f 



Page 4 



The nBnoM Agricnlhiral Awodation Record 



March S, 1924 



Red Top Grower Lost $300 

 By Co-op Marketing, But- 



3teve Golden of Flora, Clay 

 county, says be lost )300 last 

 year because he marketed his red 

 top seed through the Egyptian 

 Seed Growers Exchange. One of 

 his neighbors, Ray Graham, was 

 also a nfember of the pool and he 

 declares that l;e doesn't consider 

 . he lost any money by pooling be- 

 cause he says it's hard to tell 

 what the price would have been 

 if there hadn't been any pool. 



But Steve Golden has not lost 

 faith in cooperative marketing 

 simply because it might seem 

 that he lost money through it. 

 Instead he told the writer an In- 

 teresting story of his experience 

 In the pool. He has been mar- 

 keting red top seed ever since it 

 has been marketed in the terri- 

 tory, probably for 40 years. He 

 is now retired, lives in Flora, 

 but Is very actively interested in 

 bis three farms in the county. 



"The highest price that I ever 

 received for red top seed was 20 

 cents peyjiound," he said. "That 

 was in 1921. Early in the sea- 

 son the price was 12 cents. Then 

 the dealers dropped down to 10 

 cents and we growers were pretty 

 dissatisfied. So 45 of Sis formed 

 the nrst red top pool with 50,000 

 pounds of seed. We made ar- 

 rangements with a local seed 

 dealer to store the pool, 



L'p Went the Prices 



"In the meantime, after our pool 

 was started, priced paid by local 

 dealers suddenly went up. They 

 began paying up to 17 cents. 

 After awhile they got interested 

 in bur pool and made us offers 

 for It. Finall/ we closed it out 

 to a dealer in a neighboring town 

 for 20 cents per pound which 

 was just 19% cents net to us as 

 we paid H t cent per pound stor- 

 age. 



"Results o* the first pooling 

 attempt encouraged us and many 

 thought it would be a good idea 

 to start a big pool the next year, 

 1922. We got Bob Clarke down 

 here to help us organize. Well, 

 I went out and helped with the 

 soliciting b€k:ause I was in the 

 first pool and besides I have al- 

 ways gone In for anything down 

 here that looked as if it might 

 Improve farming conditions. You 

 know we had every fellow that 

 signed the five-year contract also 

 sign a note for $100 so as to give 

 our pool financial backing. That 

 was a hard thing for a lot of the 

 fellows to do and many refused 

 to join for that reason. About a 

 fourth of the growers joined the 

 pool. 



I Had Some Hard Lack 



"Oiir directors made arrange- 

 ments with a local seed ware- 

 bouse to store the pooled seed 

 bat uot long after that the ware- 

 bouse burned down and it was 

 some time before we got another 

 place to store the seed. I think 

 that It was a mistake not to be- 

 gin selling the pool right away 

 in the fall. As it turned out, it 

 was held too long and there was 

 not much demand for red top 

 aa the dealers had about ail they 

 needed. You know the best red 

 top market is the fall and early 

 winter. Fact Is, that us fellows 

 held the seed tbat wasn't needed 

 ▼ery badly. 



"But Curt Anderson, the man- 

 agier, did his best to sell it last 

 spring and all last summer and 

 when the pool was finally closed 

 out. aJl of us poolers got about 

 iX cents per pound on our seed 



in the final settlement. The out- 

 siders were paid 14 or 15 cents 

 on the average from local dealers. 

 Not very encouraging and the fel- 

 lows that wouldn't join thought 

 they had the laugh on us. But 

 it is hard to tell what the price 

 might have been if there had 

 been no pool. That is something 

 none of us can say for sure." 

 Lots of Kicks 



Mr. Golden related something 

 of the attitude of members of the 

 cooperative association. Although 

 not an officer or a director of the 

 organization, he hears many of 

 the complaints of friends who 

 are In the pool. Being an old 

 and experienced farmer in the 

 county and knowing most of the 

 facts about the exchange, his opin- 

 ion is highly respected. 



"Lots of the members come to 

 me and ask me about the pool, 

 things that they won't ask the 

 manager," he said. "When we 

 were building the warehouse here 

 in Flora last summer, now and 

 then a fellow would come to me 

 and ask, 'Where's the money com- 

 ing from to build that building?' 

 I told them It was borrowed, of 

 course, where else did they think 

 we'd get it? 



"Then they'd kick to me that 

 the manager was getting too 

 much salary and so was the seed 

 tester. I don't know if they 

 knew what salaries these men 

 were getting. I don't myself but 

 it's because I'm not worrying 

 about their salaries. 



New Contracts Slfoied 



"But the kicks have pretty well 

 died down during the past few 

 months and things look better 

 Now if the pool price will net the 

 members just a little more than 

 the outsiders got from dealers, 

 things will be all right and there 

 will be lots more confidence in 

 our organization. 



"A few men have joined the 

 1923 pool of their own accord. 

 One man out) northwest of here 

 that I didn't sign up when I was 

 soliciting joined last fall. 1 hap- 

 pened to meet him on the road 

 coming from town one day and 

 saw that he <had some of the pool 

 sacks in his wagon. I asked htm 

 bow he happened to have them 

 and he said, 'Well, I've been 

 thinking over the proposition ill 

 summer and I've decided it's the 

 right thing to do. So I signed 

 my contract up in the office to- 

 day.' Quite a few are coming to 

 that way of thinking." 



What Graham Says 



Ray Graham, who was a mem- 

 ber of the pool in 1922 but who 

 didn't raise any red top in 1923, 

 voiced sentiments much the same 

 as Mr. Golden. He said that 

 there is no doubt but that 1922 

 seed prices paid by local dealers 

 were up much higher on account 

 of the pool. 



"One reason for this," he says, 

 "is because dealers were ap 

 preached by growers for offers on 

 their red top and when a high 

 enough price was not offered, the 

 growers threatened to join the 

 pool. Many dealers raised their 

 prices on such occasions so theiy 

 could get the seed. 



A New Spirit 



"A lot of exchange members 

 are worried that they will lose 

 the $100 that they signed a note 

 for when they joined the pool. 

 One fellow was asking me one 

 day how he could get out of pay- 

 ing the note. I told him it 



9 SCHOOLS THRESH 

 CO-OP SHIPPING 

 ASS'N PROBLEMS 



(Continued from paa« t) 

 The newspapers are a valuable 

 means of publicity that all ship- 

 ping associations should make 

 use of, he said. 



Form of Organization 



The county livestock shipping 

 association is more efficient than 

 the local. C. A. Stewart. Director 

 of Livestock Marketing of the I. 

 A. A., said at the series of ship- 

 ping association schools through- 

 out • the state. "\ county or- 

 ganization is better qualified to 

 get good men. There has not 

 been a failure of a county asso- 

 ciation in Illinois." 



Shipping associations should 

 recognize the farm bureau for 

 the reason that all progress in 

 Illinois in livestock marketing 

 has been made possible by the 

 farm bureau, Mr. Stewart stated. 

 The membership of shipping as- 

 sociations should be limited to 

 farm bureau members, but not 

 the sen'ice, he said. He recom- 

 mended that an additional charge 

 be made for handling stock of 

 non-farm bureau members. 



On the county association 

 question, Mr. Robbins said that It 

 is too big a jump from the local 

 association to the terminal com- 

 mission company. To him it 

 seems logical and necessary to 

 have a county association. 



would be very easy to get out of 

 it. He brightened up and asked 

 how. I said, 'If you and your 

 neighbors and every other fellow 

 in the pool will loyally back it 

 up and keep working for it until 

 its success is assured, you'll never 

 have to pay that note.' " 



And the writer believes that it 

 is just that spirit, the spirit of 

 loyalty and cooperation, that Is 

 growing in the red top country 

 and will make the Egyptian Seed 

 Growers Exchange continue to be 

 the biggest and most powerful 

 factor in the marketing of red 

 top seed. 



Protecting Th* Cow 



Mannfactarers can ■till copy 

 the prodneta of the eow« ao 

 lonK aa they don*t offend the 

 pnre food laepeetor, hat they 

 ean*t nse her portrait or her 

 name to advertUe their 

 vrarea. KInee Jaaaary 1, It 

 has been aitatBHt the law In 

 IlllBota to nse In hotter anh- 

 atltnte advertisements the 

 word "Bntter,** "Creamery" 

 or **Dalry" or the name or 

 pletare of any breed of dniry 

 cattle (Texas Lonshorna not 

 Inelnded). We want this law 

 enforced, so If yoo see any 

 advertisements which you 

 think In violation of the law. 

 write to the I, .4. .*. about 

 It, and we will InvestlKate 

 the matter. 



How Do You Vote — 

 Baseball Team or 

 Teams in the Field? 



Shall we play baseball? A 

 baseball team will take several 

 teams out of the field, but on 

 the other hand all work and no 

 play makes it hard to, keep the 

 boys at home. 



The meeting of the 21st dis- 

 trict discussed the farm bureau 

 baseball league at their Carlin- 

 ville meeting. "We have got to 

 have a little fun In this old 

 world," said Mr. Moffet of Mo- 

 desto. "We have been working 

 sixteen hours a day for six days 

 a week. I believe a half day off 

 on Saturday will help." 



After quite a long discussion 

 Editor McCleland of the Carlin- 

 ville Democrat, one of the real 

 fans of the county, popped up. 

 Said he could not sit still any 

 longer. He believes farm people 

 must meet the changing condi- 

 tions. He thinks baseball will 

 help to solve the problem of 

 keeping the l)oys at home and 

 contented. 



"But who Is going to pay the 

 hired man for the half day he 

 is off playing ball?" asked 

 another man who proclaimed 

 himself of the old school. 



What do you think about it? 

 Is the farm bureau baseball 

 league idea right? 



Head of Chick Association 

 Endorses Hatchery Plan 



Harry R. Lewis, president of 

 the International Baby Chick as- 

 sociation, has written J. D. 

 Harper of the I. A. A. heartily 

 endorsing the accredited hatch- 

 ery plan which was started last 

 October by the I. A. A., the Uni- 

 versity of Illinois and the State 

 Department of Agriculture. The 

 plan provides that hatcheries 

 which agree to sell only state- 

 inspected baby chicks from state- 

 inspected farm flocks may sell 

 their chicks under the brand 

 "Illinois Standard Chicks." 



Mr. Lewis says, "The I. B. C. 

 A. voted unanimously to go on 

 record in favor of these activi- 

 ties at the last annual conven- 

 tion, and will stand by you to 

 the fullest to defend the plan. 

 Offers Best Solntion 



"Something must be done In a 

 definite, organized, official way 

 to materially improve the quality 

 of baby chicks. While many 

 breeders are themselves attempt- 

 ing to do this, and succeeding in 

 many cases, yet the accredited 

 hatchery plan offers the best so- 

 lution of the problem yet pre- 

 sented." 



Accredited hatcheries, says Mr. 



Lewis, have been organized and 

 worked successfully in Wiscon- 

 sin, Southern California and 

 Washington, while Connecticut, 

 New Jersey and Indiana are seri- 

 ously contemplating the estab- 

 lishment of the system this year. 



Cost is ZYiC Each 

 According to H. W. Day, Su- 

 pervising Inspector of the Illinois 

 Department of Agriculture, the 

 cost of inspection averages 3j^c 

 I)er bird. He has received some 

 very fine reports from the hatch- 

 eries tbat are on the accredited 

 list. One hatcheryman writes: 

 "Orders are coming in fine and 

 we give your department credit." 

 Another writes, "AH our orders 

 are so large and coming so rap- 

 idly that we will have to have 

 larger fiocks in all varieties. It 

 certainly pays to be accredited." 



Fourteen counties have a list 

 of reserve flocks. Macoupin and 

 Montgomery counties each report 

 23 fiocks, Wayne county 5, Cass 

 county 3, Champaign, Hancock, 

 Grundy and Menard, 2 each and 

 Adams, Douglas, Logan. McLean, 

 .Morgan, Peoria and Sangamon, 1 

 each. _ . 



FREEPORT CO-OP 

 DOES NEARLY HALF 

 MILLION BUSINESS 



Over Half of 1923 Sales Were 



From Butter; Macklin Talks On 



Co-operative Principles 



u 

 n-m 



ss»' , 



■I 



The report of J. A. Phillip^, , 

 secretary-treasurer and manager 

 of the Stephenson County Coop- 

 erative Marketing Company at its 

 annual meeting in Freeport. Feb- 

 ruary 23, showed that the com 

 pany had done a gross businesi 

 of »490,418.39 in 1923. The 

 largest single item of sale was 

 butter, 1256,089.09 worth being 

 sold. 



"The loyal members who hare 

 stuck to the boat through thick 

 and thin are the fellows to whom 

 credit Is due for keeping our 

 company together," said Mr. 

 Phillips. "It takes the full 100 

 per cent cooperation of everyone 

 to win in the end. I hope that 

 every milk producer in the Free- 

 port territory will sign the new 

 contract, for only by doing this 

 can we gpt what we should for 

 our milk." 



About 150 members of the 

 company were present to hear 

 the report of last year's business, 

 to elect officers and to hear talks 

 by Dr. Theodore Macklin of the 

 University of Wisconsin and A. 

 D. Lynch, Director of the I. A. 

 A. Dairy Marketing Department. 



"To cooperate, a man must 

 know what cooperation is," said 

 Dr. Macklin. "Cooperatives can 

 learn only by experience. They 

 may not make money at first. 

 Dealers' Profit 



"The lekst important reason 

 for cooperating is the elimination 

 of the dealers' profit," he de- 

 clared. "The most important 

 reasons are that it reduces the 

 cost of marketing, improves old 

 and creates new marketing ser- 

 vices for its members, readjusts 

 standards of production so tbat 

 farmers understand what prod- 

 ucts pay best, gives farmers con- 

 fidence in the marketing system 

 that they patronize because they 

 own it and control its policies, 

 gives producers confidence that 

 their products are being mar- 

 keted as well as they can be. and 

 lastly, it teaches cooperators the 

 commercial point of view, whiiUl 

 is the great ultimate benefit from 

 successful cooperation." 



Mr. Lynch in a short talk 

 said, "We increase our strength 

 and our power as we overcome 

 obstacles. We should always be 

 sure that we apply our strength 

 in the right direction." 



Directors for 1924 



Clayton Malse and William 

 Seiferman were re-elected- to the 

 board of directors and William 

 Roberts was a new member 

 elected. Holdover members who 

 will serie on the board for 1924 

 are William Frank, J. A. Phil- 

 lips, Wm. F. Brown, H. M. Phil- 

 lips, John Kachelhoeffer and D. 

 M. Brubakcr. 



WANTS SOY'S AXD COW PBAfi 



Robert H. Engle, county agent 

 Lee County, Donnellson, Iowa, 

 writes that the farm bureau there 

 is in the market for soy beans 

 and cow_peas, and that he would 

 appreciate hearing from any Illi- 

 nois counties having these seeds 

 for sale. 



The MrLieaa Toanty Parm Barean 



at a recent meeting endorsed the 

 McNary-Haugen bill for an airri- 

 cultural export corporation. 



