to4 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



April, 1915 



Better Methods of Marketing Required* 



C. W. Baxter, Fruit 



IT is doubtful if there is any product of 

 the soil as valuable as the apple, which 

 shows so (Treat a lack in practical busi- 

 ness methods of marketinsr and distri- 

 bution. It offers so many speailative in- 

 ducements ; it has reached the stage of 

 beinjr termed by some a "crarable." 



Many Rrowcrs contend that the apple 

 business is unlike any other business. This 

 of course, is true to some extent, but to 

 mo trreater extent than various other lines 

 of business. There are certain business 

 principles which must be followed and which 

 are essential to the success of every busi- 

 ness. The same principles are practical 

 in creating- a demand for and sellinsr and 

 distributinsr the apple as are used in the 

 distribution of the product of amy factory. 



To speculate with ' bananas is practically 

 an impossibility. This is also the case 

 with oranRos. Each of these fruits are con- 

 trolled by a sellinfi: and distributine- organi- 

 zation. In them the apple meets its great- 

 est competition. The fact that no specu- 

 lation is permitted in the sale of bananas 

 and oransres, as well as the various adver- 

 tising schemes which have been used to 

 find an outlet for these crops togrether with 

 the machinery employed for the proper esti- 

 mating- of the total crop, enables the sell- 

 ing- force to so determine prices that it has 

 created a tremendous increase in the con- 

 sumption of these fruits, even to_ the ex- 

 tent of moving- the whole crop with little 

 or no waste. 



This last factor, the elimination of waste, 

 is one which is commanding the attention 

 of all st"dpnts of economy. Those of us 

 whose privilege it has been to move about 

 the apple growing districts of eastern Can- 

 ada during- and after harvest time, and view 

 the piles of "culls" left in the orchards, 

 know that this feature ofthe apple industry 

 should be seriously -considered. 



Scientific men tell us that it costs the 

 tree as much to produce a cull as it does 

 a number one apple. The waste we see in 

 the product of the tree is, therefore, also 

 a waste of the productive element of the 

 soil. By the adoption of proper spraying-, 

 cultivation, prunino- and thinning methods 

 this waste can be largely eliminated. Com- 

 mercial orchards in British Columbia and 

 the Pacific Coast states have produced for 

 several years in succession from 90 to 94 

 per cent. No. 1 fruit. 



The marketino- organizations of the 

 orang-e growers of California are a tre- 

 mendous success. We are constantly being 

 reminded of this by the display of oranges 

 in stores, large and small, in the cities and 

 towns from coast to coast, even in very 

 out-of-the-way places. The success of the 

 cooperative organizations of the California 

 orange growers, the unsatisfactory returns 

 to individual apple n-rowers, and the ruin- 

 ous competitive methods of different associ- 

 ntions, induced the growers of the Pacific 

 Coast states to form the cooperative sell- 

 ing and distribtttino- 6rganization knowe as 

 the North Pacific Fruit Distributors-. It is 

 a sellifng machine absolutely owned, con- 

 trolled, and manag-ed by the prowers. 



"Necessity is the mother of invention." 

 This has been so with the fruit growers of 

 the western coast states. They realized 

 that, beimg situated so far distant from the 

 larger marketing centres and their great 

 disadvantage in fj-eight rates, it would be 

 impossible for them to successfully com- 

 pete with the eastern fruit grower with the 

 same product put up in the same way. 



The methods employed by these growers 



•Extract from a paper read at the last annual 



ooDTention of the PrpY^nce of Quebec Fruit Grow- 

 ers' A8800J«t4ftT». 



Division, Ottawa 



are of the most up-to-date character. The 

 result is that a very large percentage of 

 their fruit is clean, well colored, and of 

 first quality. They have adopted the box as 

 the package to be used in marketing the 

 apple. This package was unpopular at 

 first. It has since- becortie practically a 

 standard package. It is o-reatly desired by 

 the trade. 



Cooperative associations were formed and 

 as during the time the greater number of 

 the young orchards were comine into bear- 

 inp- the total product was not large. Very 

 high prices were realized. However, in 

 1912 the growers found themselves with a 

 very large crop of annlcs -. in fact, by far 

 the largest thev h.ad had. To market this 

 was a big problem. Various methods were 

 used. Cooperative associations were com- 

 petine" one with the other. Some members 

 withdrew from associatioms to which they 

 belonged, and tried to market their fruit 

 individually. This resulted in most un- 

 satisfactory returns, and in many cases 

 ruinous prices. Growers at once set about 

 to find a means to remedy this condition. 

 The result was that over sixty ner cent, of 

 the growers agreed to cooperate in market- 

 ing through a central association. 



CAPABLE MEN EMPLOYED 



In the formation of this cooperative sell- 

 ing organization, only men of the highest 

 degree of efficiemcy and business manage- 

 ment were engaged. These were men in 

 whom the growers had perfect confidence. 

 Thev were men who had already made suc- 

 cessful business records. Wherever we go 

 we see evidences of the s-uccess of this or- 

 ganization whose growers have justly claim- 

 ed to be"the most perfectly equipped sellin^' 

 machine in the dicidious fruit business of 

 the world." 



The success of this system of distribu- 

 tiom can be seen by its invasion of our 

 eastern markets in the spring months, with 

 such varieties as the Missouri Pinpin, Wine- 

 sap, and the much-despised Ben Davis. 

 These we find on the tables of our eastern 

 hotels, dinino- cars, and sold by railway 

 newsagents amd fruit dealers at what seem 

 fabulous prices. 



The claim of this organization that the 

 grower is permitted to see the whole his- 

 tory of his fruit from orchard to market 

 is made possible by the uniting of the local 

 cooperative associations in a sub-central 

 organization governed by the p^rowers di- 

 rectly, or through representatives of the 

 locals. A trustee is elected by each sub- 

 central. . These trustees constitute the gov- 

 enning board of the central. The growers 

 of each district also elect two of their num- 

 ber, who together constitute an auxiliary 

 board, with power to review the acts of the 

 trustees. The books and records of all 

 branches— <entral, sub-central, and local — 

 are open to the inspection of each grower 

 at all times. This permits of his knowing 

 the cost of everv move. 



This organization provides a system of 

 gathering crop estimates and market re- 

 ports, and furnishes the grower with more 

 and iDetter information than is known by 

 the buyers. This is a tremendous advan- 

 tage to the grower. It ensures a uniform, 

 supervised and dependable pack upon which 

 buyers cam rely, and is a great factor in 

 eliminating the speculative element. By 

 having representatives in ever\' fruit centre 

 in America and Europe, the fruit is more 

 evenly distributed and secures a wide dis- 

 tribution. The buyers are assured of a 

 greater steadiness of price and an almost 

 certainty of buving on a stationary or a 

 rising, not declininjr. market — another fac- 

 tor in eliminating th? speculative element. 



A wide and intelligent advertising of their 

 product increases the demand. 



While this organization has not been in 

 existence very long, it has accomplished 

 much. Founded as it is upon ideal busi- 

 ness principles, it cannot fail so long as 

 it receives the loyal and sympathetic sup- 

 port of its members. The working of this 

 organization (a mutual non-profit corpora- 

 tiom) or any other system which gives the 

 grower, large and small, control of his fruit 

 from production to a wide range of markets, 

 should receive the consideration of every 

 fruit grower. 



The great success attained by the United 

 Fruit Companies of Nova Scotia, which is 

 the buying and marketing machinery of a 

 large number of local associations, is amo- 

 ther example of what can be done by or- 

 ganization. The manner in which the 

 phenomenal crop of 1912 was marketed and 

 distributed, was a credit to the officers and 

 members. A number of local associations 

 of the Okanagan V'alley, B.C., have or- 

 ganized a central body known as the Okan- 

 agan United Growers. Limited, which has 

 given good results. 



ONTARIO AND QUEBEC METHODS 



As we review the methods of marketing 

 and distribution in the provinces of Ontario 

 and Quebec, we find they are various in- 

 deed. For instance, first, the producer 

 packs his fruit and awaits the arrival of a 

 buyer. Should he be disappointed in this, 

 he sells through the commission merchant ; 

 second, the producer, as has been his cus- 

 tom for years, receives an amount per bar- 

 rel in advance and ships his fruit to the 

 European markets on consignment ; third, 

 the producer sells his fruit by the barrel, 

 picked, the buyer doing the packing, or the 

 producer sells the fruit by the barrel on 

 the tree, the buyer picking and packing the 

 fruit ; fourth, the producer sells his fruit 

 by the "lump" and secures the same price 

 for all the fruit in the orchard ; fifth, there 

 are local cooperative associations whose 

 members pack their own fruit and sell 

 through mail quotations or by the employ- 

 ment of one or two travelling salesmen. 



Such methods offer a large field for spec- 

 ulation. Some individual growers who have 

 established a reputation for high quality 

 in local markets, experience no difficulty in 

 making sales at highest prevailing market 

 prices. These growers, however, are com- 

 paratively few. 



Cooperative associations which have a 

 reputation for uniformity of grades and 

 high-class fruit have been given a prefer- 

 ence by dealers in our western markets. 

 This was evidenced in the marketing of the 

 big crop of 1912. Dealers frequently paid 

 from 50 cents to $1 per barrel more for 

 packs of associations which were well- 

 known, in preference to unknown individ- 

 ual packs where the fruit was equally as 

 good. Because of the various methods by 

 which the fruit is sold and packed, a very 

 wide range of grades and quality is the 

 result. There is no uniformity even though 

 the fruit complies with the requirements of 

 the Inspection and Sale Act. 



This lack of uniformity in grades is as 

 prominent in association packs as with in- 

 dividual packs. It causes much dissatis- 

 faction among the dealers. Instances of 

 this have frequently come to my attention. 

 I have seen barrels of apples packed by the 

 same associations exhibited in large quan- 

 tities and offered for sale in the stores of 

 two merchants doing business in the same 

 block. The varieties were the same, as 

 well as the price, but one lot was worth at 

 least a dollar a barrel more than the other, 

 although both were within the requirements 

 of the Act. There is no fear of the fruit 

 industry that will give greater satisfaction 

 to the distributor and consumer, as well 

 as better rftiims to the producer, than the 



