CHAPTER II 



FUNDAMENTALS IN COOPERATION 



UNDER present economic conditions in America, it is a 

 fundamental principle that a successful industrial organi- 

 zation among farmers must be founded on a special in- 

 dustry, such as cotton, tobacco, milk, butter, poultry, 

 small fruits, truck crops, peaches, apples, or citrus fruits. 

 Farmers who produce general farm crops for which there 

 is a steady demand and a ready market do not always 

 have a common motive for holding together, especially 

 if they are fairly prosperous. If they can sell their prod- 

 uce without difficulty, or do not have to develop special 

 markets or marketing systems, they may be satisfied with 

 conditions as they are. Up to the present time, it has 

 not been possible for American farmers who grow a num- 

 ber of general farm crops to organize for business purposes 

 except in rare instances to supply local markets. The 

 marketing of each product follows well-established lines 

 and these are firmly intrenched in the hands of established 

 marketing agencies, with which few organization managers 

 have sufficient experience or skill to compete. 



On the other hand, the special industries like those 

 mentioned in the preceding paragraph have to meet 

 special problems of production, of crop handling, and of 

 marketing. In a special industry, the risk is greater, the 

 stake is larger, the attraction is for men with more than 



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