Julyy 1931 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Five 



Gr^in Producers View 



- — ^ New Blower at Ottawa 



-1 .• 



4'u ', 



Loading Equipment Said to Cut 

 Local Costs of Handling Grain 



GRAIN producers from a dozen cen- 

 tral and northern Illinois counties 

 gathered at Ottawa, July 2, to view the 

 Airforce blower used in loading grain 

 by the LaSalle County Co-operative 

 Grain Company. ; < ':')• 



This unique device, a new Invention 

 recently placed on the market, is a one- 

 man outfit operated by electricity. It 

 simplifies the task of loading grain In 

 cars or storing it temporarily in fire- 

 proof, steel bins mounted on cement 

 foundations. 



The Airforce equipment at Ottawa 

 includes four steel bins of 2,000 bushels 

 capacity each, a 30-horsepower motor, 

 modern scales and compressed air dump 

 for weighing and unloading the grain, 

 and the blower which is credited with 

 removing excess moisture, dirt, and 

 chaff from the grain before being ele- 

 vated into the cars or steel bins. 



A powerful steel fan operating at 

 1,675 R. P. M. blows the grain at a 

 high rate of speed through the blower 

 into the car or bin. 



E. L. "Cracker" Johnson, manager of 

 the LaSalle county co-operative, states 

 that he finds loading direct into the cars 

 is a time saver and is practical where 

 grain is moving freely. ~^^ 



2400 Bu. Per Hour 



"We made a test on our opening day 

 with a 101-bushel load of corn, blow- 

 ing it into the car in lYz minutes which 

 is at the rate of 2,400 bushels per hour," 

 he said. "Oats move somewhat slower, 

 or at the rate of about 1,600 to 1,800 

 bushels an hour. Wheat and barley can 

 be loaded somewhat faster." 



Johnson states that an old experi- 

 enced grain man from Chicago was out 

 to inspect the equipment a short time 

 ago. He made a very thorough investi- 

 gation from one end to the other. He 

 remarked that it looked to him as 

 though this loading equipment would 

 revolutionize grain handling in this 

 country. 



The advantages claimed for the Air- 

 force Conveyor Sales are: (1) No fire 

 hazard. (2) One-man operation. (3) 

 Cleans grain, eliminates dirt line in cars. 



(4) Dries and conditions damp grain. 



(5) Raises grade and test weight. (6) 

 Handles grain rapidly. (7) Handles 

 grain most economically. Ottawa plant 

 handling grain at 1 ^c per bushel. (8) 

 The nearest thing to a conditioning 

 plant that a grain producing communi- 

 ty can afford. (9) This equipment is 

 within the financial reach of practical- 

 ly every grain producing community. 



New Airforce Blower and Steel BlnM VneA In Handling Grain, by LaSalle County 



Co-Operatlve at Ottatra. 



The Airforce Conveyor Sales is not 

 sold outright. It is merely leased by the 

 company controlling the patents and 

 manufacturing. The company requires 

 an initial advance of $3,500 to show 

 the good faith of the co-operative, in- 

 dividual or company using it. This 

 $3,500, however, is to be rebated back 

 to the local organization at the rate of 

 1-8 cents per bu. of grain handled 

 after the first year of operation. 



The LaSalle County Co-Operative has 

 been handling and shipping grain at a 

 cost of 1.5 cents a bushel, divided as 

 follows: '/2 cent to the Airforce Con- 

 veyor Sales, ^ of a cent to the mana- 

 ger, who pays for his own help, light 

 and power, and Y^ cent to the LaSalle 

 County Co-Operative Company for 

 working capital, etc. Out of its half 

 cent the Airforce company rebates '/« 

 cent per bu. to the Co-Operative un- 

 til It has paid back the $3,500 orig- 

 inally invested by the local unit. All 

 expenses of upkeep, wind insurance, 

 etc., is paid by the Airforce company. 



Avoids Destructive Competition 



"We retain control of this machin- 

 ery instead of selling it outright," said 

 B. A. Shearer of the Airforce Company, 

 "so as to avoid destructive competition 

 in any community. This plan insures 

 that it will not be unprofitable for any 

 local unit using the blower to operate 

 it." 



Mr. Shearer stated that he had in- 

 vestigated average costs of handling 

 grain by country elevators. "I found 

 them to be considerably higher than the 

 1.5 cent per bu. figure." It has been 

 recommended, he said, that the loading 

 charge of local country elevators be 

 established uniformly at 2 cents per bu. 



for oats, 3 cents for corn, and 5 cents 

 for all other grains. ^ , ^„, 



"This new grain loading equipment 

 apparently has interesting possibilities," 

 commented Harrison Fahrnkopf, direc- 

 tor of grain marketing. "It may assist 

 in cutting local costs of handling grain. 

 It is important, however, that this 

 equipment be not allowed to jeopardize 

 investments of farmers in local co- 

 operative elevators. Duplication of ma- 

 chinery for handling grain at the local 

 point should be avoided. 



"The blower may well be tried out 

 at points where present facilities are in- 

 adequate for handling grain. In view 

 of present financial conditions among 

 farmers over the country, the compara- 

 tively small investment required for 

 such grain handling equipment has con- 

 siderable appeal." 



Stone Meets with 



Grain Exchange Men 



Chairman James C. Stone of the 

 Federal Farm Board met recently with 

 representatives of the big grain ex- 

 changes of the country for a confer- 

 ence on wheat. Chairman Stone an- 

 nounced that the Board would continue 

 its present policies calling for no sta- 

 bilization of the 1931 crop and the fur- 

 ther development of co-operative mar- 

 keting. 



Attending the conference were Julius 

 Barnes, grain exporter; James C. Mur- 

 ray, president, Chicago Board of Trade; 

 Fred B. Wells, B. H. Woodworth, Min- 

 neapolis Chamber of Commerce; George 

 Davis, Kansas City Exchange; James 

 Norris, Chicago; Walter McCarthy, 

 Duluth; and E. J. Peck, Omaha. 



