422 FARM MANAGEMENT 



In determining when to sell products, farmers should 

 make careful studies of reports of prices given in agricul- 

 tural and daily papers and government crop reports. The 

 Crop Reporter is of great value in studying crop conditions. 

 This is sent free on request by the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 



258. Conclusions on the best time to sell. It is evi- 

 dent that the higher prices received for products held are 

 just about enough to cover shrinkage and interest and 

 storage costs. 



This is to be expected when one stops to consider how 

 prices are fixed. The prices offered in the large storage 

 centers represent the average opinions of men who are 

 constantly studying the supply and demand. These men 

 use every available source of information and make the 

 business a life study. If prices are not as high as the 

 future demand is likely to warrant, there is a great demand 

 for products to store. This demand comes from manu- 

 facturers as well as speculators. Such a demand tends 

 to raise the price until the profits from storage are reduced. 

 If prices are considered too high, storage is checked and 

 prices fall. The price offered for wheat is the consensus 

 of opinion of farmers, millers, warehouse owners, and 

 speculators as to the present and probable future demand 

 and supply of this article. The majority are not always 

 right. Often the supply is not correctly estimated and 

 sometimes war, panics, or periods of prosperity upset all 

 calculations on the demand. More frequently, excep- 

 tionally favorable or unfavorable prospects for a succeed- 

 ing crop make the prices wrong. Occasionally, a product 

 is cornered, but this does not often happen. The price 

 to-day is a better indication of the price a few months 

 from now than is the opinion of any one farmer. 



