Marketing Fruits and By M. C. GAY Principal Agricultural Economist Background of the Fruit and Vegetable Industry ACCOUNTS of some of the earliest explorers and pioneer settlers mention fruits and berries found growing in this country. In 1585-86 Ralph Lane pronounced the grapes of Virginia to be larger than those of France, Spain, or Italy.1 John Smith found chestnuts, cherries, crab apples, and grapes, of which last named the colonists made "neere 20 gallons of wine, which was neere as good as your French Brittish wine." Roger Williams found the strawberry "the wonder of all the fruits growing naturally in these parts. In some places where the natives have planted I have many times seen as many as would fill a good ship within a few miles compass.". Even in those days apples were evidently grown in considerable abundance. They were prized for cider above all else. It is recorded that as early as 1647 a single individual in Virginia made 20 butts of cider. In 1817 Coxe could list "one hundred kinds of the most estimable apples cultivated in our country." In founding the American vegetable industry the knowledge brought over from the Old World by gardeners was supplemented by that obtained from the Indians. Old World species were introduced and, together with those grown by the Indians, became the materials from which the present far-reaching industry was built. It is significant that the vegetables grown and used by the Indians were readily accepted as food crops by the early settlers, whereas those that were introduced later, or which were not being used by the Indians, required a longer period for their adoption. 1 United States Department of Agriculture. YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTURE, 1925, p. 110. NOTE. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. S. Hulbert, Assistant General Counsel, and E. Marks, Assistant Attorney, Farm Credit Administration, for the preparation of the suggested organization forms; and to N. Fogelberg for preparation of the section on accounting. Res Cotte Dai Fr FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION Thus, while tomatoes were mentioned by Jefferson in 1781 as growing in Virginia, it was not until after 1840 that their use became general. Many people living today recall vividly how, as children, they were scolded for wanting to taste tomatoes or "love apples," as they were termed. This once despised vegetable now ranks high in commercial value, producing an annual cash income of around 25 million dollars. DEVELOPMENT AND EXTENT From these early beginnings, the growing of fruits and vegetables in the United States has come to be a billion-dollar industry. During the last decade fruits and vegetables as a group ranked third among our major agricultural commodities as producers of cash income. In 1937 the farmers' cash income from fruits and vegetables amounted to $1,165,000,000, representing 14 percent of the total cash income from agricultural products that year. from fruits and vegetables as compared with other major agricultural The importance of income commodities is illustrated by table 1. TABLE 1.-AVERAGE CASH INCOME FROM THE SALE OF FARM 1 [Millions of dollars] 7, 633 8, 154 1 Cash income relates to the value of quantities actually sold off the farms of the State where produced. The total value of our foreign shipments of food products dropped 781 asg came en, the as ther 1 comme lion doll FARM VALUE OF PRINCIPAL FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CROPS, 1936 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ird am 'ome. moun Vegetables Fruits cult ARM 937 FIGURE 1. Principal areas of fruit and vegetable production are found on the eastern seaboard and in the Pacific Coast States. They grew in importance from 16 percent of the total value of foodproduct exports in 1926 to 46 percent in 1936. For the most part these exports consisted of canned or dried fruits and vegetables, and apples and citrus in the fresh state. In 1926 the value of exports of fresh citrus fruits represented approximately 10.8 percent of the total value of fruit and vegetable exports, while for 1936 this figure was about 17.6 percent. PRODUCTION AREAS Potatoes are produced in every State and on 45 percent of the more than 6 million farms in this country. Only 296,000, or 9.5 percent of these potato growers, however, may be classed as commercial operators, producing 200 bushels or more.2 In Maine, one farm in every four produces potatoes commercially, and in Aroostook County practically every cultivated farm produces the commodity as a principal cash crop. The average annual production for a commercial potato grower in Maine is approximately 5,000 bushels. However, commercial production of such commodities as citrus, apples, berries, and many vegetables is limited in varying degrees by either climatic or soil conditions, or both. Some districts are eliminated from extensive commercial production by reason of their location with reference to market outlets and by competition from areas enjoying more favorable soil and growing conditions. The areas of production and farm value of fruits and vegetables are graphically illustrated in figure 1. From this map it will be seen that, in general, 2 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, UNITED STATES CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE: 1935, v. 3, pp. 22 and 380. 84534°-38-2 the principal areas of production of both fruits and vegetables are found on the eastern seaboard and in the Pacific Coast States The production map is constantly changing by reason of the introduction of new varieties, the appearance of diseases and insects, and the development of new uses and outlets for products. It is always difficult to forecast the ultimate changes that may take place as a result of the joint forces of scientific discovery and economic ingenuity. Still, it is probable that the major portion of our supplies of the principal products in this group may be expected to come from favored locations well established in the business. Modern machinery and improved methods of production and harvesting sometimes enable producers in less-favored districts to meet competition from other areas. (See fig. 2.) New areas are sometimes brought into production by artificial stimulus or promotional methods when soil, climatic, and economic conditions do not justify such development. Inexperienced producers cultivating lands unsuited for such crops cannot expect to compete with skilled operators in more favored districts. As the boll weevil made its gradual advance across the Cotton Belt from the Rio Grande, producers in each new section invaded were advised by promoters to plant vegetables. Many who took this advice soon learned from sad experience that growing cotton under boll-weevil conditions was more profitable than producing vegetables on worn-out cotton lands in dry, hot areas where no market facilities or outlets were available. Readjustments of cotton acreages through the soil-conservation and crop-control measures have resulted in a revival of agitation for plant FIGURE 2. Two-Row POTATO DIGGer. With a power-drawn, two-row potato digger, a Florida grower does the work of many laborers. |