UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 979 
)Vr Contribution from the Bureau of Markets jSkl 
/y-g— and Crop Estimates 
^-U^^-T^ H. C. TAYLOR, Chief 
Washington, D. C. October 22, 1921 
MARKETING HAY THROUGH TERMINAL 
MARKETS. 
By G. A. Collier, Investigator in Hay Marketing, and H. B. McClure, Specialist 
in Hay Marketing. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Country shippers 
Dealers in terminal "markets. 
Page. 
Wholesalers and retailers in consum- 
ing territories 45 
Suggestions 52 
Unusual difficulties are encountered in the marketing of hay. In 
the first place, it must be marketed in the same physical condition in 
which it is produced and can not be conditioned or graded in the 
same manner as fruit, grain, or vegetables. Another difficulty at 
present is the lack of uniformity in business practices. This is due 
principally, it is thought, to the fact that the business is compara- 
tively new and is not yet sufficiently organized to overcome the wide 
variations in the trade practices in the different markets. The differ- 
ences in the character of the hay marketed in the various sections of 
the country and the variations in the demand for the different kinds 
of hay are also factors which have hindered uniformity. Grading 
and weighing methods have not been standardized to any great extent 
and many losses and much difficulty is attributed to this fact. 
Shippers and dealers in different sections of the country have 
formed organizations for the purpose of improving methods and 
practices in the marketing of hay. These have no doubt accomplished 
a great deal, but there is still need for much improvement in the 
methods of weighing and inspection and for more uniformity in the 
trade practices in the various markets. There also seems to be a need 
for a better understanding between shipper, dealer, and receiver 
and a greater spirit of fairness in the dealings between the different 
factors interested in the marketing of hay. 
53884°— 21— Bull. 979 1 
