PROBLEMS OF COOPERATIVE MARKETING ASSOCIATIONS 13 



Lack of adequate storage facilities in the community handicaps 

 many associations. In preparing for the construction of local stor- 

 age plants to meet this shortage, it is necessary to consider the extent 

 to which the commodity requires storage. Marketing plans as well 

 as the keeping quality of the product enter into this question. 

 Whether terminal storage facilities can be used to advantage must 

 also be considered. The question of whether farm storage or ship- 

 ping-point storage warehouses or a combination of the two should be 

 used will also arise. 



The question of handling enters into the storage of perishable 

 products. Injuries hasten deterioration in storage. The maturity 

 of the product is an important factor. Immature or over-ripe fruits 

 or vegetables generally have poor keeping quality. Delay between 

 harvesting and storage is another common cause of loss. 



These problems are not peculiar to cooperative associations. The 

 associations should be able to meet them more satisfactorily than 

 private shippers and have a greater interest in their solution. If 

 the organizations fail to meet them, their merchandizing plans will 

 be a complete or partial failure. 



3. Losses caused by improper grading and lack of grade standards. 



Proper grading of the products becomes more important when 

 cooperative marketing is adopted. Pooling can not be practiced 

 satisfactorily without standardized grades. The improvements 

 which a cooperative association is organized to bring about presup- 

 pose standards on which the value of the products delivered by each 

 member and the value of the association's shipments can be based. 



GRADING AND STANDARDIZATION 3 



There is scarcely one important marketing function that can not 

 be performed more effectively when the commodity is graded to 

 recognized and definite specifications. It is especially necessary, 

 however, that cooperative agencies should maintain definite grade 

 standards. In fact, this is set down by practically all authorities 

 as a basic prerequisite to success. 



One object of cooperative marketing associations is to enable 

 small producers to obtain the advantages which accrue to large-scale 

 operations, such as lower transportation costs, better facilities for 

 assembling, and more intelligent distribution. A relatively large 

 volume of produce is required to bear equitably the heavy overhead 

 expenses of such organizations, and in drawing tonnage from a 

 whole community there are, as a rule, wide variations in the quality 

 of the crops of the several individuals. The practice of pooling the 

 shipments of the various members is becoming general among co- 

 operative marketing associations. There are sure to be poor sales 

 as well as good sales, and it seems only fair that the members should 

 share alike the ups and downs of the market. Without a proper 

 system of grading, the practice of pooling would impose a direct 

 penalty on the best class of producers. 



Standard grades constitute a common language between buyers 

 and sellers. They facilitate trading, serving as a basis for: (1) 



3 The following discussion is based on an article entitled " Standardization Necessary 

 for Cooperative Marketing," by H. W. Samson, published in Agricultural Cooperation, 

 April 9, 1923. 



