Economic Factors in Marketing Farmers' Castorbeans

George W. Kromer

No 310183, Marketing Research Reports from United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Transportation and Marketing Program

Abstract: Excerpts from the report: Few castorbeans were grown commercially in the United States before 1950, and in that year when castor oil was classified by the Office of Defense Mobilization as one of the 6 strategic oils, Brazil was the source of approximately 90 percent of our supply. A domestic castorbean production and procurement program was initiated by the U. S. Department of Agriculture with the crop of 1951 and was continued through the 1954-55 season. No program was available for the 1955 crop. The primary purpose of the program, which was carried out by the Commodity Credit Corporation, was to increase the supply of castor oil for current industrial uses in connection with military and essential civilian needs, and to make additional quantities of oil available for the strategic stockpile. The program was also intended to aid growers in developing experience with castorbeans so that production could be expanded readily in case of emergency. Information sought in this economic study included answers to these questions: (1) What influence do variety, climate, irrigation, moisture content, and foreign material have on outturn value of castorbeans? (2) Is the practice of docking farmers for cracked and broken beans justified? (3) Is the oil from cracked and broken beans of the same value as oil from whole sound beans? (4) How long may castorbeans be stored and maintain their quality? (5) How does storage affect castorbeans as related to outturn of products?

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Crop Production/Industries; Marketing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 62
Date: 1955-11
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uamsmr:310183

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.310183

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