8 BULLETIN" 1109, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



trous year of 1906 brought to the attention of the eastern growers a 

 plan which they beUeved would aid materially in the solution of 

 their marketing problems. Consequently the selling agent was 

 asked to come East and explain to the growers of New Jersey and 

 Massachusetts the plan of organization of the Wisconsin company. 

 As a result, the New England Cranberry Sales Co. and the New Jersey 

 Cranberry Sales Co. were formed in 1907, modeled after the organiza- 

 tion, in Wisconsin. Approximately 35 per cent of the growers in 

 Massachusetts and 30 per cent of the growers in New Jersey joined 

 the new associations. 



These three State companies then formed a central selling organi- 

 zation, known as the National Fruit Exchange. This exchange was 

 owned exclusively by the three State associations and operated by 

 them on a nonprofit basis. Each company was represented on the 

 board of directors according to the amount of acreage controlled by it, 

 but no one company was allowed to have a majority of board mem- 

 bers. Offices and distributing houses were opened in New York and 

 Chicago, and store facilities were obtained in other large markets. 

 The growers' were assessed 7 per cent on the selling price of berries 

 f. o. b. shipping point. Of this amount 2 per cent went to the State 

 company and 5 per cent to the central selling organization for ex- 

 penses. Money left over at the end of the season was refunded to 

 the State association in proportion to the amount of business con- 

 tributed. 



During the next few years the National Fruit Exchange was in 

 active competition with the Growers' Cranberry Co. It will be re- 

 membered that the latter company, although cooperative, did not 

 have a pooling system and did not grade its fruit uniformly. Each 

 grower's fruit was marketed separately at his own risk. The large 

 crop of 1910, together with the losses incident to price cutting be- 

 tween two strong growers' organizations in active competition, led to 

 the consolidation in 1911 of the Growers' Cranberry Co. with the 

 National Fruit Exchange to form the present American Cranberry 

 Exchange. The New Jersey Cranberry Sales Co. went out of exist- 

 ence and the Growers' Cranberry Co. took its place in the central 

 organization. This consolidation increased the membership of the 

 exchange about 20 per cent. 



In 1919 each company reorganized and formed a nonstock, non- 

 profit, cooperative organization in order to comply with the Clayton 

 amendment of the Sherman antitrust law. However, no change was 

 made in the marketing methods or operation and the former pooling 

 and grading sysi^ems were retained. At the present time, the ex- 

 change controls about 75 per cent of the total crop in Wisconsin, 

 and about 65 per cent in both New Jersey and Massachusetts. 



