f 



reduce margins from five cents a bushel 

 to two and three cents. 



Just as the farmers' company began 

 to buy grain, competitors started a price 

 war. R. E. Laycock, the co-op manager, 

 was instructed to handle grain at cost 

 — break even, the directors told him. 



The situation was critical. Farmers 

 took their grain where they could get 

 the most for it while stockholders 

 grumbled. 



"We handled grain at cost but even 

 at that we couldn't compete on a price 

 basis with the other buyer. Some 

 thought we were licked. We realized 

 though, that it was a fight to the finish. 

 Either the other elevator had to go or 

 we would have to quit," Willis Seward, 

 president, says. 



The battle went on year after year. 

 The competing elevator changed hands 

 twice. The farmers' company borrowed 

 money from time to time on which to 

 operate its business. By the time com- 

 petition decided to run on a business- 

 like basis, the Ursa Farmers' Coopera- 

 tive Company was $18,500 in the hole. 



Thus, five years after it was organ- 

 ized, the co-op was in a precarious 

 financial position. Strangely enough, 

 the stockholders who were dissatisfied 

 in the beginning were now content. 

 Although they had received no divi- 

 dends they had had full benefit of the 

 price war. In that way they had been 

 paid more than their stock had cost. 



"The entire debt of $18,500 was paid 

 off in broken doses over several years. 

 We didn't fret much about it. The 

 volume of grain was growing and that 

 gave us confidence in the future. 



"In 1930 we reorganized to come un- 

 der provisions of the Capper- Volstead 

 cooperative act. We borrowed $7000 



HENHY BARNES 

 "We paid the debt in broken doses." 



that competition is not necessary to 

 keep their company in line. 



With the new building the streamlin- 

 ing will be complete. 



WILLIS SEWARD 

 'The white elephant was put to work." 



from the Federal Farm Board to run the 

 business," Henry Barnes recounted. 



At that time the surplus was distrib- 

 uted in common stock at $50 par value. 

 The stock was later reduced to $25 par 

 to permit borrowing of operating capi- 

 tal from the Bank for Cooperatives of 

 St. Louis. 



As the volume of grain swelled, 

 profits accumulated. In 1932, the bot- 

 tom of the depression, a dividend of 

 six per cent was declared. The per- 

 formance was repeated each year until 

 1937 when a two per cent cumulative 

 dividend was paid for 1933, '34, '35 

 and '36. The 1937 dividend was eight 

 per cent. 



Now, with 271 shares of preferred 

 stock at $100 par value and 272 shares 

 of common at $25 par value and no 

 debt, the Ursa Farmers' Cooperative 

 Company is taking its place as the major 

 grain market in Adams county. Henry 

 Barnes says that for several years the 

 Ursa elevator has set grain prices for 

 the county. 



On May 10, ear-corn was bringing 

 49 cents. The farmers' elevator was 

 getting 50 cents for it loaded on cars. 

 The company's margin was one cent plus 

 the usual overrun gained in shelling. 

 Shelled corn was being handled on a 

 two-cent margin which made the price 

 to farmers 48 cents. 



Private elevators in the territory were 

 paying 48 cents for shelled corn, too, 

 but they were charging one and two 

 cents for shelling ear-corn. The over- 

 run was clear profit. 



There is no competitor of the farm- 

 ers' company in Ursa now. Yet grain 

 growers for miles around have faith in 

 the cooperative way. After an 18-year 

 struggle for fair prices farmers know 



Marketing Quota 

 Rpferendum 



Til the Editi-r: 



Many items are appearing in the daily and 

 weekly papers and in the farm publicatlnns 

 about the 1938 farm program. In the lAA 

 Bulletins and the Farm Bureau monthlies only 

 one s de of this much-agitated question is ever 

 given. We hear a lot about an anticipated 

 marketing quota referendum for com and how 

 it will be conducted ; whether it will apply 

 to the 1958 corn crop (as far as keeping some 

 of the corn off the market this fall) or just to 

 the 19.59 crop. We all know that these past 

 referendums in the corn belt have been one- 

 sided, both in the manner of their conduct 

 and in their result, although only a small per- 

 cent of the farmers ever participated. If a quota 

 referendum for the corn belt is decided on this 

 fall by the Agricultural Dept. under Mr. Wal- 

 lace, there is only one fair arhl impartial way 

 to hold it — and that is, conduct it like any 

 other general election. Have a voting place 

 in each township; have the polls open from, 

 say, 8 A. M. to 5 P. M. ; have one clerk, and 

 three judges (at least one of which shall be 

 a known opponent of the present program, if 

 one such can be found in each township, and 

 from the general conversation board, there arc 

 plenty of them) and none of these election 

 officials to have had any connection whatever 

 as a committeeman, alternate, or county direc- 

 tor in the present program. Also, to avoid any 

 stuffing of the ballot box," allow only one 

 to/e to each farm. The first right to vote for 

 a farm should be given the owner of such 

 farm; if he does not care to vote, then allow 

 the renter of that farm to vote, but a renter 

 to have only one vote, regardless of the number 

 of owners he rents from. Likewise, an owner, 

 (if he votes for his farm) should have only 

 one vote regardless of the number of farms 

 he owns, and the vote must be cast in person. 

 Why such restriction ? Many owners farm their 

 own farms, and if all owners and renters were 

 allowed to vote, the owner who farms his own 

 farm would be placed under an unfair handi- 

 cap. If anyone has a fairer and better way to 

 hold such referendum, the undersigned would 

 like to hear about it. 



A. E. Potts, Eureka, 



Editor, Woodford 0)unty Journal 



Member of Woodford County 



Farm Bureau. 

 [So iar as we know past AAA refer- 

 endums have been conducted fairly and 

 honestly. The percentage of farmers vot- 

 ing in recent AAA referendums compares 

 favorably with the percentage of eligible 

 voters who vote in the general elections. 

 —Editor.] 



A county federation of girls' 4-H 



Clubs was organized in Peoria county, 

 June 11, according to Christie C. Hepler, 

 home adviser. Officers will work with an 

 adult county committee to clear ideas 

 submitted by the two representatives 

 from each club. Officers of the federa- 

 tion are: Lois Barrett, president; Vivian 

 DuMars, vice-president; Gertrude Shis- 

 sler, secretary-treasurer and Evelyn Per- 

 kins, reporter. 



r 



JULY, 1938 



