American Agriculturist, October 13,1923 
249 
Selling Farm Products in Local Markets 
Another Suggestion to Get More For What We Raise—A Radio Talk 
T HE farmer’s problem of selling his 
crops to the best advantage is, in my 
opinion, the most serious one that 
faces him to-day. Just merely getting 
rid of ones produce is not the method to fol¬ 
low; the farmer should “shop around” for 
the best price, just as the city buyer does in 
the market. 
On my farm, located in the foothills of 
Dutchess County, we have the following 
commodities to sell: milk, potatoes, hay; 
straw, buckwheat, apples and tomatoes. We 
have tried out every conceivable method to 
get a fair price for ourselves and at the 
same time get as close to the consumer as 
possible. 
Take the question of early potatoes this 
year. We consigned several hundred bushels 
of potatoes to a commission man in New 
York. By the time we deducted freight, 
cartage and commission, the price was far 
from satisfactory. So, we loaded our pota¬ 
toes on our wagons and went to the nearest 
town, located ten miles from the farm. In 
two days, going from house to house selling 
the potatoes in lots of one to five bushels, 
we succeeded in getting the same price for 
our potatoes at home as we did in New York, 
without having to deduct freight, cartage 
and commission. 
This year we raised a lot of early tomatoes. 
At the beginning of the season we had no 
difficulty in selling all we could pick at $3.50 
for a 14 quart basket, within a radius of 
twenty miles. These high prices continued 
for about two weeks when the bottom fell 
out of the market and it was difficult to get 
50 cents a basket in our own community. 
Again we tried to market these tomatoes in 
New York through a commission man, and 
we barely received enough to pay for the 
transportation cost, while we continued to 
find a ready market at home at 
50 cents a basket. 
This summer I had something 
like sixty tons of hay to sell, and 
I was able to dispose of every 
ton for $22 on my barn floor. 
This hay would grade as a No. 2 
hay, and if I tried'to send it to 
New York, I would have been 
lucky to net $12 or $15 a ton. 
After having tried all kinds 
of methods, I believe that the 
market is one’s own community, 
if properly studied and worked, 
will net the farmer more, nine 
times out of ten, than if he at¬ 
tempts to sell his produce on con¬ 
signment in a distant market 
where he cannot control the 
price. 
The difficulty which I have 
met in trying to market my farm 
produce locally has convinced me 
that if we had a farmers’ public 
market in the largest city in our 
community, which happens to be 
Poughkeepsie, the difficulty of 
peddling our crops, which we 
now have to do in order to sell 
them, would largely be done 
away with, and it is for this 
reason that I believe it would be 
a constructive move to have 
farmers’ public markets estab¬ 
lished in the centers of commun¬ 
ities all over the State. 
If for example the city of 
Poughkeepsie had a public 
market, it would encourage the 
farmers in Dutchess County to 
raise many more vegetables to 
sell in Poughkeepsie. At pres¬ 
ent, the housewives, on account 
of not having a common meeting 
By HENRY MORGENTHAU, JR. 
ground at which they can buy from the farm¬ 
ers, find it necessary to spend thousands of 
dollars for produce, which the merchants of 
Poughkeepsie buy largely from the commis¬ 
sion men in New York City. 
I am sure if investigators were to follow 
this produce to its source, they would be sur¬ 
prised to learn that a great deal of it origi¬ 
nated right in the Hudson River Valley. 
Many local merchants, before they have care¬ 
fully investigated the good and bad points of 
the public market, are opposed to having one 
in their community because they believe that 
through the public market the farmer is able 
to come in direct contact with the consumer, 
and in this way the local merchants might 
lose some business. As a matter of fact, the 
community in which a local public market 
is established, benefits very largely, because 
it permits the farmer to find a ready sale 
for a lot of perishable produce which here¬ 
tofore he was unable to sell, and for every 
additional dollar which the farmer re¬ 
ceives, the community in which he lives bene¬ 
fits directly. 
A Help to Farmer and Consumer 
I would like to see the farmers, the De¬ 
partment of Farms and Markets, Farm Bu¬ 
reau Agents and the Chamber of Commerce, 
all get together in every town in the State 
of over 10,000 population that has not got 
a farmer’s public market. I do not know of 
anything that would help the farmer and the 
consumer to do business on a more equitable 
basis than if this could be brought about. 
The American Agriculturist stands ready 
to put its shoulders to the wheel to help any 
community that wants to get a public market, 
as we believe th^t through the public market 
place, the farmer gets more for his produce 
and the consumer pays less. If your com¬ 
munity has no public market and you would 
like to find out how to go about starting a 
movement to obtain one, we would be glad 
to hear from you. 
A Square Deal For Country People 
(Continued from page 246) 
the taxable resources of community districts 
and the expenditures which such districts are 
required to make to provide for the proper 
maintenance of public schools therein. The 
State would aid also in the erection of build¬ 
ings and for the transportation of high 
school pupils. 
The Element of Supervision 
The third principal feature of the bill re¬ 
lates to supervision. It is an important pro¬ 
vision, but it is not as important as the two 
preceding features. The present board of 
school directors whose members are elected 
at the general election and whose only duty 
is to appoint the district superintendent 
would be replaced by an intermediate board 
of education appointed in the supervisory 
district by the community board from their 
own members. This board would appoint 
the superintendent and as representatives of 
the people would have certain lay duties 
which the present board does not have. On 
the other hand the superintendent would 
have certain professional duties which he 
does not now have. Much the same relation 
would exist between the superintendent and 
the intermediate board that now exists be¬ 
tween the city superintendent and the city 
board of education. 
The bill also prescribes the powers and 
duties of boards of education, 
of district superintendents and 
of other school officers. This 
brief summary attempts to give 
only its principal provisions. 
Perfect legislation does not 
come spontaneously. This bill, 
although more carefully pre¬ 
pared than bills usually are, 
probably is not perfect. Its 
sponsors are not dogmatic in 
their opinions. They are anxious 
to see that a square deal is given 
to rural boys and girls and to 
rural taxpayers. Nearly all 
State-wide educational and agri¬ 
cultural organizations are on 
record in favor of improved 
school facilities in rural com¬ 
munities. 
Larger Units Necessary 
That there is need for a larger 
local unit of administration and 
taxation is recognized. With 
nearly 90 per cent of the State’s 
wealth located in a few centers 
of population, it is evident that 
the State must give larger aid 
to the rural schools. To make 
this possible it is imperative 
that the Legislature revise our 
century-old system of school ad¬ 
ministration. 
Constructive criticism will be 
welcomed. Destructive criticism 
is a device of demagogues. Let 
those who are satisfied with 
present intolerable and unequal 
conditions say so in order that 
they may be known. Let all 
others, both rural and urban, 
join forces to correct this long¬ 
standing injustice. 
PROHIBITION BALLOT 
OF THE 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
Are You for the Strict Enforcement of the 
18th Amendment as It Now Stands ? 
Are You for a Modification of the 18th 
Amendment to Permit Light Wines 
and Beer ? 
Designate your opinion by placing an X in the square opposite Yes or 
No on each question. Sign your name and address. Your name will be 
kept strictly confidential. 
Name ....... 
Address ....... 
Why You Should Vote 
Do the American people want prohibition? The Wets emphatically say 
“No” and the Drys are even more emphatically for it. Both sides claim 
a majority. Which is right? What do farm people think about it? The 
opinions of farmers on any problem, if they will express them, go far in 
determining the outcome of a controversy. 
American Agriculturist is taking a vote of farm families on the ques¬ 
tion of prohibition. It is a vital issue and whether you are for it or 
against it, be sure to vote in the spaces above. Mail this ballot to the 
American Agriculturist, 461 Fourth Avenue, New York City. 
Get your friends to vote—More ballots furnished on application 
□ yes 
□ no 
□ yes 
□ no 
