VIII 



PRINCIPLES OF VALUE AND PRICE AS RELATED 

 TO FARM PRODUCTS 



Introduction 



The ignorant farmer ascribes his own poor crops and his neighbor's 

 larger yields to "luck," and thinks that mysterious and malevolent 

 forces bring diseases upon his beasts and pests upon his growing plants. 

 In these circumstances he is powerless, because he possesses no control 

 over the powers that determine his harvest. The intelligent farmer, 

 on the other hand, learns the life-cycle of the insect that destroys his 

 crop, and strikes it in its susceptible stage. He learns the truth about 

 hog cholera, and vaccinates his pigs and disinfects his premises. 

 Knowledge gives him control of the elements of soil fertility. 



The same change is coming about in connection with the subject 

 of values and prices. Farmers are beginning to be convinced that 

 there are certain great forces working in the market, and that economic 

 principles are competent to explain the manner in which market prices 

 are created. Instead of blaming the dealer or the consumer for low 

 prices, and talking of "fair" and "just" values, we are coming to 

 see that we must work out our own salvation, and that knowledge 

 gives control of the economic forces of the market not less than of the 

 biologic forces of the field. 



The commercial farmer must face the problem of what he can 

 sell, just as much as he must face the problem of what he can raise. 

 If he aspires to make his sales profitable, he needs to study the extent 

 and character of demand. Mr. Holmes has shown that the grower 

 cannot raise what he himself likes and would desire to buy, for the 

 consumer has other tastes and standards of judgment. Nor can he 

 devote his attention to raising the things that grow best on his soil, 

 regardless of whether they sell readily in his market. If, however, 

 he can discover a reason why they should sell well, he has a good 

 opportunity to create or stimulate a demand for the product which 

 he could produce efficiently. (See selection 26.) 



These conditions of demand being ascertained, and the possibilities 

 of modifying it having been exhausted, the farmer must direct his 

 efforts toward creating a supply situation which will meet the demand 



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