Passing of an Era-The Fla. Market Bulletin

[Tom]

Here is an article announcing the demise of the printed newspaper "The Florida Market Bulletin".   While it will still be available on-line, it's printed version is being stopped. What a shame.  It is claimed that the readership has declined.  No wonder, what with the lack of interest in agriculture by the Government.   

It was a paper created to support agriculture, and the lack of readership, in my opinion, has a lot to do with the population not knowing that the paper existed.  No advertising was ever done.  If you didn't know that it existed, it would take a lot of just plain dumb luck for you to find out about it.   It wasn't just for farmers.  Anybody could get the bulletin.  It contained ads for animals, equipment, land, as well as notes from the commissioner about projects taken on by the Dept. of Agriculture.  There were also recipes and, sometimes, general news of the Ag. community.  Like any other business/industry, if it isn't sold, it disappears. Marketing requires effort and the only effort in our State seems to be in the direction of tourism and the increase ofproperty taxes.

Here, then, is the passing of an era.  It goes away, along with welcoming stations, free orange juice and friendly policemen.

Florida Market Bulletin No Longer Printed and Mailed

Dear Market Bulletin Subscribers:

All areas of state government have been directed to reduce expenses to help alleviate Florida’s serious budget shortfall. As part of this cost-cutting measure, the Florida Market Bulletin has ceased publication. The June 2008 issue was the last to be printed in paper form and mailed to subscribers. Even though the printed Market Bulletin has been discontinued, we will continue posting the classified ads online each month.

The Florida Market Bulletin has been published since 1917. However, subscriber interest in the printed version of the newspaper has dropped significantly in recent years. In January 2007, when purge notices were sent to the 14,136 subscribers on the mailing list, only 5,347 readers requested to continue receiving the printed newspaper. This was a 38 percent renewal rate. This low subscriber response is understandable since more and more readers prefer to view the Market Bulletin classified ads online.

Market Bulletin advertisers may continue using the online ad placement system or they may continue faxing their ads to (850) 922-2189 or mailing them to Florida Market Bulletin, Mayo Building M35, 407 South Calhoun Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-6555.

We trust that you support our efforts to help reduce costs to Florida taxpayers.

The Editors

[Radar67]

Our state Market Bulletin is in print and on the web. As with Florida, our bulletin is not well known due to lack of advertising. If you are involved with agriculture, you know about it, or someone will tell you about it.

The state sells subscriptions to the Bulletin to cover the printing costs. If you are a subscriber, you can post ads free of charge. If you don't subscribe, you can't post ads. It helps keep the undesirable ads out.

The bulletin comes out twice a month, on the first and fifteenth. The web version is not released until two or three days after the printed version comes out. This gives subscribers first shot at the items listed for sale.

[Tom]

Florida's Market Bulletin is Free within the state.  Anyone can place an ad, but requirements are listed and must be followed to get into the paper/bulletin.  Paid subscriptions are available for out-of-State addresses.

Very few, even in the agricultural community know of the market bulletin.  If they did, the readership would be a lot higher. To keep the population interested in agriculture, the State should be promoting it.  The Market Bulletin is a means of promoting agriculture.  Charging for an item that was created with the idea of being paid for with taxes is just another way Governments can abuse citizens. 

I am summizing that the small community in which I live, zoned agriculture, has less than 1% of the population who know or knew of the market bulletin.  Whose job is it to promote it?  We do the best we can by word of mouth, but it is not the individual's job to market Government programs.  You would never know of or be able to keep up with them as a citizen. Especially when these benefits of being a State's citizen are available to everybody, not just farmers. 

How many know of the existance of County foresters, Extension programs, financial programs for agricultural projects from keeping bees to planting trees?  Perhaps, those of us who are "in the know" should have it remain a big secret and keep all of the money for ourselves. 

[tcsmpsi]

Weren't that many aware of the Texas Hog Farmer, neither.  I did look forward to each issue, though. 

No, it wasn't because of the pictures of nekkid Durocs.   

[pigman]

tcsmpsi, I bet you like the pictures of the nekkid Landrace better.. They are a little longer and leaner.

[tcsmpsi]

Here now.  Don't be saying that out loud....shhhhh!   

We run some landrace, but they have a poor attitude.  Always watch my back with them, and Yorkshires.  Smart in a pinch, though.

I primarily raised good quality registered stock (Durocs mostly) and sold mostly for show stock. 

Unfortunately, brought a cholera carrier in.  I killed and desposed of about 500 head one day.   In those days, there wasn't any federal backup for cholera. 


OK.  In all fairness, it may have been that I had the bad attitude and Landrace and Yorkshires took offense to it.   

[Don_Papenburg]

I will bet that the state advertises about all of the welfare services that are available to the illegals .  lets help the taxpayers.

[Lanier_Lurker]

Speaking of interesting periodicals, how many folks here know what an "iphiler" is - and what publication they appeared in?

[Texas Ranger]

Self love, and I don't want to know what publication it is in.

[Lanier_Lurker]

Nothing quite that bad....

Genuine Parts (NAPA, Brook's Auto Parts) once had a monthly joke book with girlie pinup pictures called Parts Pups.  The pinup girls were referred to as iphilers.  Don't know if that was intended to mean "eye filer" or "eye filler", but either could work.

These things were always laying around the work areas in the shop on the farm I worked at 25 years ago.

They turn up on eBay for sale every now and then.  They stopped putting them out many years ago.  You can find images of the covers here and there on the Internet.