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THE CARROLLTON FARMERS ELEVATOR 

 20 years old. up-to-date and successiul. 



II 



A Cooperative That Made Good 



The Story of the CarroUton Farmers Elevator Co. 

 of Greene County 



)ORN was selling for $1.50 and 

 wheat for $2.17 a bushel when 



the CarroUton Farmers Elevator 



Company was organized in 1919. That 

 was a lush year! The co-op stock, at 

 $100 a share, sold well. A $30,000 plant 

 of concrete and steel with a capacity of 

 I 30,000 bushels was erected. 



^ Then came the 1920's. Corn plumped 



to 40 cents, wheat to 95. Many a lesser 

 co-op wilted. But the CarroUton com- 

 pany, with its roots deep in a cooperative- 

 minded membership, stood firm. 



Men who saw the co-op through were 

 the founders, Faulkner Barnes and O. T. 

 Pearl, deceased ; Howard Nelson, retired ; 

 N. J. Kirback, now president; Oscar 

 Combrink, vice-president; Robert T. 

 Black, secretary-treasurer. They relied on 

 good business organization and methods, 

 conservative handling of finances and the 

 cooperative spirit of members and em- 

 ployees in those trying times. Other 

 members of the present board are Her- 

 man Thien, Elmer Garrison and E. U. 

 Shannon. 



Located in the heart of a cattle-feeding 

 and wheat-growing area, the elevator 

 draws grain from a radius of six miles. 

 Unusual for a com belt grain house, 

 com is bought both locally and from other 

 elevators to supply retail demands. For 

 13 of its 20 years, the CarroUton Co-op 

 has shipped in com to supply local trade. 



Wheat is the major grain. The amount 

 handled varies from 80,000 bushels in 

 years of low yields to 120,000 in good 

 years. In 1937, the co-op sold 140,000 

 bushels of wheat, 33,500 of corn, 20,- 

 000 of oats and 2300 of soybeans. This 

 was a gain in total volume of 83,000 

 bushels as compared to 1936 the short 

 crop year, when two men were kept busy 



hauling in com to meet feeders' demands. 

 In general, the co-op is as much a sup- 

 ply house for patrons as it is a market for 



HEAVY RETAIL SALES 

 Coal and Blue Seal Feeds ore maioi 

 items, keep five employees busy. 



CONFERENCE 

 President Kirback. leit. and Manager 

 Howard have worked together 20 years. 



surplus grain. Blue Seal supplements and 

 concentrates as well as com and oats are 

 retailed. Many patrons buy grains and 

 supplements and have them ground and 

 mixed by the elevator. This service is 

 a great asset to the co-op because it is 

 used by increasing numbers of patrons. 



Five steady employees, in addition to 

 Manager Floyd Howard, are required to 

 handle 200,000-bushel annual volume of 

 grain plus the heavy retail and sideline 

 business. Other supplies handled are 

 coal, twine, seed and salt. 



In 1919, Floyd Howard was the only 

 assistant. Five years later he became man- 

 ager and moved into the house next door 

 which is owned by the co-op. Floyd is 

 justly proud of the equipment his direc- 

 tors have given him to work with. About 

 a year ago, the company bought an old 

 elevator across the street. They wredced 

 it and built a concrete seed house and a 

 com crib on the site. Although a com 

 sheller was installed in the main plant 

 when it was built, it has been used but 

 little. With the new crib the sheller is 

 likely to get a thorough workout. 



Looking back over the 15 years he has 

 worked with the farmers who own the 

 CarroUton Farmers Elevator Company, 

 Manager Howard said: 



"Our directors have always taken an 

 active interest in the business. They hold 

 regular meetings every three months and 

 go over things very thoroughly. They 

 have never permitted the stock to accum- 

 ulate in the hands of a few nor has the 

 company bought its own stock. 



"The company is a member of Illinois 

 Grain Corporation and markets all its 

 grain cooperatively. We sell all our wheat 

 on the St. Louis market because that is a 

 better soft wheat market than Chicago. 

 We are also members of the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Auditing Association. Our direc- 

 tors like the auditing service because it 

 helps point the way to sound business 

 management." 



Business principles work in a co-op? 

 Look at the record. In 1938 the net 

 profit was $8,200 or 27.33 per cent of the 

 $30,000 invested in the plant. — Larry 

 Potter. 



GRINDER 

 Grinding and mixing ieeda boosts re- 

 tail grain and feed sales. 





