the 64 county service companies did not 

 just happen, that cooperative oil com- 



Eanies as a class are considered poor risks 

 y officials of Banks for Cooperatives at 

 Omaha and Wichita. "You will find 

 that our member companies who bor- 

 rowed money for peak season op>erations 

 are listed as first class borrowers." 



Unity is the strength of the movement 

 in Illinois, Herndon pointed out, the re- 

 sult of the powerful support of the larg- 

 est state farm organization in America, 

 the lAA, unity in maintaining uniform 

 trade practices and merchandising meth- 

 ods, credit policies, price structures, uni- 

 form accounting, monthly statements for 

 comparative analysis, adjusting boundary 

 line problems, and maintaining Farm Bu- 

 reau member differentials. 



E. Victor Underwood, president of the 

 GLF Exchange Holding Corp. the prin- 

 cipal speaker, expressed the belief that 

 cooperative monopolices seem unwise. 



"It is my belief," Underwood de- 

 clared, "that farmers can take cooperative 

 corporations and with them successfully 

 operate in any field of business. I also 

 believe that farmers may have to operate 

 in many fields of business in order to set 

 a pace for efficiency." 



The GLF has handled $282,000,000 

 worth of feeds, seeds, and farm supplies 

 for farmers in New York and adjoining 

 States since its organization in 1920, 

 Underwood disclosed. Last year it 

 served 118,000 patrons through its 147 

 cooperative retail outlets, and 500 feed 

 dealers who own their own business but 

 handle GLF goods exclusively. 



The GLF owns large mills, elevators 

 and warehouses in the East. Prior to 

 1930 it leased the plant now operated by 

 the Century Distilling Co. in Peoria. 



The dangers that always face an ac- 

 tive co-operative. Underwood said, in- 

 clude "too rapid expansion, failure to 

 set up adequate reserves for unseen 

 emergencies, commitment losses, depre- 

 ciation, and credit would urge that 

 merchandising be done on as close to a 

 cash basis as possible. The second danger, 

 he continued, is that of speculation. 

 In a large co-of>erative purchasing agency 

 there is constantly a desire to go unduly 

 long oh commodities that are apparently 

 sure to enhance in value rapidly. The 

 best possible hedge in a purchasing oper- 

 ation is to cover your requirements for 

 a period of 30 days or one that exper- 

 ience teaches you to be correct; where 

 declines have a negligible effect and 

 advances give you a fair return. Set your 

 prices close to market including in your 

 price your cost of handling, overhead, 

 and a modest margin. By this method, 

 if your purchasing is one half correct you 

 will remove the gamble and fix a steady 

 income." 



Pappy Cheshire and his crew from 



1937 WDTOEHS IN L F. S. CONTEST FOB COnNTY SERVICE COMPANY BOOKKEEPERS 

 Front row, L. to R. : Ruth Lowranca, Knox: Marie Skamikert, TatewalU Harriet R. 

 Sumner, Rich-Law, tied ior 1st- Mrs. L. H. Toncroy, Fulton, tied ior 1st; Florence Kopplin. 

 Menard: Georgina Binder, Warren. Second row, L. to R.: L. W. McKinzey. McDonough: 

 Gladys Hawkins. Edgar; Lorine Painter. Macoupin; Mary Reese, Will-DuPage; Mrs. L." 

 Buss, Carroll; Mrs. Mary Parker, Champaign; Carl E. Beecher, McLean. Third row. L. to 

 R.: J. W. Maxwell, Peoria: Roy Virtue, Jo Daviess: Roy F. lohnson. Henderson: W. S. Mor- 

 on, Schuyler. 



KMOX St. Louis provided some hilar- 

 ious entertainment with jokes and cow- 

 boy songs both morning and afternoon. 

 Film strips were used in illustrating the 

 progress of the company as reported by 

 the management. 



All directors were reelected including 

 Fred Herndon, McDonough county, H. 

 A. Keele, Macoupin, Frank J. Flynn, 

 Morgan, Geo. Chappie, Livingston, L. 

 A. Abbott, Whiteside, Jesse L. Beery, 

 Macon, C. H. Buzzard, Effingham, and 

 H. P. Sauer, Jackson county. Chas. Kes- 

 linger, Kane county was elected to suc- 

 ceed the late Tom Penman, Kendall 

 county, who died while in office. Grant 

 Broster, Edwards county was nominated 

 in the caucus but Sauer, later nominated 

 from the floor won out in the balloting. 

 The board members will select their of- 

 ficers at the next meeting. 



Resolutions were adopted affirming the 

 company's support of the lAA and Farm 

 Bureau "as our spokesman in local, state, 

 and national affairs," declaring for strict 

 enforcement of credit policies with ac- 

 counts receivable held to a minimum, the 

 maintenance of ample credit and the 

 projjer ratio of reserves and surplus to 

 paid in capital. 



A large proportion of the record 



corn and soybean crops in Illinois will 

 be handled by more than 400 farmers' 

 cooperative grain elevators, says the 

 University of Illinois. 



Livestock and Crop Outlook 



A fairly large increase in cattle feed- 

 ing IS expected to occur in the coming 

 winter, chiefly as a result of the larger 

 production of feed grains this year than 

 last, says the Bureau of Agricultural Eco- 

 nomics. 



Marketings of fed cattle in 1938 arc 

 exp>ected to be much larger than in 1937. 

 The increase in such marketings prob- 

 ably will result in a greater than usual 

 seasonal decline in prices of the better 

 grades of slaughter cattle in the first 

 half of 1938. 



The tendency to restock in many areas 

 is likely to reduce the marketings of 

 other kinds of cattle. Prices of the lower 

 grades of slaughter cattle, therefore, 

 probably will advance seasonally in the 

 first half of 1938. The average price of 

 lower grades for the year may be as high 

 or higher than that in 1937. 



Although slaughter supplies of hogs 

 in the first six months of the present 

 hog marketing year (October 1937- 

 March 1938) probably will be smaller 

 than those of a year earlier, demand for 

 hog products for storage, and consumer 

 demands for meats in this period are 

 expected to be somewhat weaker than 

 they were in the fall and winter of 1936- 

 37, the Bureau of Agricultural Economics 

 reports. 



The seasonal decline in hog prices now 

 under way will probably continue 

 through the fall months. Hogs will be 

 (Continued on page 30) 



NOVEMBER. 1937 



