The Price of a Perfect Apple

That the future of the fruit industry depends upon the successful marketing of seconds and culls is the keynote of an article on 'Co-Operation's Greatest Obstacle' by W. Milton Kelly. The greatest problem confronting individual farmers and the big co-operative selling associations today is not overproduction, but underconsumption. There is a tremendous waste of opportunity in realizing the maximum value of food products produced, and both producers and consumers are the losers. We must devise means to utilize all of the surplus products, and preserve them in an edible form so that they may contribute toward feeding our people instead of going back to the soil. The market demands seconds and is willing to pay fair prices for them, yet the current obsession with perfect, box-packed fruit leaves two-thirds of the crop to rot on the ground while prices for the consumer skyrocket. Some successful co-operative organizations in the far West are now studying methods of working cull stuff into canned goods, fruit juice, evaporated fruit, apple cider, and preserves. This not only enables them to secure higher prices for the firsts but also makes it possible for the members to realize something from their inferior grades.