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Show Committee Advoc ates Better Marketing Practic es for Utah Fruits and V egtables Changes in the 'production, grad- ing, , packing and marketing of Utah ..fruits and vegetables aimed at wider distribution and better prices for Utah produce in outside markets, were recommended by the Utah Agricultural i Marketing Service Ser-vice Committee, after an intensive, year-long survey of the marketing situation. These investigations were conducted con-ducted by the Utah State Agricultural Agricul-tural college in cooperation' with the Utah Agricultural Marketing Service Committee and were partly financed by a $9,000 grant from Safeway Stores, Inc. in line with its policy of contributing to worthy projects designed to improve the standards of western farmers. Creation of a central agency to supervise the marketing and some phases of production of all Utah Fruits and vegetables produced for commercial sale highlighted the recommendations which covered both production and marketing phases of the Utah grower's problems. pro-blems. Existing marketing conditions condi-tions were studied and the ability of the Utah fruit and vegetable industry to compete in out-of-state markets with the producers of other ""supply" states was evaluated. evaluat-ed. At the outset, the marketing service ser-vice recommended that Utah producers pro-ducers develop a production and marketing program which would place the fruit and vgetable industry in-dustry on a better economic basis and that they Join with various state and federal agencies interested inter-ested in agriculture on a lone- s elude the preparation, standardization standard-ization and processing of produce for the market. Because of the widely scattered producing areas and in order to- obtain ob-tain sufficient volume for efficient operation, the report recommends that Tiie central agency and some locals should handle both fruits and vegetables. Improved grading and packing could be accomplished by establishing Central - packing sheds or orchard packing by supervised super-vised crews, the marketing service suggested. - It was pointed, out that decisions on methods of selling, sales agent, or agencies to 'be employed to handle sales, and ' other details must be left to the decision of the growers' organization.. The survey uncovered various criticisms of Utah , produce by handlers in the outside markets, aocording to the reporf. Poor grading grad-ing and packing, improper labeling, and use of odd-size containers were among the complaints mitigating miti-gating against the ready marketing of Utah fruits and vegetables and making for lower prices and higher high-er marketing costs to producers, it was found. The report discussed in' detail the marketing problems of Utah cherry and peach growers and invited in-vited such producers to write to the Utah Agricultural Marketing Service at the Utah State Agricultural Agricul-tural College for specific recommendations recom-mendations covering their marketing market-ing problems. range improvement program. Scattered Scat-tered production has made marketing market-ing difficult and has mitigated against the development of consumer con-sumer demand- for the products of any one growing area in Utah, the report explained. The survey also disclosed that while flavor, texture color and general eating qualities of Utah fruits and vegetables compare com-pare favorably with production of other states, the Utah product is usually smaller in size, poorly graded and packed, and sometimes improperly labeled. The limitation on the sale of Utah fruits and vegetables in many terminal markets,, however, is imposed im-posed ehiefly by the quality- of the pack, not the quality of the product, pro-duct, the survey pointed out . To this end, the marketing service ser-vice recommended the establish -ment of a streamline marketing program which would Include: adoption of uniform grade standards stand-ards and brands', elimination of odd-sized containers and the adoption adop-tion of a restricted number of standard types and sizes to meet the demand in outside markets; payment to producers to be made on a basis of size and grade of their products; and development of a sales program that would guarantee grading and packing in tempo with consumer demand, an adequate supply of fruits and vegetables for the home market of Utah and neighboring states and, finally, distribution of a surplus through the development of outside out-side markets. The report urged the creation of' a central agency, made up of a federation of local producer groups, to supervise production and marketing mar-keting of all fruits and vegetables produced for commercial sale. Functions of this agency would in- |