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Show THE PROBLEMS OF MARKETING Handling, Storage and Transportation Trans-portation Difficulties Outlined Out-lined in This Week's Article NO. 8. (Contributed) If an association is to insure maximum maxi-mum returns to its growers, its officers of-ficers must detect the sources front which loss may arise, and seek to prevent them as much as possible. There are at least four main difficulties dif-ficulties which must be reduced or overcome in Dixie if serious losses-are losses-are to be avoided: 1. The products must be graded properly, as was discussed in an earlier article. 2. Greater care must be exercised in harvesting and packing operations. opera-tions. Many of our pickers must adopt better methods in picking, more discrimination in their selection selec-tion of what to pick, greater care-in care-in emptying their bags and buckets, buck-ets, and a higher standard of work in all the handling processes. The standard must be set by those immediately im-mediately in charge, and it will be their responsibility to have it maintained; main-tained; but theirs will be rn impossible im-possible task until those connected with the association and working-for working-for it develop the proper frame of mi-id toward their work and have; an honest desire to cooperate in this respect. The association cannot afford to-use to-use inexperienced hands every year. People should regard picking, sorting, sort-ing, grading, packing, crate making-, and even loading of trucks and cars, as a profession and prepare to become experts in it. Such professionals pro-fessionals are sorely needed. New hands cannot maintain the standard; stan-dard; they take more time, need constant supervision and help, and are a source of loss in every way . (Continued on page 2) THE PROBLEMS OF MARKETING (Continued from page 1) Whether help should be hired on a contract or on a per hour or per diem basis is a problem which the management must solve. The necessary equipment and the proper arrangement of it, especially espe-cially at the packing shed, can result re-sult in substantial savings to the grower. The proper pack, which conforms strictly with the label as to size, grade and weight, is a most important im-portant stone in building the foundations foun-dations of dependability and honesty. hon-esty. In short, all these phases must be regarded by everyone, not merely as desirable, but as highly neces-, sary and unqualifiedly essential. 3. We experience heavy losses because be-cause of deterioration and inadequate inade-quate storage facilities. If the products are injured in handling, are immature or over-ripe or there is a delay between harvesting har-vesting and loading, deterioration is hastened, even with the best storage stor-age facilities. Dixie has added problems prob-lems because of its situation off the railroad and its hot summer weather. weath-er. Much of our produce is heated on its way to market, and if not spoiled when it arrives, it will be unmarketable soon after. The difficulty diffi-culty can be largely overcome by icing certain kinds of produce, especially es-pecially bunch vegetables. Whether it must be met for the other products prod-ucts by a pre-cooling plant at Cedar Ce-dar City or in the county, or by special cooling and refrigeration methods in the cars before the shipment- leaves are problems which must be worked out. Terminal storage also presents its problems. For example, on the Salt Lake market we have no facilities for taking the heat out of our produce prod-uce or of checking the ripening process. Is it better to rent cold storage stor-age space, or merely ice, to acquire a small plant of our own, or to do none of these things? These questions ques-tions also must be answered. 4. Transportation methods must be improved. The tendency will undoubtedly be toward carlot shipments as our volume vol-ume of business increases. Can the association depend on private trucks in its rush seasons for hauling to the railroad shipping point, or must it look to making investments in trucks of its own? In supplying local lo-cal markets should it run its own trucks or hire them? Do the truck owners and drivers sense the responsibility respon-sibility on them to arrive on scheduled sched-uled time and to take the necessary care in loading and driving? Do they take the necessary precautions? Do they have expert knowledge of the right and wrong methods? I In handling carlot shipments, is j the association in a position to de- mand satisfactory service from the ! carriers? Can it furnish reliable advance ad-vance information on when it wants cars and how many it will want? Do its officers have personal contact con-tact with the railroad officials and a spirit of cooperation in appreciating appreci-ating their problems and working with them? Do they give these officials a proper understanding of their needs? Is the association efficient ef-ficient in obtaining the maximum loading of cars? Do its employees know how to load cars? Do its officers of-ficers and agents appreciate what constitutes the proper handling of cars? Do they have any scientific and reliable information on what stages of maturity fruit must be picked for shipping to different destinations? des-tinations? Do they know where the cars are going and when they will arrive, and on what basis they will be handled in transit and after arrival? ' Many producers are prone to forget for-get that there are many treacherous treach-erous turns on the road to market, and that the job is not yet finished fin-ished when the produce is dumped into crates and thrown on a truck. We cannot hope for real success in Dixie unless the whole process is scrutinized at every step, and a constant effort made to eliminate waste and loss and to improve methods. The handling, storage and transportation difficulties are just like the others: We cannot simply ignore them and hope that we will get along somehow. They must be ferreted out, brought to light, and squarely faced. The officers alone cannot solve these problems any more than they can the others. The growers and members must realize they are there and they must realize that they, personally, must sense the responsibility of solving them. |