23 
No sales were made to chain stores by 42 of the 45 associations with 
less than 5 percent sales of fresh products. Only 4 of the 211 asso- 
ciations sold 95 percent or more of their fresh sales to chain stores. 
Most fresh products were sold directly to chain stores, rather than 
through brokers or other intermediaries. 
PROCESSED FRUIT AND VEGETABLE COOPERATIVES 
Cooperative processing on a large scale began with dried fruits short- 
ly after 1910. Drying extended the marketing season for these fruits. 
Cooperative canning developed rapidly after 1930--about 88 cooperative 
canneries were operating in 1939. The canning industry expanded greatly 
during World War II. On the other hand, the frozen food industry was 
set back by the war years because of scarcity of materials needed for 
freezing facilities. 
Growth and Development 
Many processing cooperatives started as marketing organizations for 
fresh products. Some continued in the fresh field, serving grower 
members with an integrated marketing program. Some farm supply coopera- 
tives also did processing, primarily to provide grower members with mar- 
ket outlets for their fruits and vegetables. Because processing was not 
their major function, farm supply cooperatives were excluded from this 
study. 
Trend in Number 
Between 1952 and 1964, the total number of fruit and vegetable process- 
ing associations decreased from 65 to 59 (appendix table 13). The 
number of canning and drying associations declined over this 12-year per- 
iod, but the number of freezer cooperatives, including producers of 
frozen orange juice concentrate, increased from 6 to 7. Over the period, 
17 of the associations operating in 1952 went out of business (exits), 
and 11 associations began operations (entries). In total, 48 process- 
ing cooperatives operated in both 1952 and 1964. 
Geographically fruit and vegetable processing associations were concen- 
trated in 3 regions (table 6). In 1964, the Pacific States ranked first 
with 26 associations, followed by the Middle Atlantic region with 1l, 
and the South Atlantic with 9 associations. 
States with 5 or more processing associations in 1964 included Califor- 
nia with 13, Oregon with 11, New York with 7, and Florida with 5. In 
1952 the list included Oregon (13), California (12), New York (7), and 
Michigan (6). Of the 48 processing associations operating in both 
1952 and 1964, the Pacific States of Oregon, with 11, and California, 
with 10, were the most important. In the Pacific region canning and 
drying accounted for the same number of associations, 15 each, in 1952. 
In 1964, canning cooperatives numbered 16 and drying 14; only 3 associa- 
tions had freezing operations in 1964 (appendix table 14). 
