ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION RECORD 



To advance the purpose for which the Farm Bureau was organized 

 namely, to promote, protect and represent the business, economic, political 

 and educational interests of the farmers of Illinois and the nation, and 

 to develop agriculture. 



SEPTEMBER, 

 VOL 16 



1938 

 NO. 9 



ITES 



Vp to $749: 



. . $1.85 



... 2.70 



2.10 



le 4.30 



lidetidi after 

 e only 



Pablished moathly by the lUinpis Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation at noi West Washington Road. Mendota. 111. 

 Editorial Offices, 608 So. Dearborn St.. Chicago. 111. 

 Entered as second class matter at post office, Mendota. 

 Illinois, September II, 1936. Acceptance for mailing 

 at special rate of postage provided in Section 412. Act of 

 Feb. 28, 1925, authorized Oct. 27. 1935. Address all 

 communications for publication to Editorial Offices, Illinois 

 Agricultural Association RECORD, 608 So. Dearborn St.. 

 Chicago. The individual membership fee of the Illinois 

 Agricultural Association is five dollars a year. The fee 

 includes payment of fifty cents for subscription to the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association RECORD. Postmaster ; 

 Send notices on Form 3578 and undeliverable copies 

 returned under Form 3579 to editorial offices. 608 S. 

 Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. 



Editor and Advertising Director. E. G. Thiem : Assistant 

 Director and Ass't. Editor, Lawrence A. Potter. 



Illinois Agricultural Association 



Greatest State Farm Organization in America 



OFFICERS 



President, Earl C. Smith Detroit 



Vice-President, Talmage DeFrees Smithboro 



Corporate Secretary. Paul E. Mathias Chicago 



Field Secretary, Geo. E. Metzger Chicago 



Treasurer, R. A. COWLES Bloomington 



Ass't Treasurer, A. R. Wright. Varna 



BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

 (By Congressional District) 



1st to 11th E. Harris, Grayslake 



12th _ E. E. Houghtby, Shabbona 



IJth Leo M. Knox, Morrison 



14th Otto StefFey, Stronghurst 



15th M. Ray Ihrig, Golcien 



16th. Albert Hayes, Chillicothe 



17th C. M. Smith, Eureka 



18th. W. A. Dennis, Paris 



19th Eugene Curtis, Champaign 



20th K. T. Smith, Greenfield 



2 1 sL Dwight Hart, Sharpsburg 



22nd A. O. Eckert, Belleville 



23rd Chester McCord, Newton 



24th _ Charles Marshall, Belknap 



25th _ August G. Eggerding, Red Bud 



DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS 



Comptroller „ R. G. Ely 



Dairy Marketing Wilfred Shaw 



Field Service Cap Mast 



Finance R. A. Cowles 



Fruit and Vegetable Marketing _...H. W. Day 



Grain Marketing Harrison Fahmkopf 



Legal and General Counsel Donald Kirkpatrick 



Live Stock Marketing _ Sam F. Russell 



Office C. E. Johnston 



Organization G. E. Metzger 



Produce Marketing F. A. Gougler 



Publicity George Thiem 



Safety C. M. Seagraves 



Soil Improvement _ John R. Spencer 



Taxation and Statistics.— J. C. Watson 



Transportation-Claims Division -G. W. Baxter 



Young Peoples Activities Frank Gingrich 



ASSOCIATED ORGANIZATIONS 



Country Life Insurance Co _...Dave Mieher, Sales 



Manager; Howard Reeder, Home Office Mgr. 

 Farmers' Mutual Reinsurance Co...J. H. Kelker, Mgr. 



Illinois Agr. Auditing Ass'n C. E. Strand, Mgr. 



Illinois Agr. Mutual Ins. Co...A. E. Richardson, Mgr. 



Illinois Agr. Service Co Donald Kirkpatrick, Secy. 



111. Farm Bureau Serum Ass'n S. F. Russell, Secy. 



Illinois Farm Supply Co L. R. Marchant, Mgr. 



Illinois Fruit Growers' Exchange....H. W. Day, Mgr. 



111. Grain Corporation _ Frank Haines, Mgr. 



111. Livestock Marketing Ass'n Sam Russell, Mgr. 



Illinois Milk Producers' Ass'n Wilfred Shaw, Mgr. 



Illinois Producers' Creameries.-.F. A. Gougler, Mgr. 

 J. B. Countiss Sales Mgr. 



SEPTEaviBER. 1938 



GEORGE THIEM, Editor 



Hand Pollination — the basis of 

 com breeding. 



\^^V HE most important fact 

 ^"^Y concerning American agri- 

 ^^ culture today is that there 

 is an effective farm program on the 

 Statutes providing a way to handle 

 the crop surplus problem and send 

 farm prices up the ladder where they 

 belong. And this program was en- 

 acted largely through the influence 

 of the American Farm Bureau Fed- 

 eration. The value of this legislation 

 becomes more apparent when farm 

 prices sink. 



With new corn for December de- 

 livery quoted at little more than 30 

 cents a bushel at downstate Illinois 

 points, and with wheat selling at 50 

 to 55 cents a bushel on the farm, 

 both drastically out of adjustment 

 with the cost of non-agricultural 

 commodities, the AAA of '38 with 

 its provisions for acreage adjustment 

 and crop loans looms up impressive- 

 ly as a factor in the restoration of 

 corn belt buying power. 



The national granary after only 

 one year of normal weather is filled 

 to overflowing. An immediate prob- 

 lem the Department of Agriculture 

 is wrestling with is how to dispose 

 of 100,000,000 bu. of surplus wheat. 

 Next year instead of piling up more 

 surpluses, thinking farmers will re- 

 duce acreage and store up plant food 

 in the ground for future use. Doesn't 

 that sound more reasonable than 



producing additional unneeded bush- 

 els and paying someone here or 

 abroad to take them out of the coun- 

 try at bargain prices.' 



» 



The promise of increased business 

 activity and factory employment is a 

 favorable sign that may help boost 

 prices especially of livestock, dairy 

 products, and fruits and vegetables. 

 But experience has shown that the 

 size of the crop and the opportunity 

 for export are leading factors influ- 

 encing wheat prices, and for the time 

 being com prices, too. 



This i the of)en season for guess- 

 ing about the future trend of farm 

 prices. There is plenty of specula- 

 tion going on in the market centers. 

 Even the opponents of crop acreage 

 adjustment admit that the AAA is 

 helping to stave off complete de- 

 moralization of wheat, corn, and 

 cotton prices. The buying program 

 of the Dairy Products Marketing As- 

 sociation, using borrowed federal 

 funds, has prevented butter prices 

 from falling below 25c and thereby 

 assisted all dairy farmers. The con- 

 sumer, of course, will be benefited 

 when this butter is fed back into the 

 market. 



What eflfea will com loans of 57 

 to 58c per bu. to AAA co- 

 operators have on the open market 

 price of the new crop? Approxi- 

 mately half of the com growers in 

 the commercial area will be eligible. 

 Will these loans be eflFective in peg- 

 ging the market price at the mini- 

 mum or will there be a fairly wide 

 gap between the loan price and the 

 market price? There has not been a 

 comparable situation heretofore. We 

 shall soon leam the answer. 



Mnois 



Incidentally what has become of 

 the argument that the end of pro- 

 hibition would result in a profitable 

 market for all the surplus grain the 

 farmer can produce? — E. G. T. 



\l 



