Economic essays

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1753623200

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-136107

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Economic essays

Place of publication:: New York

Publisher:: Macmillan

Year of publication:: 1927

Scope:: viii, 368 S.; Ill., graph. Darst.

Digitisation:: 2021

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: The holding movement in agriculture / Jesse E. Pope

Collection:: Economics Books

THE HOLDING MOVEMENT IN AGRICULTURE 253 market; and if carrying charges be taken into account, it will be seen that if the farmer had sold in any one of the eight months he would have lost by the holding. It is to be noted that the advocates of holding base their argu- ment not on the ten year average but on the farmers’ ability to take advantage of the monthly fluctuations in price during each year. For example, Mr. Harding, formerly of the Federal Reserve Board, while disclaiming to give any advice on the matter of hold- ing cotton, said: “I wish to call attention to the fact that cotton is a commodity which has always shown itself susceptible to marked and sudden fluctuations in value”; and he goes on to infer that, owing to this fact, it should be to the farmer’s advantage to hold his cotton, in order to take advantage of such fluctuations. He assumes that under prevailing conditions cotton is thrown on the market in such qualities as to cause congestion, and adds that for the provision for Commodity Paper in the Federal Reserve Act will permit more orderly methods in marketing the crop. To quote, “I am convinced that the results of a gradual marketing of the crop this season will be far more satisfactory than would be the case were the crop forced upon the market within a short period.” * In order to show just what the monthly fluctuations are and what they mean to the farmer, the following tables have been prepared. These tables state for each of the four commodities the monthly selling prices for a ten year period, the cost of carry- ing, the net selling price (selling price less cost of carrying), and if carried after being ready for market, the monthly profit or loss to the farmer after the carrying charges have been met. Table V shows the actual gain or loss per bushel by holding wheat and selling in any month after August during each year, 1903-04 to 1912-13, and the average monthly gain or loss during the ten year period. It is clear from this table that if the farmer had held his wheat from August, 1903, until the following November, he would have lost seven cents per bushel, but if he had held it until either February or July, 1904, he would have made a profit of the same amount. It is also seen that during four of the ten years there was no month in which the farmer could have sold at a profit from holding, but that in each month during these years he would ' Federal Reserve Board Bulletin, 1915, p. 225.

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: Economic essays

Monograph

Chapter

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

Chapter

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation