COST OF PRODUCING POTATOES 437 



571. Marketing. There are no standard grades of pota- 

 toes. They are usually marketed as table stock, as seed 

 stock, or as white or red stock, the prices for each kind de- 

 pending upon the demand. By far the greater portion of 

 the potato crop is marketed as table stock, and better prices 

 are secured if carload lots of one type and variety can be 

 sold. In many localities, small growers are seriously handi- 

 capped by the fact that it is practically impossible for their 

 buyer to get a carload of uniform stock, hence all of the pota- 

 toes in the community, though they may be good in quality, 

 must be sold as mixed stock, bringing a comparatively low 

 price. Many of the small growers are overcoming this dif- 

 ficulty by agreeing to grow but one or two standard varieties. 



The time of marketing is always a matter of judgment. 

 Sometimes one can get better prices by holding potatoes for 

 several months before selling, and again the price may be 

 lower after that time. People who grow seed potatoes for 

 the southern market must provide some way of storing them, 

 because the southern buyers do not want them until near 

 planting time. Many communities in the North have or- 

 ganized companies and have erected cooperative potato 

 warehouses, that they may store their crop if necessary and 

 ship when prices are best. 



572. Cost of Production. The cost of growing potatoes 

 varies all the way from $20 to $50 per acre, depending upon 

 the system of cultivation, price of labor, rent of land, number 

 of sprayings given, and cost of fertilizer applied. The Min- 

 nesota station found that in the potato-growing sections of 

 that state, the average cost of growing potatoes on 331 acres 

 of unfertilized land was $26.37 to the acre. On 237 acres 

 of fertilized land in the same community, the "~3rage cost 

 was $37.72 per acre. The items that must be considered in 

 determining the cost of producing potatoes are plowing, 



