242 AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT 



livestock to the agency. In 1924, the Farmers' Unions of Nebraska, Kansas, 

 and Iowa, the Missouri Farmers' Association, and the Missouri Farm 

 Bureau joined forces with the Nebraska Union to operate the firm, and 

 still other state groups joined later. By 1926 the number of shippers who 

 made use of the agency was placed at 8,000, representing no less than 

 200 local associations. 54 



A third agency, the Farmers' Union Live Stock Commission, was 

 established by the Nebraska Union in 1918 at Sioux City, Iowa. As hap- 

 pened elsewhere, a number of other organizations soon entered into an 

 agreement to operate the Sioux City firm jointly. These associates in- 

 cluded the Farmers' Unions of Nebraska, South Dakota, and Iowa, the 

 national Farmers' Union, and the Farmers' Cooperative Society of Sioux 

 Center, Iowa. As a result of the cooperative, the commission rates at Sioux 

 City were reduced by 1925 to about one-third the former charges. Over 

 the period 1924-26, the Sioux City house handled more than 500,000 head 

 of livestock, valued approximately at from $12,000,000 to $16,600,000. This 

 business represented between n and 12 per cent of the total receipts at 

 Sioux City in each of the three years. In 1926, the company had about 

 8,000 shippers. An attempt was also made to operate a house in Sioux 

 Falls, but this was short-lived. 55 



The business activities of the Kansas Farmers' Union also were among 

 the most prominent in Union circles. The total business operations were 

 placed, in 1921, at about $300,000,000. The Kansas Union's activities in- 

 cluded 600 cooperative elevators, 200 retail stores, and 300 cream and 

 produce stations a total of 1,100 enterprises with a combined capital 

 of $i5,ooo,ooo. 58 



There were five district organizations affiliated with the Kansas Union: 

 the livestock commission, the jobbing association, the auditing associa- 

 tion, the hail insurance company, and the fire insurance company. The 

 jobbing association held a membership in the Kansas City Board of 

 Trade and the livestock commission in the Kansas City Livestock Ex- 

 change. According to Union officials, the profits and savings realized by 

 these associations totaled about $30,000,000 over a period of thirteen years. 

 The 1,100 local cooperative enterprises fell into four categories: produce 



54. Ibid., p. 50. 55. Ibid., p. 52. 



56. Oklahoma Union Farmer, June 15, 1922. 



