The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
85 
The Canning Pea Industry In New York 
Tlir pen growers for a canning company got together 
recently and asked for four cents per pound for their 
green peas for next Reason. They have been getting only 
three cents per pound, and have been paying the com¬ 
pany $8 per bushel for the seed. Four bushels to the 
acre are usually sown. They found that the cost of 
production here was $28 per acre, aside from the seed. 
The company has not advanced the price-to the grower, 
while the price of the staple crops has doubled. The 
prices of canned goods have advanced very much. The 
canner claims that he cannot pay more than three cents 
per pound. These peas are grown under contract. Are 
there many peas grown in New York for canning pur¬ 
poses? What prices do the canning companies there 
pay for green peas? What price do they charge the 
grower for the seed? Do you know whether there is 
a serious shortage of pea seed for 1920? Are New York 
farmers making money in growing peas? How do the 
returns compare with the returns from the staple crops? 
About what does it cost to produce an acre of peas in 
New York? About what is the average yield of green 
peas per acre there? I>o you know anything as to the 
profits made in the canning business? Do you think 
the cannere could pay their growers more if they wished 
to? We are considering forming a Farmers’ Co-opera¬ 
tive Marketing Association locally. Perhaps you will 
be able to offer us some suggestions. G. W. R. C. 
Michigan. 
T WO LINES OF INDUSTRY.—The pea industry 
in New York State is divided into two main 
classes, peas grown for the cannery, and the green 
pea industry, where the product is shipped in the 
pods in fresh state to the large markets. In the 
canning industry the cauners secure the seed am^ 
sell to the farmers who contract to grow the crops. 
The farmer agrees to grow the peas and to deliver 
thorn at. the cannery at a time specified by an agent 
of the company. In other words, as in the West, the 
farmer is practically the canners’ “hired man." With 
the green pea industry the farmers buy their own 
seed, plant the acreage and harvest and sell the crop 
themselves. They take all risks and all profits, and 
in flic past two or three years the profits have been 
exceptionally high. 
CANNERS’ PRICES.—Now as to the questions 
asked : “There are a great many peas grown in New 
York for the canneries. Madison, Wayne and Orange 
counties have the largest acreages, having a total of 
around 10.000 acres. The canning companies pay 
for the peas on a graduated scale, if all the peas 
are small and tender, a little over four cents per 
pound is received, and for large, hard peas all the 
way down to around two cents is paid. It probably 
pays the farmer more per acre to leave the peas 
longer, allowing them to get full growth, but the 
correspondingly 1 o w e r 
price. The weight will 
increase in a greater 
proportion than the 
price dropk The can¬ 
ners' agent keeps fairly 
close watch of the pea 
acreage, and usually 
gives notice the day that 
they should he har¬ 
vested. 
TIIE SEED PROB¬ 
LEM.—The c a n n e v s 
charged between $7 and 
$s a bushel for seed 
during the past season. 
Before the war seed was 
secured for $2 to $.". per 
bushel by the farmers. 
There is a serious short¬ 
age of pea seed for 1920, 
especially with the late 
varieties. This seems 
to he due to crop fail¬ 
ures mostly, caused by 
drought. The writer has 
corresponded with over 
20 seed houses, and prac¬ 
tically all the late varie¬ 
ties are sold out and an* 
sky-high in price. The 
shortage of late peas 
seems to have reflected on the early peas to a certain 
extent, as the price of the early peas has also ad¬ 
vanced. Out of an order for 25 bushels of Telephone 
seed placed in September the writer has received 
notice that but 85 per cent will be delivered. The 
price of late peas at present is from $10 to $20 a 
busliol. 
THE FARMER’S PROFIT.—Are New York farmers 
making money in growing peas? One class is; that 
is the farmers growing peas for shipment to market. 
Some growers in this vicinity received $1 a bushel 
and harvested 150 bushels per acre. They figured 
cost of production and marketing at $75, or a profit 
of $525 per acre. Of course all farmers do not do 
this, but many in this section are sporting “flivvers" 
who had mortgages over their heads one or two 
years ago. The farmers growing for the canneries 
Xcir Cabinet of Ontario Lear ini/ Government house After Hein;/ Sworn In 
From loft to right the men are: Hon. It. liowtnau. Min. of Lauds and Forests: Hon. W. K. Kaue.v. Att’y General; Hon. Walter 
Kollo, Min. of Health and Labor: Hon. Lt. Col. L>. Carmichael, Alin, without portfolio: Hon. Manning AY. Doherty, Min. of Agri- 
en It tire; lion. II. C. Nixon. Provincial Sec’v, Hon. E. C. Drury, Prime Minister; Hon. It. H. Graut, Alin, of Education; Hou. E. C. 
Biggs, Miu. of Public AA'ortis; Hon. Peter Smith, Prov. Treasurer; Hon. H. Mills, Alin, of Mines. 
conditions. The latter is the exception rather than 
the rule. 
FANNERS’ RETURNS.— l have seen canners start 
on borrowed capital and become flourishing concerns 
Avith large buildings and farms paid for Avithin live 
to 10 years. Do farmers profit in the same Avay 
groAving canning products? This is the only way I 
know to ansAver the question as to whether the can¬ 
ners are able to pay more for crops. All canners 
claim small profits, Avhich reminds me of an argu¬ 
ment I heard in a local store. A farmer was looking 
at shoes, and the clerk handed him a pair priced at 
$s. The farmer happened to look at the shoe box, 
and noticed that a six had been crossed out and an 
eight substituted. The clerk Avhen questioned ad¬ 
mitted that the shoes had been marked up, but ex¬ 
cused the fact by saying that some time there would 
Limestone on 
Pasture 
8 to the value of 
ground lime applied 
directly on old pastures 
or mowing meadows, I believe we can use lime in 
this way to good advantage in many places in Ncav 
York State. (’. A. Park, early in the Spring of 1918, 
applied ground limestone at the rate of 1.000 to 1.500 
pounds per acre on pasture sod. This sod was quite 
Aveedy, hut still contained a fair percentage of White 
clover and pasture grasses. There was no noticeable 
change from the application during the season of 
1918. but in the Spring of 1919 the limed area was 
very much in evidence. I visited the plot in August. 
1919. and although I did not know Avhere the appli¬ 
cation was made. 1 had no dilticulty in picking out 
the plot that had been limed. One could tell right 
to the line where the lime had been applied, and this 
Avas at a time when pastures Avere getting very dry. 
and were not in good condition generally. The lime 
had greatly developed the clover and other grasses. 
be tin awful drop, and they might lawe some stock 
bought at a high price that would have to be sold 
at half cost. They were .just laying up for the big 
drop. Same with the canners. 
HARVESTING.—The green peas are drilled in 
rows three feet apart, and are harvested by women 
and girls, who pull up the vines and place tbe pods 
in bushel hampers, in which they are shipped to 
market. Two bushels of seed should be used for the 
best returns per acre, though the majority of the 
farmers plant hut 1% bushels. Canning peas for 
best results should lie drilled in both ways, and from 
three to four bushels of seed are required. When 
ripe the vines are cut with a mower, loaded on racks 
and taken to the vinery. 
GROWERS ASSOCIATION. — The green pea 
growers in this county have formed an association 
for marketing peas, and it appears to be entirely 
successful. John .T. Taylor, of Hamilton, N. Y„ is 
the wideawake manager, who sees to it that all mar¬ 
kets are kept supplied and that no market is over- 
supplied. One dollar is charged when a grower be¬ 
comes a member, and three cents a bushel is charged 
for all peas sold through the association. They have 
850 members, and through the growing season have 
a private wire to the New York market for half an 
hour a day, so that conditions may he ascertained 
first hand: 80.000 bushels were sent through the 
association in 19IS and 50.000 bushels this past sea¬ 
son. The reduction this past year was due to a 
failure in the late pea crop, due to the lice or aphis. 
This pest, works on clover, and after the first cutting 
it migrates t<> the late peas. Nicotine and soup solu¬ 
tion at high pressure is recommended for the control, 
but it has not proven wholly satisfactory in this 
section. Towards the close of the season a parasite 
seemed to be working on the aphis, killing great 
numbers, and in some fields checking the inroads. 
But with all tbe difficulties encountered the peas 
averaged a very good profit for the growers, and it 
seems as if the canning peas should bring a profit to 
t lie grower more in proportion. 
FARMERS ORGANIZING.—The Canning Crops 
Association, an association of farmers growing can¬ 
ning crops, is meeting in Albion. N. Y.. with the 
Farm Bureau managers of Ontario and Monroe 
counties, to discuss prices to he asked the canners 
for crops grown next season. It is expected that 
something definite will be accomplished in the way 
of organizing all the 
farmers of Western New 
York win* grow canning 
crops. It is contended 
that the farmers of On¬ 
tario County grew toma¬ 
toes for the cannery the 
past season at a loss of 
CIO per ton. As it avus 
an exceptionally tine 
Fall practically all fruit 
ripened that it was pos¬ 
sible to grow. The pre¬ 
diction is made that 
growers of Orle a n s 
County will ask from 
$15 to $20 higher prices 
this year per acre than 
last year. Tomatoes are 
grown for $20 per ton : 
peas sold to the canners 
for $00 a ton; and sweet 
corn (shelled) brought 
from $17 to $22. accord¬ 
ing to the grade. 
T. H. TOWNSEND. 
used to figure on breaking even, and at times they 
made as much as $25 per acre. During the past two 
years some have made as much as $50 an acre. This 
season cabbage sold for $25 to $40 a ton, and Avith 
the normal yield of eight tons per acre this avouIiI 
mean $200 to $820 an acre. Potatoes yield 150 
bushels, and at $1.25 this totals $190 an acre. Thus 
the other crops pay better than the canning,crops. 
Limed Product at Left; TJnlimcd at Right. Fig. 25 
Most farmers figure on a small profit from the can¬ 
nery crops, and as the crops Avork Avell in their 
rotations, and they know in advance the price they 
Avill receive, it really is a safe investment of the 
small interest variety. It costs from $80 to $45 an 
acre to grow canning peas and around $75 an acre to 
grow and harvest green peas. The former price 
may be low Avith the present cost of fertilizer and 
help; 1.500 to 2,500 pounds of shelled peas is the 
average yield per acre, though some good growers 
secure as high as two tons under very favorable 
