Nowadays, money is a regular part of life in the village, and every household has urgent cash needs. It is simple for any villager to market his goods direct, so everyone sells as much as he can. By far the greatest part of the exports is grain, which is transported safely by lorry and sold direct to the government Office of Soil Products, Toprak Mahsulleri Ofisi, known in the village as Ofis.
Following a disastrous world fall in wheat prices in 1930, the government authorised the Agricultural Bank to buy cereals at a price to be decided by the cabinet, and to store and mill them. In 1937 these functions were transferred to a new organisation, the Office of Soil Products. During the Second World War the Office expanded its activities enormously both in range and quantity. After the war, it reverted more or less to its former functions, but has since been expanding its organisation steadily, taking each year an increasing percentage of the marketed cereal crop.
Each year, as the harvesting ends, the village lorries run a flat-out service to the nearest depot of this agency; villagers vie with each other to get their sacks of grain on to the lorries, and day and night the village is full of argument and bustle. At the depot, officials examine each sack for quality and dampness, and eternal wrangles go on over the grading, which determines the price. In spite of these disputes, and although the grading appears to depend on the officials' personal judgement, I never heard of any villagers complaining of corruption.
This major annual marketing apart, there is a constant stream of minor exports from the villages, mainly during the summer months. From Sakaltutan potatoes, onions and ground peas (nohut), for example were taken to Kayseri and sold privately in the market.