Dec, 1929] ROADSIDE MARKETING 25 



DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 



Roadside selling in New Hampshire, not unlike that in other states, 

 is in a chaotic condition. It has grown up like Topsy with little con- 

 scious attempt toward any definite end. It is new, a few years old, for 

 the most part, and has not settled down to any standard types of mar- 

 ket for agricultural products or of stands for merchandising small man- 

 ufactured goods. It tends to be overdone because of the small initial 

 investment necessary and the lure of possible gains with little risk of 

 appreciable, or properly appraised, losses. 



The competition among markets for farm products tends to be less 

 keen because more preliminary planning and expenditure of energy 

 are necessary in order to launch such an undertaking. Nevertheless, 

 half a dozen people, each of whom has a little extra corn, or tomatoes, 

 or cucumbers, or some other product from the family garden, which 

 he puts out on tables for holidays or Sundays when such vegetables 

 happen to be ripe, can add much to the discouragement of a neighbor 

 who is trying conscientiously to run a permanent vegetable market, 

 and to make it worth while for himself and his customers. A little 

 consideration and cooperation here would be much better for all con- 

 cerned, and allow one or two good markets to handle all the produce. 

 Those who have only small amounts should sell to the larger markets 

 or deliver to them for sale on a commission. 



The largest markets in New Hampshire for farm products indicate 

 only about half as much total sales as extremes reported by New Eng- 

 land States farther south; and one state west suggests a place with 

 occasional daily sales reaching $10,000.* Perhaps there is a contrast 

 here in so far as these states are more favored in amount of traffic on 

 main roads, and certainly in variety of products adapted to cultivation 

 and in length of season when fmits and vegetables can be gathered 

 from the fields. 



It is doubtful, however, if any individual has reached, or approached 

 even, the limit of sales possibilities in New Hampshire for agricultural 

 products under present conditions, and there tends to be a future with 

 yet greater potential sales due to the ever increasing use of better roads 

 and more dependable cars. If we assume that the individual in the 

 state who knows most about raising and preparing vegetables for 

 roadside purchasers is also a good manager and salesman; and if he 

 could be given the best location in the state, then there might easily 

 be developed a volume of sales equal to a combination of any three 

 of the present markets. 



But size of business after all is perhaps the least important measure 

 of success for some individuals. Success might better be judged in 

 various cases by alternative opportunities. The farmer who can mar- 

 ket his products at a higher price this way than at wholesale, or with 



♦Massachusetts State Department of Agriculture, Division of Markets, unpub- 

 lished data collected in 1926 indicating largest annual sales $30,000; Connecticut 

 Agricultural College, StoiTS, Conn., Roadside Marketing in Connecticut, Bulle- 

 tin 65 suggesting $30,000 as largest annual sales; and Michigan State College, 

 East Lansing, Mich., Roadside Marketing in Michigan, Special Bulletin, No. 

 185, p. 5. 



