SUMMARY P.1B CONCLUSIONS 



Collective bargaining is a method by which a group agreement is reached. 

 It is usually thought of in such terms as prices, marketing facts, and 

 business conditions. 



In efforts to gain more influence over price, farmers in many areas have 

 organized bargaining associations,. Too often such associations have 

 started with great enthusiasm and promise only to end in discouragement 

 and failure > . principally because they attempted too much without having 

 enouph factors under control,, Experiences in cooperative bargaining 

 emphasize repeatedly, the necessity for adequate control of supply and the 

 importance of sound organization and management if success in influencing 

 market price is to be achieved. 



Most attempts at control of supply have failed principally because of: 

 (l) inability to bring about the effective working together of a suffi- 

 ciently large proportion of the producers; (2) inability to prevent the 

 entrance of new producers into agricultural production or to control the 

 output of .these already producing; and (3) inability to prevent substitu- 

 tion of one product for another by the consumer. 



If the farmers' bargaining association that controls the selling side has 

 equivalent bargaining power with the processors who control the buying 

 side, an actual price can be arrived at through the bargaining process 

 comparable to a price attained under competitive conditions. The 

 determination of price for contract crops under such conditions would 

 enable both oarties to have a fair chance and should strengthen the 

 capacity of the industry for autonomous self-regulation and thereby 

 lessen the amount of Government control or administrative pricing needed 

 or sought t 



Equal bargaining power of both sides, however desirable, Is rarely if 

 ever achieved, Bargaining power is the product of many forces which vary 

 with circumstances and changing economic conditions. Because of inability 

 to control all of these conditions equally well it is practically im- 

 possible to have a market situation where both sides have equal bargain- 

 ing .power. 



The theory of bargaining as analyzed in this report indicates that the 

 price is not a fixed value. The final negotiated price depends in part 

 upon the relative bargaining power of the two parties. Therefore, all 

 factors which influence the bargaining power of either side become 

 important in determining price, Every weakness of a farmers' cooperative 

 has an adverse effect upon bargaining strength. Every weakness that can 

 be overcome will have a favorable effect upon* bargaining strength. 



ill 



