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A24-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 26, 1999
Reading Cancels 1999 Fair
(Continued from Page Al)
“We’re looking at moving
80,000 yards of materia], working
mostly with volunteers," said
David Souders, Reading Fair presi
dent. “We looked at it, and whatev
er we did, the site wrsn’t going to
be right
“We felt that if there was any
risk we couldn’t have it right for
this year then we should hold off a
year. And that’s our plan, holding it
in 2000."
The new site is county land adja
cent to the existing Berks County
4-H and Agriculture Center,
located near the Berks County Pris
on, and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers offices at Blue Marsh
Dam.
He said that the Reading Fair
received a state grant for work
done, and that materials have
already been purchased for a pole
bam that is ready to go as soon as
the ground is graded off and
prepared.
Souders said they also received
two bids for 1999-2000 for supply
ing power, water, doing grading,
and also for the construction of
roadways.
“We’re going ahead with con
struction of the fairgrounds,”
Souder said.
For years the Reading Fair had
been held at the Fairgrounds
Square Mall, but more recently had
to be moved because of mall
expansion.
It was then held at the Kutztown
Fairgrounds, but attendance
dropped, and organizers figured it
was because of the distance of
travel from Reading.
All the while, and for some
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years, county land adjacent to the
county Agricultural and 4-H Cen
ter was considered for use as a fair
grounds site. This year it was to
move there.
According to Souders, rather
than hold an incomplete fair and
risk having attendees go away with
an unpleasant experience, it was
decided to wait a year.
“First impressions are lasting
impressions," Souders said, adding
that the wait will be worth it
Despite the lack of an overall
Reading Fair, some events asso
ciated with the Reading Fair are to
continue, regardless.
The Fair organization intends to
hold itl annual closed banquet rec
ognizing the county’s outstanding
farm family and four outstanding
agricultural youth (two from 4-H
and two from FFA).
In addition, two competitions
are to be held: the Hetshey Cake
Contest and the Apple Pie
Competition.
The decision to hold off on the
fair for this year was made just in
time to prevent unnecessary print
ing of premium books.
That also means that those who
wish to compete in either the Her
shey Cake or Apple Pie Contest
need entry forms.
Those who competed last year in
the two cooking contests are to
automatically receive entry forms.
Others interested in competing
should call (610) 370-3473.
In addition, the county 4-H
Livestock Club was to have held its
annual roundup event and sale in
conjunction with the Reading Fair.
The Roundup is to be held instead
at the Kutztown Fairgrounds.
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Setting Retail Prices
JOHN BERRY
Penn Stale Extcnstion
Ag Marketing Agent
One area of concern for farm
marketers often is trying to find a
method for setting retail prices.
Pricing is not a science. You
must understand your costs, your
consumer and your competition.
Be prepared to be flixible in
determining a markup.
Even though there is no official
fair this year, there is to be a fun
draising event at the Boscov’s Mall
in Mt. Penn in Reading.
It’s to be called the “Reading
Fair Carnival Fundraiser,’* and be
held in the parking lot of the mall.
According to Souders, it will
highlight about IS midway rides,
some foods, and free entertain
ment, with the majority of pro
ceeds raised to go toward the star
tup of the new Reading
Fairgrounds.
He said the carnival, to be held
Sept 20-25, is to be comparable in
size to a church-style carnival.
In addition, much of the camvial
is to involve donations.
“Local fire police are to help
with traffic," he said. “Anything
there, music, etc., will be people
donating time," he said. “That will
help to put money in the coffers.
It’s costly, even with free help, to
get a fair kicked off.”
It is the second time in recent
histoiy that the fair has been
cancelled. It was cancelled in 1979
because of construction of the Fair
grounds Square Mall.
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Pricing strategies also involve
choosing whether to position your
product as premium, competitive,
or bargain.
Customers will generally be
willing to pay more for higher
quality and additional service.
Selling price must cover the cost
of production, cost of selling, other
operating costs, and provide a mar
gin of profit
Costs fall into two categories
fixed (overhead), and variable
(direct labor and material).
Fixed costs occur if production
or marketing takes place or not
Variable costs are related to pro
duction and marketing taking
place.
Calculating variable costs is
often viewed as easier than the
equally important task of trying to
property allocate fixed costs over
the items sold.
Examples of fixed costs are such
things as insurance, salaries, mort
gage, interest payments, and
licenses.
Examples of variable costs are
such things as ingredients, labels,
containers, labor, boxes, freight,
promotion, and bad debt.
New business owners often do
not include a cost for their own
labor when determing price. As the
business grows and someone is
hired to replace the owner’s labor,
a sharp rise in the cost occurs as the
cost of hired labor is added into the
pricing formula.
Always include profit and cost
of labor when determining a retail
pricing strategy.
Consumers buy on the basis of
value, for a price. How much the
customer is willing to pay depends
on quality, competition, and how
strongly the customer feels about
wanting or needing your product.
The customer has to be able to jus
tify the price paid.
What die competition getting?
Assume a retailer bought pro
duct from a distributor with typical
profit margins along the way.
RETAIL PRICE: $l.OO
(minus retailer margin)
-40 %
(minus distributor margin)
-25 %
(minus processor’s margin)
-15 %
original product
wholesale cost
- 38 cents
What’s my price?
The quick way to retail pricing
is: ADD all fixed and variable
costs; DIVIDE this by the amount
that will be sold.
This figure is the break-even
price. Profit needs to be included
somewhere in the calculations.
In reality, it is seldom easy to
arrive at a retail pricing method
that can be uniformly applied to all
products.
If you choose a pricing method,
or if you price by the seat of your
pants, remember, the idea is to
make a profit.
Track income and expenses
weekly to quickly assess whether
modification of your strategy is
required.
&
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RD 2 Box 271
East Earl, PA 17519
(717) 354-0584