Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 2, Number 28, DeMotte, Jasper County, 2 February 1933 — NEW MARKETING PROGRAM PLANNED [ARTICLE]

NEW MARKETING PROGRAM PLANNED

LAKE COUNTY AGRICULTURE MAY PROFIT FOUR OR FIVE MILLION DOLLARS. Lake County truck growers may profit to the extent of four or five million dollars during the year 1933 if a marketing program now being prepared by County Agent Cutler and committee of interested citizens is carried out. A meeting at which some seventy-five interested farmers, and truck growers, merchants from the cities of Gary, Hammond, East Chicago and Whiting and the heads of a number of industries in these cities gathered at the Commercial Club rooms in Gary, on Monday evening at the call of Captain H. S. Norton, president of the Gary Commercial Club and discussed the project as outlined by Mr. Cutler. At the opening of the meeting the County Agent distributed leaflets outlining a sixteen point program as follows: 1. Lake County needs a permanent agricultural program so that we can have a better idea of what we are trying to accomplish. 2. We are too dependent on industries; our county should be made more self-sufficient by developing agriculture. 3. It is estimated that upon a conservative basis about five of six million dollars are spent annually outside of Lake County for farm products that can be produced to a very great extent at home. This amount of money is enough to pay our Township, County and State taxes. 4. Farmers must study local markets and plan their production programs accordingly. 5. When price, grade and quality are satisfactory consumers should try to use Lake County farm products. 6. The production, grading and marketing of such farm products as potatoes, truck crops, fruits, poultry and eggs, milk, etc. demand the cooperation of producers, consumers and dealers. 7. Producer-owned markets should be encouraged. 8. Money paid to Lake County farmers for their products will create more taxable wealth in the county. 9. The cooperation of women’s organizations is essential in the development of a permanent agricultural program. 10. The Home Demonstration Agent can give demonstrations and information concerning the canning and preservation of foods, the preparation of inexpensive dishes, the planning of adequate menus at low cost, and the methods of cooking foods to retain food values. 11. Mill workers should be encouraged to own their own homes in locations where they can be more self-supporting in times of emergency. 12. Community gardens should be encouraged as long as the present emergency exists. 13. Some thought should be given to the conservation of our natural resources, regional planning, the acquiring of parks, and landscaping so that a desirable class of residents will be attracted to Lake County in future years. 14. Agriculture in Lake County can be improved by encouraging 4-H Club Work. 15. The County Fair should be made more truly representative of Lake County. 16. The extension specialists of Purdue University are ready and willing to give information on the control of plant diseases and insects efficient methods of production and marketing, home economics, farm management, etc This was followed by a free discussion of the various phases of the marketing program. City officials of Gary told of the efforts to establish a community market in Gary, and President William Schroeder of the Lake County Council offered some timely suggestions. Other speakers were Otto Knoezer of the Champion Potato Machinery Corporation at Hammond, who told of one Lake County farmer who harvested a very profitable crop of potatoes the past year and found a ready market for them as fast as they were dug. E. C. Minas, Hammond’s merchant prince advocated the establishment of municipal markets in each of the larger cities of the county and said that thousands of dollars of additional revenue would be gained for Lake County farmers as well as a worth while saving to local consumers. Others who spoke were President Seth Little of the Lake County Farm Bureau, who pledged full co-operation of this organiza-

tion, Mrs. Barhite of Lowell, who spoke of the interest manifested by the Lake County Federation of Women’s Clubs, Mrs. Mary Grace Wells, trustee of Calumet township who told of her interest in community gardens for poor relief, former Treasurer Math. J. Brown of Eagle Creek township, George B. Bailey, farmer banker and veteran member of the Lake County Council. Miss Jayne Ferguson, Home Demonstration Agent, promised the full co-operation of the Lake County Home Bureau, and told briefly of her work among the six hundred farm women of the county and the savings that are effected by the canning clubs of the county. As a result of the interest manifested a committee of citizens was appointed to make a detailed study of market possibilities and formulate a program that would encourage the buying of Lake County products. This committee is composed of three members from each of the cities of Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, Whiting, Hobart, and Crown Point; three from the Lake County Farm Bureau and one from each of the townships of the county.