Farmers Mutual Makes 



Chicago, Jan. 30: — Despite the task 

 of rewriting all fire and windstorm 

 policies to conform with the Illinois 

 Insurance Code during 1938, the Farm- 

 ers Mutual Reinsurance Company fin- 

 ished the year with a gain of more than 

 ^7, 000,000 of fire and wind insurance 

 in force as compared with 1937, it was 

 learned at the annual meeting of the 

 company here today. President Geo. 

 F. Tullock of Rockford presented the 

 management report. 



At the end of 1938 the company had 

 in force $84,172,706.00 in fire insur- 

 ance and $79,893,254.00 in windstorm 

 coverage. During the year, $9,250,- 

 340.00 of growing crop hail insurance 

 was written. Total coverage for 1938 

 was $173,316,300.00 or about the same 

 as a year ago although the volume of 

 crop hail insurance, a coverage that 

 ▼aries with grain prices, was somewhat 

 less than in 1937. 



Manager J. H. Kelker showed in his 

 report that the change of policies writ- 

 ten resulted in an increased income 

 from premiums of $1,288,459.58 more 

 than last year. The greater income is 

 due to a general switch by policyholders 

 from buying annual protection to buy- 

 ing protection for three to five years 

 at a time to take advantage of lower 



Big Gains in 1988 



annual cost. Kelker also talked about 

 claims and losses and how much money 

 was paid to policyholders last year. 



The windstorm that leveled hundreds 

 of farmsteads in Tazewell, Fulton and 

 other counties early last spring showed 

 up on the loss side of the company's 

 ledger. While some $20,000 was 

 enough to settle windstorm losses in 

 1937, more than $70,000 was paid out 

 in 1938. 



Fire losses ranged somewhat higher 

 than a year ago with a total paid loss 

 of $168,835.34. Hail losses on build- 

 ings and growing crops totaled $27,- 

 131.33 to bring the net losses paid to 

 $266,857.17. 



Premium income was as follows: 

 fire, $1,318,950.18; windstorm, $425,- 

 53935; growing crop hail, $113,811.82; 

 corn and wheat loan insurance, includ- 

 ing fire and windstorm, $54,746.09. 



Directors of the company elected for 

 1939 are: George F. Tullock, Rock- 

 ford; J. J. Hornung, Ottawa; J. M. 

 Beckett, Blue Mound ; L. E. Lingen- 

 felter, Ullin; H. A. Cress, Hillsboro; 

 George W. Lenhart, Georgetown ; 

 Clifton Davis, Jacksonville; George F. 

 Hayes, Galva; and John E. Miller, 

 Edwardsville. 



Illinois Producers Creameries 



Have Good Annual Meeting 



Chicago, Jan. 30: — Approximately 

 7,000,000 pounds of butter was manu- 

 factured last year by a chain of nine 

 cooperative Illinois creameries, repre- 

 sentatives of 20,000 cream producers 

 were told today at the annual meet- 

 ing of the Illinois Producers' Cream- 

 eries in the Stevens Hotel here. Of 

 this amount five tons moved into con- 

 sumption daily under the producers' 

 own brand name, Prairie Farms. 



"Since 1933, Illinois farmers have in- 

 vested $284,313.18 in creameries located at 

 Galesburg, Peoria, Bloomington, Champaign, 

 Olney, Carbondale, Mt. Sterling, Moline and 

 Carlinville. Today each dollar invested is 

 worth $1.21," Sales Manager J. B. Countiss 

 reported. 



In an effort to stabilize the butter market, 

 IPC joined cooperatives of other states to 

 form the Dairy Products Marketing Associa- 

 tion early in the year. The DPMA, financed 

 by the Commodity Credit Corporation and 

 backed by eight co-ops, entered the butter 

 market on June 16 buying butter at 75 per 

 cent of parity. Since then the cooperative 

 has bought nearly 114,000,000 pounds of 

 butter. The price hasn't been Ijelow 25c 

 lb. for 90 score. This program has in- 



creased Illinois farmers income $2,500,000 

 annually. 



"This program has guaranteed the con- 

 sumer a year 'round supply of high quality 

 butter at uniform prices, thereby promoting 

 the sales of butter. The plan has raised 

 the price to farmers about five cents a pound 

 on all butterfat sold after June 16, according 

 to reliable estimates," Countiss said. 



The difference in price between 92 and 

 88-score butter, the sales manager showed, 

 averaged 3.15 cents in 1938. To meet a 

 shortage of the better grades, the IPC paid 

 member creameries a one-cent premium for 

 92-score butter during the year. In most 

 plants this extra price was passed along to 

 farmers who consistently produced fresh, 

 sweet cream that would make high grade 

 butter. The company earned approximately 

 10% on its capital stock last year. 



Procurement manager Frank Gougler 

 talked about the Brown county and Gales- 

 burg plans of contacting cream producers 

 and increasing volume. 



Paul E. Mathias, principal speaker, dis- 

 cussed the advantages of cooperative market- 

 ing and told how the cooperative creameries 

 were benefiting Illinois farmers. Harry 

 Gehring, vice-president presided. 



Delegates elected the following directors: 

 Harry Gehring, Galesburg; Claude Martin, 



Farm Labor^ Price j 



Fixing Are Discussed 



Illinois farmers believe in more se- 

 curity for farm employees but they 

 don't think that bringing agricultural 

 laborers under the federal social se- 

 curities law is the way to do it. 



Will Riegel of Champaign county 

 and Ernest D. Lawrence of McLean 

 county, both of whom employ many 

 farm laborers, pointed out in the Pub- 

 lic Relations conference during the lAA 

 convention, January 31, that administration 

 of the act when applied to farm employees 

 would be too complicated and unsatisfactory 

 because farm workers are often seasonal and 

 record keeping would be a nuisance. Mr. 

 Riegel said that on the Meharry Farms it 

 was the policy to help hired men start farm- 

 ing for themselves when they had saved a 

 few hundred dollars of capital. Mr. Law- 

 rence said that during 1932-33 farm em- 

 ployees often made more money than the 

 farm operator. 



Farmers opposed substitute farm legis- 

 lation that would fix prices because it in- 

 volves too much regimentation and eventu- 

 ally would become unenforceable. 



Farmers want more farra-to-market roads 

 for the money expended and to this end 

 advocate a modification of minimum specifi- 

 cations for all-weather roads — in other 

 words, good gravel roads instead of pave- 

 ment. 



Farmers are not satisfied with relief leg- 

 islation alltogether but they are not yet 

 ready to support a raise in the minimum 

 tax rate of 30 cents on property for relief 

 purposes so long as the state occupation 

 tax is continued at the present rate. 



Farmers are not opposed to truck regula- 

 tion in the interest of safety and reasonable 

 guarantees to shippers but they are opposed 

 to arbitrary fixing of trucking rates that 

 would tend to increase the already high 

 cost of transporting farm products to mar- 

 ket. 



Peoria; Harold W. Enns, Bloomington; J. 

 C. Piper, Olney; Charles Eddleman, Carbon- 

 dale; H. B. Smith, Mt. Sterling; 'William 

 Bismark, Moline; Thad Loveless, Carlin- 

 ville; O. P. Hamm, Champaign; and E. 

 Harris, Grayslake. Approximately 300 at- 

 tended the meeting. 



Problems of creameries and procurement 

 featured the discussion in the cream market- 

 ing conference Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 31 

 at the lAA convention. 



G. W. Bunting addressed the twelfth 

 annual meeting of Shelby-Effingham Service 

 Company, Shelbyville, January 19, with some 

 2,000 people in attendance. "Small refineries 

 in Southern Illinois may be selling fuels 

 at attractive prices this year," President Buz- 

 zard told the shareholders, "but should we 

 use our $800 cars and $1200 tractors as test 

 tubes to determine the value of this fuel, 

 or depend upon Service brand products 

 bought through our own company, with safe 

 standards of quality." 



Manager G. H. Foley, announced net sales 

 for the year were $356,210.50 and that 81% 

 of the business was done with Farm Bureau 

 members. Patronage dividends totaling $31,- 

 500.00 were distributed. The 1627 patron- 

 age dividend checks ranged from 3c to $213.- 

 56 and averaged $19.36. 



John Dolan of Sullivan was elected to 

 serve on the board of directors. 



28 



L A. A. RECORD 



