December - -.713  WSONI-EEEPIGPae9 
 
 
first one way and then another try- 
ing to find a way out of the dilemma. 
We look to this and that leader with 
the hope that he may do something to 
help us. Furthermore, we are looking 
here and there for someone to blame 
for the distressed condition. 
   Nearly every writer of any im- 
portance is today expressing the view- 
point that the conditions for the farm- 
er must be improved before much 
headway can be made by other indus- 
tries. There can be no question but 
what our farm industry is the most 
important of all, for we must eat, re- 
gardless of what else we may wish 
to do. Taking it all in all, I believe 
that our beekeepers, whether engaged 
wholly in the business or running 
bees as a side line to other farm ac- 
tivities are considerably better off this 
year than other farmers. Because, re- 
gardless of the price at which they 
have to sell, they have at least had 
a cash crop which all of their neigh- 
bors did not have, and we have been 
able to secure some additional funds. 
   The difficulties with marketing the 
crop are not any more serious than 
in the case with    all general  farm 
products. Perhaps it is unfortunate 
that honey is a product which re- 
quires no- refining or manufacturing 
process after it is taken from the bees. 
Being what is known as a "cash" crop, 
the producer is in a position to sell 
it locally or to the jobber at what- 
ever price he is willing to take, with- 
out much chance for competitive bar- 
gaining. The marketing of the crop 
has always been a problem of greater 
or less magnitude, depending upon the 
prosperity  of the   working   classes. 
Those people who constitute the so- 
,called "working classes" are probably 
the largest consumers of honey, and 
when they are prosperous-the problem 
of selling honey locally is a more or 
less simple one. At a time when a 
great many of these people are out of 
work and without funds to buy, it is 
almost impossible to move the honey 
 
 
crop unless the price is very low and 
almost without profit to the producers. 
However, this is a condition which we 
have to face, and at the present time 
our beekeepers probably feel more or 
less satisfied if they are able to dis- 
pose of their crop at any price. 
   It would not seem that there is any 
chance for the development of an ex- 
tensive cooperative honey marketing 
program   in the near future for co- 
operative efforts have been made time 
after time without much success ex- 
cept in a few   isolated cases. Then 
there must be some way in which a 
satisfactory cooperative marketing or- 
ganization can be developed, and per- 
haps some day a successful plan can 
be developed.    The one big effort 
that has so far been developed for 
widespread cooperative marketing of 
honey in the Mountain States Associa- 
tion.  Contrary to general belief this 
organization is still in operation and 
has a chance to succeed. The Direc- 
tors of the Association are doing the 
very best they can to try and pull the 
Association through, and have just 
recently expressed a hope that in time 
they can make a payment on the hon- 
ey that has been sent to them by mem- 
bers. The process of payment must 
necessarily be slow, and, the beekeep- 
ers will have to continue their 'faith 
in the Association. 
   A  number of our beekeepers have 
sent honey in to, this Association and 
are very much out of sorts because 
they have been unable to secure any 
return.  This is a regretable incident, 
but I do not believe that any individ- 
ual or group, of individuals is. to blame. 
When this proposition was first put 
up to us, we were at the beginning 
of the depression slump, and even our 
greatest financiers did not forsee the 
disaster that was tol come to, us. Our 
local and wholesale market was in ex- 
tremely bad shape and at that time the 
Mountain States Association was in 
a position to succeed, had conditions 
been normal. They made a great ef- 
 
 
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WISCONSIN BEEKEEPING 
 
 
December, 1932