1 
PHOTO £nKC0. 
Vol. LXX. No. 4093. 
NEW YORK, APRIL 8, 1911. 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR 
CO-OPERATIVE MARKETING. When the articles were put on the table another slip where a grower had very large orchards or acreage 
3 was punched, giving the number of the grower, the of vegetables an association' superintendent could be 
date packed, and the number of packages of each put in charge of his packing house if he preferred to 
After studying the results, obtained in shipping grade. From these entries were made in a special have one on his own ground. For the greatest suc- 
through our central association, the “Growers’ and book in which one line gave a full accounting from cess of the associations, all members should be re- 
Shippers’ Exchange,” by individual members and other the time the load was taken in until the credit was quired to sign a contract, stating what was to be de¬ 
associations besides our own, 1 am convinced that given for the net returns. All goods lost their 
nothing could be shipped 
hvered, so that the 
as association goods or 
receive the association 
guarantee except those 
which have been packed 
in the association pack¬ 
ing house, or under the 
supervision of an associ¬ 
ation inspector. Nothing 
will take the place of the 
central packing house to 
which each member de¬ 
livers his product as it 
is harvested, there to be 
assorted, and graded to 
standards which will 
meet with the approval 
of the trade; then 
stamping the'' packages 
with the guarantee of the 
association that the con¬ 
tents are alike through¬ 
out and of the • grade 
marked. ' • • Hold to the 
highest ideal as to grade, 
use nothing but the best 
clean packages of the 
. standard kind, which is, 
in general use in the 
market to . .which the 
product is to be shipped, 
then try to get the prod¬ 
uct to the' consumer as 
quickly as possible. Un¬ 
less such a system is ad¬ 
hered to and the pack¬ 
ing done . alike at all 
times the association will 
be unable to establish a 
reputation, for their 
marks will mean noth¬ 
ing to the public who 
buy their goods. A great 
deal can be accom¬ 
plished in a comparative¬ 
ly small packing house; 
At the Ionia Grow¬ 
ers’ Association packing 
house which is shown in 
the picture, Fig. 152, 114 
carloads of cucumbers 
were received from the 
growers, sorted into four 
grades, packed, marked, 
and loaded into cars at 
an expense of three 
cents per basket of one 
bushel. As the loads 
came in receipts were 
given, which consisted of duplex slips, one copy going 
to the office and one to the party delivering the load. 
Each grower had a number, and the numbers of all 
the growers were printed on the duplex. Then the 
slip was punched showing the number of the grower, 
the name of the article delivered, date, and number 
of packages delivered; nothing was written, and both 
being punched at once there could be no dispute. 
IONIA GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION PACKING HOUSE. Fig. 152. 
INTERIOR OF A FARMERS’ CO-OPERATIVE PACKING HOUSE. Fig. 153. 
identity as soon as packed. When the returns were 
all in for each,week’s shipment each member of the 
association was credited with the average price of 
each grade on all sales, so it mattered not which car 
the grower’s goods were in, or to what market they 
were sent. 
I see no reason why such a system cannot be used 
in handling all kinds of fruit and vegetables, for 
association officers could know 
what to provide for in 
the way of packages, 
labor, etc., as well as to 
advise the parties to 
whom they were ship¬ 
ping what they could ex¬ 
pect, for unless this is 
done some of the weak- 
kneed brethren will be 
induced by some of the 
smooth - tongued pirates 
who are lurking around 
seeking whom they may 
devour to ship their 
goods through other 
channels, regardless of 
the fact that the asso¬ 
ciation has spent money 
in procuring markets for 
the same goods. 
As to the need of a 
central organization, 
there will be no doubt 
in the mind of anyone 
who has watched the 
shipments, as they are 
made promiscuously from 
the several shipping dis¬ 
tricts, all endeavoring to 
get their goods on the 
highest-priced market. As 
an illustration, one day 
about the middle of 
August, 1910, cucumbers 
were worth $3.50 per 
basket on the Chicago 
market. In less than one 
week, owing to the rush 
to obtain the high prices, 
goods which were ship¬ 
ped from eastern points 
had so demoralized the 
market that many were 
sold as low as 50 cents 
per basket. This could 
have been avoided had 
there been central asso¬ 
ciations, who could have 
known the general trend 
of shipments. The mar¬ 
ket conditions could be 
obtained much easier 
through the central or¬ 
ganization by wire each 
day, and the directions 
given for shipping, so as 
to give a much wider 
distribution and better 
results obtained. 
In conclusion I wish to urge the absolute necessity 
of loyalty of every member to their association. Don’t 
be weak. Don’t kick and find fault. Nothing will do 
more to promote the interests of the members and 
the association alike than the determination of all to 
stand by their association, and the realization that 
they are a part of the association. The members will 
do well to study and work to carry out the quotation 
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