HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



A QUALITY PRODUCT FOR A QUALITY PRICE 



(Continued from page 1, column 3) 



market in order that he may choose those ^ bargaining ability and were able to sell 

 crops which are most salable and provide at a better price because they had large 

 a sufficient margin of profit to return quantities or because they knew more 

 him some net gain. Since the market is about markets, sold at a different time, 

 constantly changing, and since it is very and were able to extract a better price 

 likely that a farmer will produce a num- from the buyer. At any rate, it was 

 ber of crops maturing at different times evident that the method of marketing and 

 of the year, he must constantly change the baigaining ability of the farmers had 

 his farm oiganization. | a tremendous influence on the labor in- 



In choosing his main crops the farmer comes of the farmers, 

 must be guided by three questions: First, 1 Everybody knows the importance of a 

 what will the crop cost per unit? Second, location on a good road or near a good 

 how many units of the product can I market. A farmer who has a good local 

 produce? Third, what is the market maiket will organize his farm differently 

 price per unit? All three questions must from the farmer who must ship his prod- 

 be answered before the farmer can say ucts. It is very questionable whether it 

 whether he should or should not produce : is possible foi- a Massachusetts farmer to 

 a crop. The spread between cost of pro- engage successfully in dairying and ob- 

 duetion and market price may be made , tain the major part of his income by 

 by reducing either the costs of farm pro- selling milk on the wholesale market. It 

 duction or the costs of marketing or both, is aLso very questionable whether poultry 

 or by obtaining a greater price for the production can be carried on successfully 

 product. Consequently any change in , in this state unless the poultryman finds 

 methods of marketing such as the forma- ' a special market for his product, poultry, 

 tion of a cooperative society which will eggs or baby chicks. 



eliminate certain marketing costs, or any 

 increase in the market price due to great 

 demand, or to better quality of the prod- 

 uct, or to marketing at a different place, 

 or at a different time, will probably en- 

 able the farmer to reap greater returns 

 and to lay greater stress on the produc- 

 tion of that particular crop. 



That methods of marketing are im- 

 portant in fai'm organization may be 

 shown by study of farm records. A few 

 years ago one hundred or more farm 

 management records were obtained in the 

 Connecticut Valley from men whose prin- 

 cipal ca.sh crop was either tobacco or 

 onions. These farms were listed in the 

 order of size of labor income received, 

 number one having the largest labor in- 

 come amounting to between $3,000 and 

 $4,000 and running down to number one 

 hundred, who had no labor income or 

 had received too little to pay expenses. 

 It was noteworthy that these one hundred 

 farmers had received very different prices 

 per pound or per bushel for their tobacco 



Indeed, on the whole, it ivoiild seem 

 that a good deal of the agriculture of 

 Massachusetts must be oragnized on the 

 basis of selling farm products of high 

 grade to those who are witling to pay a 

 high jirice for a superior qualiti/ of prod- 

 uct. The successful market organization 

 of the cranberry growers of Massachu- 

 setts is probably lesponsible for their suc- 

 cess. Without a secure market it is not 

 likely that cranberry growing would be 

 profitable. The Portuguese farmers of 

 the Cape who are raising strawberries 

 and turnips and who have organized a 

 cooperative society to sell these pioducts 

 seem in general to have solved the prob- 

 lem of successful farm organization. 

 Without the cooperative society for .sell- 

 ing their products it is doubtful whether 

 many of them could engage profitable in 

 agriculture at that place. We are lather 

 firm in the belief that the permant suc- 

 cess of dairy farmers in a numbei- of 

 sections in Massachusetts is dependent 



. on the organization of a cooperative re- 



and onions. Also, it was interesting to f . ., „■,, , . u- i, n j .. u * j- 

 ' , tail milk plant which will distribute di- 



note that those farmers who had the i ,, . „, . „„. „ ,,■„. „. i„ „j. „:n, 



rectly to customers a high grade oi milk 

 largest labor income were usually those , •,, .• - », ■,, i.- i, 4. 



^ , , , , , ' and will dispose of the milk which can not 



who had received the best prices for their , u ^ » -i • t.- e t 



^ , , be sold at retail in some satisfactory man- 



products. Just as an experiment I mul- 

 tiplied the yields of the best farmers by 

 the prices received by the poorest farmers 

 for those products and per contra gave 

 the poorest farmers the same prices for 

 their tobacco and onions as the best farm- 

 ers received. I was really surprised at 

 the result. While the order of farmers 

 was not entirely reversed by the process, 

 the poorest farmers were put far up in 

 the list and the best farmers were re- 

 duced to positions far below the average. 

 It is probable that they had a better 



On the whole, it would seem that com- 

 mercial agriculture is dependent on the 

 market, and farm organization must from 

 the very beginning take into account 

 market methods, market qualities and 

 consumers. Moreover, it is probable that 

 to the southern New England farmer 

 these considerations far outweigh con- 

 siderations even of soil and climate in the 

 choice of the products which he can 

 profitably raise. A. E. Cance. 



H. D, SMITH 



Hatfield, Mass. 



GRAIN, COAL, ICE 



AND 



FARM MACHINERY 



Nflrtlmmpton ilnatitirttnn 

 for ^aninga I 



Incorporated 1842 J 



t^ (^ ^5 I 



A MUTUAL SAVINGS BANK | 



Deposits begin to draw interest | 



on the first business day of each [ 



month. $1 will open an account. I 



Your income from your deposits \ 



in Massachusetts Mutual Savings I 



Banks is not taxable under the | 



State Income Tax. I 



Open 9 A. M. to 3 P. M. 

 Saturdays, 9 A. M. to noon 

 Monday evenings, 6.30 to 8 



^^^^^B0B000mm^00^^B^0m^^m00m 



FIRST 



NRTIONRL BftNK 

 NORTHAMPTON 



TVie Bank on the Corner "■"" 



Thr 



Assets over 

 and a half million 



Savings Department 

 Interest payable quarterly 



EDWARD L. SHAW, President 

 I F. X. KXEELAXD, Vice-President 

 \ ELBEKT L. ARNOLD, Cashier 



a£oco coc o c oco:xxxocaQ i cooMCO£t' 



