inCn • • • Time «as when canninfi fruits 

 and veiietahles was a relat ive ly simple nroc- 

 ess, requir ing limited investments in proc- 

 essing and market ing Faci I it ies . 



/:or<s^ 



• • • NOW/ modern mass markets and high 

 costs demand expensive plants and stream- 

 lined operations for peak efficiency. 



which package their products for sale in 

 retail food stores. In almost every case 

 the answers were recorded during a 

 personal interview. A few processors 

 replied to the questionnaire by mail. 



Most of the interviews were held 

 during 1956. Questions asked about 

 volumes and costs covered the 1953-54 

 marketing season. 



Interest in a Coordinated Program 



At the outset a list was made of every 

 known cooperative processing firm which 

 could conceivably fit into a joint market- 

 ing program. Names were obtained from 

 State extension services, State depart- 

 ments of agriculture, State councils of 

 farmer cooperatives, State land-grant 

 colleges, individual farmer cooperatives, 

 and sundry other sources. The original 

 list contained the names and addresses of 

 82 cooperatives. 



Eleven firms either did not answer 

 written requests for information or could 

 not be located. Of the 71 firms contacted, 

 53, or over 74 percent, indicated a 

 definite interest in some form of coordi- 

 nated marketing program. Seven are 

 already marketing their products jointly 

 through central sales agencies. 



Location of interested processors 



One factor which could affect the 

 success of an attempt to coordinate mar- 



keting is the degree of geographical con- 

 centration of interested firms. The 53 

 cooperative processors of fruit, vegetable 

 and special crops indicating an interest 

 in a joint program are located in 19 States 

 (figure 1). 



To measure the geographical dis- 

 persion in terms of relatively broad re- 

 gional groupings, the 19 States were 

 classified as: West Coast, East Coast, 

 North Central, and South Central. While 

 this division is somewhat arbitrary it 

 may suggest a workable form of regional 

 organization of producing units. Other 

 equally logical groups might be prefer- 

 able for technical reasons. 



Products handled 



Processing firms interested in a joint 

 marketing program may also be grouped 

 according to commodities handled. For 

 this purpose the various products proc- 

 essed were divided into five major 



