The Battle for the Berry Market
Business leaders push Kennewick farmers to abandon competition and consolidate marketing under a single agency.
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A movement is under way to organize a local strawberry agency to handle the 1916 crop. The business interests of the city are practically unanimous in favor of a proposition to market the crop under one control, and have pledged their moral support to an organization that will include at least 85 percent of the growers. Monday's meeting, called by County Agriculturalist Lee M. Lampson, follows a report from Manager H. W. Desgranges, who argues that current marketing conditions—where growers act as their own competitors—make it impossible to realize the true worth of the product. The government has indicated it is ready to aid in marketing the local strawberry crop provided the growers organize; otherwise, it cannot render any assistance.
“So long as we are marketed thru several channels, with a very large per cent of the market on open consignment, there can be no other result than failing to realize what our product is really worth.”
The Kennewick struggle to organize a unified agricultural cooperative in 1916 mirrors contemporary debates about how local producers can maintain economic autonomy against larger market forces. The call for 'one channel' marketing highlights the perennial tension between individual independence and the collective bargaining power required for economic survival.
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