, 

 culture and harvesting should be investigated. If the quality is right then 

 the failure to get the real market value must be explained by the producer's 

 inability to sell advantageously. This is a problem of marketing. To 

 assist in the solution of this problem is rendering first aid to the farmer. 



