Cooperatives and Small Woodlands 



185 



The Farmer's Federation has been suc- 

 cessful in its program of forest-man- 

 agement education. It has worked 

 closely with public foresters and has 

 sponsored forward-looking programs. 



COOPERATIVE STORES are independ- 

 ent associations that, incidentally to 

 other business, sell forest products for 

 members and, at times, for non- 

 members. They have not concerned 

 themselves with the methods used in 

 harvesting forest products. They have 

 obtained better prices for members 

 than individuals could command, but 

 the results have been overcutting and 

 liquidation of the forest resource. 



The Rock Cooperative Co., Inc., of 

 Rock, Mich., was organized in 1913 to 

 sell agricultural products and to buy 

 merchandise. Later the cooperative 

 also undertook to market forest prod- 

 ucts and to do processing. The venture 

 was successful in marketing agricul- 

 tural products. The forest products 

 were marketed satisfactorily, but be- 

 cause no plan was made to provide for 

 sustained-yield management, the co- 

 operative has virtually cut itself out of 

 forest products. The cooperative sold 

 $265,613 worth of logs and pulpwood 

 in 1930, but sales in 1943, a war year, 

 were only $21,000. 



THE INDEPENDENT marketing co- 

 operative is the type most frequently 

 organized. Such cooperatives have 

 been formed primarily for collective 

 marketing of the forest products pro- 

 duced by members who are encour- 

 aged to follow approved logging and 

 forestry practices. 



They have enjoyed a degree of suc- 

 cess in getting forestry practiced by 

 members. The degree has been limited 

 because none of the cooperatives has 

 reached an impressive proportion of 

 the woodland owners in the area it 

 serves. Such a cooperative has the ad- 

 vantage of low cost of organization and 

 operation. Members usually have a 

 unity of purpose as a local organiza- 

 tion, dealing with a few similar prod- 

 ucts and problems. 



The small independent forest coop- 

 eratives have found the going rough 

 in times of good markets for stumpage. 

 In such periods, the strong stimulus of 

 a marketing service has been needed 

 less. Because they are small, they often 

 lack financial stability and cannot af- 

 ford the services of a skilled, full-time 

 manager. They find it difficult to main- 

 tain interest of members during pe- 

 riods between timber harvests. Several 

 have been organized without adequate 

 preparation. Not all of the small asso- 

 ciations that are now inactive have 

 failed. Several have suspended opera- 

 tions during the period when markets 

 are good enough to make this service 

 of less current interest. These dormant 

 associations expect to operate again 

 "when times are right." 



This type of cooperative will prob- 

 ably continue to be the most popular 

 in this country. It should be pointed 

 out, however, that the success of the 

 small forest cooperative is sensitive to 

 the degree of knowledge its members 

 have of its objectives and their appre- 

 ciation of the value of sound forest 

 management; and it depends on their 

 willingness to participate actively in 

 the work of the cooperative. 



The West Virginia Forest Products 

 Association, for example, was estab- 

 lished in 1937 to furnish complete for- 

 est-management service to its members, 

 many of whom are nonresidents. The 

 association has tried to relieve owners 

 of the many responsibilities of forest- 

 land ownership, and especially the 

 technical aspects of managing forest 

 lands. The services offered include 

 inventorying, marking and selling tim- 

 ber, and supervising cutting opera- 

 tions. Intensive management practices 

 are followed and cutting is based upon 

 sustained-yield principles. The associa- 

 tion has made a healthy growth. Dur- 

 ing the year ended October 1945, the 

 cooperative managed 30,000 acres of 

 forest land bearing 100 million board 

 feet of timber. It sold more than a mil- 

 lion feet of saw timber at a fee of about 

 $1 per thousand. Plans for the future 

 include the ownership of some manu- 



