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Show I l PiETTV PACKAGE!? . : '"'1' , ,-, . Wt&MtfP vy ---- - . v.',.vr. ! .. : - ? ' : .. T ' V " - " - . .. ' . . ..L' if - By JOSEPH V. LaDIXE The little green package with the cellophane top, and the brightly colored label on a can of soup are daily becoming more important to the country's 31, COO, 000 farm population. Initiated by ajew foresighted food producers, the use of modern packaging methods to Y Jp move food crops has become be-come one of the chief hopes for boosting farm income. With more than $32,000,000,000 in farm lands at stake, the more alert farmers throughout the country are watching watch-ing with keen interest the rate at which new packaging ideas are helping to move farm products oil the grocer's shelves, making room for more. These more astute growers are particularly par-ticularly interested in the jump in sales, higher prices and increased acreage 01 crops wmc.-i have followed the development of novel packaging methods, j Progressive farmers, many cf I whom have taken advantage of co-J co-J operative movements to bo'.: ter tr.c ! !i.ar.-:ci:.i:!!.y of the cr ps, are j kee; a fir.ger on the pu-..- e if all (.r. Li.ic'.j mov.r.g u:ul-T a packag:::,: &:.::u:!ar.t. They have seen Celery 1 a ci -l.i;: 5 jump 1: fer cent 1:1 ! f ur yctirs. ar.d have seen celery i n:i v.;lues skyrocket from 1 5. .'.. ,0 to $lC.C4,;.l-5 in a iin'.e ! t .h ry Makes a Noise. ! L;ri:.:; the past few years groups I tf l.'.e 0 growers in the three ! r. a n celery-producing states have ! ( ut their head? together on packag-! packag-! i:o; probli :r.s. The most recent pro-tram pro-tram was that of the Muskegon Co-o; Co-o; '.'.-a'.ive Celery Growers association, associa-tion, in Michigan. They decided on a trim, decorated can in an casy-to-carry cardboard container, which nppcared on the market several mi n'.'.is ago. As an example of what can be accoin;. lulled by modernized merchandising mer-chandising methods, agricultural experts point to the growth of l.V) per cent in the shipments of Florida Flor-ida limes during three years in which the fruit was available to the ....l.lir. in c-ilt nttr:r1VP n.-irk- ages. Tomatoes In Full Dress. Innumerable devices for getting tomatoes before the public in a do.v en dilTerent forms have been brought forth recently, and during Die past II years there has been an increase of tomato production by more than .WO.OOO.OilJ pounds a year. One dramatic example of how a neat package can act us a hypodermic hypoder-mic on sluoiish sales was demonstrated demon-strated recently in Iirtinughnm, Alabama, Al-abama, under the watchful scrutiny of the 12 main tomato gnnving I states' :..ri0n.0iH) farmers. Following I an ideal growing season of plentiful rain, llirnnngh.im found its markets ovei llowing w ith tomatoes, a u;;My perishable product. The situation required quick action and growers turned for a sdutiou to an ar.eney which had heen employed by farmers farm-ers elsewhere when faced with a surplus. Heports indieated that a similar silualion hail faced California pencil growers and showed how the producers pro-ducers there had taken the dilemma by the horns unci turned what might have been one of their most ruinous years into n profitable one. In January, 11)110, warehouses were bulging with n carry-over of fl.'ll'.D.OOO cases of peaches a figure 72 per cent greater than that of the previous year, dinners were offering offer-ing farmers only $14 to $!tj n ton for the oncoming crop, which was less than the cost nf production. Grocers to the Rescue. The situation required quick disposal dis-posal of the carry-over In order Hint the prices of the new crop could be stabilized nnil farm Incomes saved. They turned to the retail stores to take advantage. If possiMe, of their mass buying and mass dis-triliul dis-triliul ion systems. A stabilization comniiiiec was set up and it iiiimi'dialelv rotifonoil with Hie National Association of Food Chain:: a group repre a-nlin:; :t7,no() grocery stores wilh n p.,,J for staging a nalion wide canned peach sale. The association ngrecd mid Mvung Into action the vast (is- tribution facilities cf the chains. ' As a res j't of th. s ur.i. recoiier.te J ; market. r.g campaign, the c:-.:.:.cd ' peach carry-over was reduced by ; June of th.-.t year from 0.4 :? CO to ! 1.343.r ;o c:i. . s la-.', or tii.in li.e j re- . vious year's stock f r the san'.e date a:.d the rrv.ers rcce.ved S r 3 a t t !i d..;:b:tf the ir.g..i:.I e:Ter f.-.m I tlie cai.i.eri f r 'J.e r.e v cr p. j The Alab.iiT-.a ton'.r.to gr wers al.o J found the S"w::-n cf their d.fl'.cul- : ties m tiie m dern nu'tiuds tf d.s- ! tributien. Or.e f.rni. the Great At- ' laiitic it Pac.:: Tea con'.par.y. n-.et the Alabama s.t.ir.t: n by m.arke.- : ing ti e surplus product in sir.:,'.!. ; cei'. j h.n-.e-t ; ; ed carters. each containing f. ur t 'mat es. SVs cf ' , t 'iv.a'a es. in the rev all. re. jumped in the stores where thev were fea- ! turcJ. Dates Go to Market. Dates are a'.rr.rst solely a Cal.f. r-' r-' ni.i product, and yet the success story of one date grower holds much j wider attention than among just that state's lxl. O.'O fruit and vegetable ' producers. In 1023. one K. C. Nicoll moved a tiny shack up to the high-! high-! way near Hernial. Cal.f., and be-; be-; gan selling dates and date-milk ' drinks to the public. His stand still These tomatoes, like all othe - " fa rm products, sell better whe -- attractively wrapped aad proper!-:: merchandised. Both producer an -consumer profit through the ne : "streamlined" idea to boost farn ers' income. ir.g Indians, metal bowls ar.d eve- steel-bound, paraff.n-sealed kejs. Dates to Potatoes. i i. Farmer observers, who are STir i'-cf i'-cf Mr. Nico'J's success, are lc-cia z' for a parallel, on a much Urge scale, in the potato packaging csn paign which, in the first full sesso jus: completed, widely erter.ied -J) Mai.-.e potato market ar.d returr the highest prices in the cc -irrt tiie growers. Cf considerable importance is tb success cf the campaign to 'j 2.V0.CO farmers in the 21 str.ss i ' v. h.ch p-tatces are a prlr.cipal c::: i The !;! spud prcvices zn:i j::O.C:O.0:O a year in ir.c rrr.es Jrrr, tr.e mere than 3:O.COJ.K0 l.iiil prrduced each year. Faced w.'.h a turn :p-er cr:p iz the r.c-c-d cf cevelcpi.-.g a larger aa ' better market for Maine pitatia ' li.e Mrur.e cevcl'pment ccmmiiiia ( a year ago agreed to aid in a s;r , ti n cf the problem. The ccj V sun was aroused by tr.e regrrtst a s'.ir cy which shewed that the re cap.'.a consumption cf prtitre ; dropped frcrrt 4 2 tu;hc'o to 1! buslie'.s between 1?."5 and 1 o 5. crt m part, to -reducing diets." Tre; also found that Maine potatoes ire." . connned to markets in Massarr.; . . setts. New- York. New Jersey ar . rcnnsylvania. Spuds Go Hish-Hat. Groups and individual fr;er ; appeared before the ?laine legi.-lJ : pure in the spring cf 1537 ar worked cut a plan whereby tire : volunteered to pay a cne-cen: ta , en every barrel cf potatoes sr. rre |