this One Didn't Fold Up 



The Story of the Drury Livestock Shipping 

 Association of Rock Isloind County 



^Nk URING the past 10 years, hun- 

 ^^/ 1 dreds of livestock shipping as- 

 3 J sociations have folded up. 

 Paved roads, trucks and direct buying of 

 hogs by packers put them out of busi- 

 ness. But out in Rock Island county, 

 there's an association that just won't give 

 up the ghost. It met the competition of 

 trucks in its own way. You'll be inter- 

 ested in knowing how it all happened. 



In 1932, between $300 and $350 were 

 taken from this sinking fund and used to 

 build the Association's shipping yards. 

 This eliminated the expense of sending 

 livestock on to Muscatine. A large 

 truck, tractor and trailer were also pur- 

 chased. Initial payment for this motor 

 equipment was also taken from check-oflF 

 funds of years back. In 1935, another 

 truck was purchased. ■.' 



J'- 



"thay tool the money out of the sink 



Back in 1919, a handful of men got 

 together over in Drury township. Rock 

 Island County, and launched the Drury 

 Co-operative Shipping Association at Il- 

 linois City, an inland town without a 

 railroad. The idea took hold, and 

 farmers were quick to join. In 1931 

 and 1932, a peak in membership was 

 reached when the Association boasted an 

 enrollment of between 300 and 350 

 members. 



When the Association finally got un- 

 der way, livestock was trucked to the 

 Muscatine, Iowa, railroad yards. All 

 livestock was picked up at the farm by \ 

 truck leased by the Association and trans- 

 ported to Muscatine for shipment to 

 Chicago. 



Up until 1933, the Drury Association 

 collected six cents on cattle and calves 

 and foui^ cents on hogs and sheep. In 

 additirin, the manager made a deduction 

 of $6.50 a deck. This money was placed 

 in a sinking fund. - 



When a member has something for 

 shipment, he notifies the manager of the 

 Association, J. M. Welch. When the 

 truck is going out that member's way, 

 Welch informs him the day and approxi- 

 mate time the truck will arrive. When 

 the truck is sent out to pick up members' 

 shipments, Welch climbs in the cab with- 

 the driver. This sometimes means that 

 he travels 150 miles to pick up a load. 

 When the truck is loaded, it is brought 

 back to the Association yards. The 

 livestock is then sorted, marked and 

 weighed. 



At present the manager is paid 4 cents 

 a hundred on cattle and calves and 3 

 cents on hogs and sheep. This money 

 goes into the sinking fund. 'When a 

 load is picked up and concentrated, the 

 trailer is loaded and started for Chicago. 



Destination of livestock upon reaching 

 Chicago is determined by members send- 

 ing them. In. sojne cases, the load is 

 taken to 'an old line house. At other 



MANAGER J. M. WELCH ... 

 "ha had the needed punch." 



times. Producers gets the load. It is 

 common for 1 5 to 20 members to get to- 

 gether and make up a load. Some mem- 

 bers may have only one hog on the 

 trailer. In a case like this, the load is 

 often split upon reaching Chicago; part 

 of it going to Producers and the rest 

 to an old line house. Members them- 

 selves have complete say on where their 

 particular livestock is to go. 



The Drury Co-operative Shipping As- 

 sociation has changed much since its 

 opening days. Originally, there was a 

 $4 membership fee charged each person 

 who wished- to ship through the Drury 

 Association. If the member shipped his 

 livestock outside of the Association, he 

 was dropped from membership and the 

 $4 fee was lost. Should the ousted mem- 

 ber wish to get back in the fold, he 

 would have to pay an additional $4 fee. 

 At the end of each year, a renewal fee 

 of $1 was assessed each member choos- 

 ing to remain in the Association. 



This is no longer the picture. Soon 

 after the renewal fee was introduced it 

 was thrown out. Not long after, the 

 membership fee itself was stopped. To- 

 day there are no regular members. They 

 are patrons. A patron may ship as he 

 pleases; with the Association or not. 



Last year approximately 200 farmers 

 shipped through the Association. It is 

 hard to tell just how many "patrons" 

 there are in .it as the absense of a fee 

 makes a check-up too complicated. With 

 the present set-up, a member or patron 

 may ship one load co-operatively through 

 the Drury Association and the next 

 through a trucker if it seems a little 

 cheaper. 



From the time livestock is picked up 

 on the farm until it arrives at the city 

 marketing prds, it is insured. In addi- 



L A. A. RECORD 



