MARKETING BROOM CORN. ya 
a Rhe eross returns minus the commission for selling and other char ges. 
_ Many factors enter into broom corn consignments that are not fully 
understood and cause the business generally to receive much unjust 
criticism. 
| Primarily the consigning of broom corn is the result of unsatis- 
factory home markets. When a farmer consigns his product to a 
distant market usually he expects more than the home market offers 
and blames the commission merchant if the returns do not measure 
up to his expectation. He has little or no basis on which to arrive 
-at the value of his broom corn. He can only compare sales made in 
his territory with the prices he received, or compare quotations 
printed m trade journals or daily papers. Either would be of little 
real value. Quotations in daily papers are often found to run for 
| weeks without change, to contain only indefinite descriptions, and, 
at best, to indicate only broadly-prevailing prices. As a result they 
do not furnish a satisfactory basis for comparison. Furthermore, 
these quotations represent selling prices, f. 0. b. terminal points, and 
do not take into account values at country points. They are often 
grossly inaccurate, yet are the prices at which consignments are ex- 
pected to sell. It is difficult even for trade journals to give useful 
- quotations because of the lack of established grades. 
Although consignments are often unsatisfactory, the price received 
may be the best obtainable. From a marketing standpoint there 
seems to be no good reason why the farmer should not receive a fair 
return on a consignment. If properly handled, it should sell on its 
merits. Opportunities for selling are frequent, for in all big markets 
to which consignments move the warehouses are visited by many 
dealers who have come for the purpose of buying and who expect 
to pay a fair price. 
Some of the more important points to be considered in analyzing 
the situation are: (a) In periods of overproduction, consignments of 
broom corn are likely to represent the bulk of the carryover; (b) 
shippers often fail to load uniformly; (c) the bulk of the cousignell 
broom corn is usually of a low grade, which brings about slow sales; 
(d) heavy consignments weaken prices; (¢) the bulk of the trade is 
usually supplied before consigned broom corn is available; (7) deal- 
ers may be forced to buy at lower prices to compete hy consign- 
ments; (7) growers do not take into account extra expense of holding 
and Pi eeaterl cost of selling ; and. (h) shualg Sith are sometimes made 
to unreliable commission men. 
In periods of known overproduction there is not the urgent de- 
mand for early selection that prevails when broom corn is scarce and 
low, and medium grade brush, such as constitutes the bulk of con- 
slgnments, is a drug-on the market. Manufacturers and dealers feel 
_ that this class of broom corn can be purchased at any time; hence 
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ry) aie wars. 
