Markets, Marketing and Storage 243 



ing the potatoes by wagon or shipping them. This can 

 only be done when the farmer lives fairly close to market 

 and where he has good storage facilities, so that he can 

 sell small quantities at a time. Such a method of market- 

 ing is usually highly satisfactory, for it gives the pro- 

 ducer the highest possible share of the profits and the 

 consumer the lowest retail price. The farmer may also 

 sell locally to retail grocers, thus eliminating the services 

 of one to three or four middlemen. Obviously, only a 

 very small proportion of the total crop can be marketed 

 in these ways. Such methods of marketing necessitate 

 much labor, and require good storage accommodations 

 and an intimate knowledge of markets. 



Marketing through local dealers 



It is usually necessary for the farmer to sell his potatoes 

 to a local dealer, who in turn stores some of them and sends 

 the remainder to the commission men in the larger cities. 

 These dealers are familiar with the requirements of the 

 different markets and are usually able to sell the potatoes 

 to a better advantage than can the farmer. 



The local dealers or buyers are to be found in nearly 

 all towns where large quantities of potatoes are being 

 brought in by the farmers. They usually sort and bag the 

 potatoes and load them in cars for shipping. Occasionally 

 a farmer or a small group of farmers will load and ship a 

 car, but the bulk of the crop is handled by local buyers. 

 These buyers, according to Taylor, may be of several sorts. 

 They may be agents of large potato companies in the cities, 

 or they many be independent buyers who combine other 

 lines of business with that of potato-buying, or they may 

 be agents of farmers' warehouses or cooperative associa- 



