CANADA - CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



§ I. The ORGANIZATION OF CO-OPERATIVE MARKETING IN ONTARIO. 



The Ontario Department of Agriculture does not interfere in the busi- 

 ness of marketing organizations. It does not itself do any marketing, even 

 for the purpose of advertising the co-operative method. Its aim has been 

 in every case to build up organizations of producers which are economically 

 soimd and self -supporting and take their proper place in the trade in farm 

 products. Through its various branches the department can keep in touch 

 with these organizations and help them. Through the Co-operation and 

 Markets Branch it can help towards organization and incorporation and 

 provide inspection of organizations. The introduction of district repre- 

 sentatives has facilitated its task. 



The following are some figures as to the various organizations. 



There are seventy fruit growers' associations in the province : forty-six 

 of them sell the fruit of their members and six buy. for them supplies of spraj''- 

 ing matter. The others have purely educational ends. The province pro- 

 duces annually about 3,000,000 barrels of apples, of which 250,000 barrels 

 or 8 per cent, are marketed through associations of growers. A large propor- 

 tion of the fruit of these associations is sent to West Canada and sold directly 

 to farmers' organizations. The remainder is sold to the trade or exported, 

 none or very little being sold by the organizations to consttmers. The 

 provincial Fruit Branch does must of its educational work through these 

 organizations. It was largely responsible for organizing the Ontario Co- 

 operative Fruit Organization, made up of seventeen local organizations which 

 consign their fruit through one manager. 



About seventy egg circles have been organized in the province and 

 thirty or thirty-five of them are now active. In only one case has a group 

 of circles combined to make consignments under one management. Other- 

 wise they do business individually. Practically all the eggs are sold to 

 wholesale houses directly, although in Eastern Ontario a few circles sell 

 to large individual customers. Only one or two circles, which market 

 poultry, deal in anything except eggs. 



The thirty vegetable growers' associations in the province have a pro- 

 vincial organization which meets annually. These associations are mainly 

 educational. A few years ago the provincial organization experimented in 

 the co-operative purchase of seed for its local associations, but for various 

 reasons this enterprise was discontinued. Ten of the associations sell ve- 

 getables. 



The honey prodticers are well organized for educational purposes. 

 The local associations are united in a provincial association which meets 

 once a year and appoints the very important so-called " crop committee ". 

 This committee meets as occasion demands, receives reports as to the pro- 

 spective production of honey, and recommends the wholesale prices at 

 which it should be sold. Neither the provincial association nor the commit- 

 tee sells any honey nor acts otherwise than in an advisory capacity. The 



