Report of Missouri Farmers' Week. 115 



FIVE PRINCIPAL LINES OF CO-OPERATION. 



1. Production. — Seeking the means of cheapening produc- 

 tion through the joint ownership of expensive or little used ma- 

 chinery; in the purchase of valuable sires; uniting in producing 

 enough of some special crop or stock in one neighborhood to at- 

 tract buyers ; through breeding associations or cow-testing associa- 

 tions; through the employment of expert assistants to help in 

 these and kindred operations; through the employment of county 

 advisors. 



2. Rural Credit. — To provide capital with which to purchase 

 land; to farm better; to hold crops for more favorable markets; 

 to make public rural improvements. 



3. Manufacturing. — Such as co-operative creameries, cheese 

 factories; co-operation in, slaughtering animals, curing meats, in 

 storing perishable products. 



4. Insurance. — Co-operation in carrying insurance on farm 

 buildings, live stock, crops, etc. 



5. Buying and Selling. — This includes distribution, selling to 

 the best advantage in the markets already established and creat- 

 ing new markets ; buying to the best advantage the things which 

 the farmer needs for the conduct of his business or the support 

 of his family. 



All of these lines of co-operation are necessary, and in the 

 end perhaps are of equal importance. • 



If I should be called upon, however, to single out the one of 

 most fundamental importance, I should say it is rural credit. Per- 

 haps the greatest single handicap of the farmer is lack of suf- 

 ficient capital to conduct his business most advantageously. At 

 the same time, I believe these lines of co-operation will be devel- 

 oped in exactly the reverse order in which they have been named. 

 That is to say, there is more prospect of immediate improvement 

 in the methods of marketing than in the other lines named. 



THE GRANGE AND THE FARMERS' ALLIANCE MOVEMENT. 



The first large attempt at co-operation in, this country was 

 made in the latter part of the seventies, when the Grange estab- 

 lished stores and undertook co-operative buying and selling. The 

 result is familiar to all. It had both its rise and its downfall in 

 a single decade. 



