UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 979 



\jff~* Contribution from the Bureau of Markets 2^1 



pjfe J^Stfag and Crop Estimates 



jrw^^wTi. H. C. TAYLOR, Chief 



Washington, D. C. October 22, 1921 



MARKETING HAY THROUGH TERMINAL 

 MARKETS. 



By G. A. Collier, Investigator in Hay Marketing, and H. B. McClure, Specialist 



in Hay Marketing. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Country shippers 2 



Dealers in terminal markets 24 



Page. 

 Wholesalers and retailers in consum- 

 ing territories 45 



Suggestions 52 



Unusual difficulties are encountered in the marketing of hay. In 

 the first place, it must be marketed in the same physical condition in 

 which it is produced and can not be conditioned or graded in the 

 same manner as fruit, grain, or vegetables. Another difficulty at 

 present is the lack of uniformity in business practices. This is due 

 principally, it is thought, to the fact that the business is compara- 

 tively new and is not yet sufficiently organized to overcome the wide 

 variations in the trade practices in the different markets. The differ- 

 ences in the character of the hay marketed in the various sections of 

 the country and the variations in the demand for the different kinds 

 of hay are also factors which have hindered uniformity. Grading 

 and weighing methods have not been standardized to any great extent 

 and many losses and much difficulty is attributed to this fact. 



Shippers and dealers in different sections of the country have 

 formed organizations for the purpose of improving methods and 

 practices in the marketing of hay. These have no doubt accomplished 

 a great deal, but there is still need for much improvement in the 

 methods of weighing and inspection and for more uniformity in the 

 trade practices in the various markets. There also seems to be a need 

 for a better understanding between shipper, dealer, and receiver 

 and 'a greater spirit of fairness in the dealings between the different 

 factors interested in the marketing of hay. 



53884° — 21 — Bull. 979 1 



