Market Your Wool 

 Co-operatively : 



I 



ILLINOIS annually produces about 5,- 

 000,000 pounds of wool. How much of 

 it will be sold co-operatively this year 

 in the Illinois wool marketing program? 



ThitJieay Illinois farmers apswer this 

 question will have some bearing on the 

 ^ultimate price of wool for in the past 

 buyers of low-priced wool have been in- 

 fluential in breaking the market when 

 the National Wool Marketing Corpora- 

 tion, cooperative, was attempting to in- 

 crease returns to the producer. 



ThB annual wool clip in this state 

 averages from $750,000 to 11,000,000 in 

 value. While wool production is a side- 

 line on most farms, the aggregate in- 

 come is substantial. It is worth while 

 for farmers to work together and exer- 

 cise their influence in getting the best 

 possible returns for this farm product. 



The small grower has more reason to 

 sell co-operatively than has the large 

 grower. Buyers are interested in volume 

 and they naturally are attracted to large 

 quantities for sale. This situation de- 

 velops competition. In most Illinois com- 

 munities there is only one buyer and he 

 often takes the wool at his own price. 

 Occasionally the local buyer is caught. 

 This happened in 1920 when prices 

 dropped sharply. But over a long period 

 of time, even over a five-year swing, the 

 producer who sells co-operatively in- 

 variably gets a higher average return. 



Ave. 28c Per Lb. 



At shearing time in 1933 local buyers 

 in Illinois paid eight to 12 cents per 

 pound for wool. The farmer who sold his 

 wool co-operatively through the Illinois 

 Live Stock Marketing Association that 

 year averaged approximately 28 cents a 

 pound for wool. 



All of the 1934 wool marketed co-op- 

 eratively for Illinois farmers has not yet 

 been sold. As a result returns have been 

 delayed. But it usually pays to wait. 

 This is what the private buyer does. 

 Farmers can secure for themselves the 

 profit t}>at ordinarily results from sell- 

 ing as the market need^ it by co-opera- 

 tive action. 



James M. Coon of the Co-operative 

 Division, Farm Credit Administration, 

 Washington, was in Illinois during Febru- 

 ary attending a series of eight wool mar- 

 keting meetings conducted by the Illinois 

 Live Stock Marketing Association. Ray 

 E. Miller, director of livestock marketing, 

 and L. B. Hornbeck who has been tem- 

 porarily retained by the Association, had 

 charge of these meetings. Mr. Coon re- 

 ports that more interest is manifest in 

 Illinois this year in the wool marketing 



program than in 

 1934. 



Wool co-operatives 

 in the United States 

 had approximately 

 300,000,000 pounds 

 of wool on February 

 1, he says. Approxi- 

 mately one - half of 

 this, it is estimated, 

 will be sold between 

 now and June l.-The 

 clip this year is esti- 

 mated at 350,000,000 

 pounds which is be- 

 low normal because 

 of the slaughter of 

 3,000,000 to 4,000,- 

 000 sheep in drouth 

 relief areas. With a 

 carryover of only 

 150,000,000 pounds, 

 Mr. Coon estimates 

 that supplies will 

 run only about 500,- 

 000,000 pounds, 



which is barely enough to take care of 

 the average yearly consumption in the 

 United States. 



During the latter part of March, wool 

 grading demonstrations will be scheduled 

 to acquaint producers with the various 

 grrades and the reasons for variation in 

 net returns. , 



Illinois Livestock Marketing 



(Continued from page 4) 

 retailing the meat to the ultimate con- 

 sumer. After all, he continued, livestock 

 is not marketed until it is processed and 

 merchandised. 



"It is mighty easy for a farmer to slip 

 up on his values 25 to 50 cents a hundred 

 when selling in the country," Randall 

 said. "Evidence at hand shows that farm- 

 ers during the past two months have 

 frequently lost $1 to $2 per cwt. on cat- 

 tle sold to packers, commission men and 

 speculators." 



The speaker referred to hog cut-out 

 tests being conducted at an eastern pack- 

 ing plant. One of the objects is to make 

 available to salesmen on various markets 

 reliable information as to cut-out values 

 for the different grades and weights of 

 hogs, and by this means more accurately 

 measure wholesale and retail margins. 

 This with additional information as to 

 storage holdings furnishes a reliable 

 basis for arriving at the true value of 

 live hogs-. 



In a brief talk Henry Troutman, man- 

 ager of the Decatur sales office, de- 



scribed the various news and radio serv- 

 ices which enable him to keep in touch 

 with all the principal livestock markets 

 in arriving at market values. We are 

 are not selling livestock just to get a 

 commission, he said. We are trying to 

 send the livestock received at the various 

 co-operative concentration points to the/ 

 highest market. During the past year 

 the Decatur sales office has marketed 

 approximately 69 per cent of its hogs at 

 Indianapolis, 14.9 per cent in the Cleve- 

 land territory, 8.1 per cent St. Louis, 3.7 

 per cent Buffalo, and 3.1 per cent Chi- 

 cago. 



L. B. Hornbeck stated that there is 

 more interest this year in co-operative 

 wool marketing than during any of the 

 last few years. He pointed out that 90 

 per cent of the wool purchased in Aus- 

 tralia is sold co-operatively and that 

 Illinois farmers will net more for their 

 wool over a period of years by selling co- 

 operatively, than through ot\}er channels. 

 Illinois produces around 5,000,000 pounds 

 of wool annually and every penny added 

 to the average per pound price means 

 $50,000 to Illinois farmers. In 1933 re- 

 turns to growers ranged from five cents 

 to 10 cents more than prices which pre-/'' 

 vailed in Illinois that season. , 



The meeting adopted a resolutiafi ap- 

 proved by the board that each unit of 

 the Illinois Livestock Marketing Asso- 

 ciation be a separate • corporate entity 

 and that the federated type of organiza- 

 tion be uniform throughout the state. 



MARCH. 1935 



