August, 1931 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Eleven 



More for Butterf at 



_ More than 6 J co-operative produce 

 associations or cream pools have im- 

 proved and equalized local butterfat 

 prices throughout Illinois, In many lo- 

 calities local butterfat prices were raised 

 3 to 5 cents per pound following this 

 organized effort. The big job ahead for 

 these co-operative units is to get Illi- 

 nois cream producers to turn out a 

 higher quality product so Illinois butter 

 may compete with the high quality 

 butter coming from the states to the 

 north. 



The Illinois Fruit Growers Exchange 

 during the past nine years has done 

 more to advertise and standardize Illi- 

 nois peaches, apples and other fruits 

 and vegetables than had been done in 

 the previous fifty years. 



Now Grain Marketing 



Illinois farmers have worked hard 

 against bitter opposition in getting their 

 co-operative grain marketing agencies 

 established in the terminal markets. 

 Their early efforts in this field never 

 got past the organization stage, but 

 today it is a different story. Illinois 

 farmers now have their own selling 

 agency, the Illinois Grain Corporation, 

 in which more than 70 local farmers' 

 elevators and co-operative grain com- 

 panies are co-operating. Still less than 

 a year old this terminal co-operative 

 affiliated with the National Grain Cor- 

 poration handled more than 3,000,000 

 bushels of grain in its first six months 

 of operation. 



Farmers are determined to give co- 

 operative marketing of grain a fair trial 

 and judge for themselves whether or 

 not organized selling can produce bene- 

 fits in this as in other commodities. 



Farmers Are Represented 



Today the Illinois farmer is as well 

 represented before legislative and rate- 

 making bodies as other organized groups. 

 When rate increases or other regulations 

 are proposed the Commerce Commission 

 hears the farmer's side of the case from 

 his own representatives. There has never 

 been a major increase in freight rates in 

 Illinois since the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association began operating on its pres- 

 ent basis in 1919. There have been a 

 number of important reductions to save 

 farmers thousands of dollars on their 

 freight bills. Had the Commerce Com- 

 mission granted the increase in live- 

 stock rates asked by the railroads two 



years ago which the I. A. A. vigorously 

 opposed, freight charges to Illinois ship- 

 pers would have been increased about 

 $500,000 annually. ± ■: -- v. ' 



Hundreds of right-of-way, power 

 line, telephone, and rate questions were 

 handled by the Association last year. 

 Settlements made for the use of land 

 in several power line and pipe line cases 

 returned thousands of dollars to farm- 

 ers above what they would have re- 

 ceived without organized representation. 

 Loss and damage and other claims col- 

 lected by the I. A. A. Transportation 

 Department since 1920 have aggregated 

 $218,812.79. Aoproximately 1,000 such 

 claims were handled in 1930 alone. 



Organized Purchasing Helps 



Reducing the costs of needed services 

 and commodities through organized buy- 

 ing has been an outstanding achieve- 

 ment of Illinois Farm Bureau members. 

 A saving of $500,000 annually by farm- 

 ers who use their own mutual insurance 

 companies is a conservative estimate of 

 how farmers have benefited from this 

 service. •., . ^ ,, ■.■ 



In the companies organized by or 

 with the aid of the I. A. A., there was 

 in force July 1, 1931, $42,500,000 of 

 life insurance, $43,000,000 of fire, hail, 

 and windstorm insurance, and approxi- 

 mately 26,000 cars and trucks valued 

 at more than $16,75 0,000. The life in- 

 surance service saved its policyholders 

 more than $2 50,000 on the initial cost 

 alone, in addition to the liberal divi- 

 dends declared one year earlier than 

 the contracts provide. An additional 

 $200,000 is saved by I. A. A. auto in- 

 surance policyholders based on current 

 rates in effect in the next low cost 

 state-wide company. This means an 

 annual saving of $13.53 to Farm Bu- 

 reau members on a full coverage policy 

 on a low-priced car. Farmers are pro- 

 tecting their crops against hail at a 

 third less than the going rates chajrged 

 by private agencies — saving $10 per 

 $1,000. 



$38.68 Per Member 

 With the advent of power-driven 

 machinery, the farmer has become a 

 large buyer of petroleum products. Here 

 also co-operation has been turned to 

 good account. Farm Bureau members 

 are saving through organized buying of 

 gasoline, kerosene, lubricating oils and 

 greases hundreds of thousands of dollars 

 annually, while getting superior prod- 

 ucts^bbught on their own specifications 

 to meet their special needs. 



The McLean County Farm Bureau 

 reports that 1,5 80 county Farm Bureau 

 members last year received patronage 

 refund checks representing savings on 

 their gasoline and oil bills averaging 

 $38.68 per member — a total of $64,000 

 — more than twice the cost of the Farm 



Bureau in that county. 



Savings to members on purchases of 

 agricultural limestone, rock phosphate, ' 

 hog cholera serum, home vaccination, 

 and other commodities and services 

 which influence the cost of production 

 need only be mentioned. The individual 

 counsel of the farm adviser in pro- 

 duction problems, the many and varied 

 projects including 4-H clubs, social and 

 recreational activities are benefits some f 

 members would not do without. ''■■, 



The Problems Ahead 



While organized effort has paid big 

 returns on the investment, some of the 

 most vexing problems lie ahead. Price 

 inequalities, excessive distribution costs 

 remain with us. The need for tax 

 reform, for replacing the antiquated 

 general property tax with a system of 

 taxation based on ability to pay is every- 

 where recognized. That the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association has brought this 

 question to the fore in Illinois is a 

 tribute to the constructive efforts of 

 organized farmers. Some day taxation 

 based on incomes will be the accepted 

 plan for deriving revenue to operate 

 governments here as it is in more pro-^ 

 gressive states and countries. Ability to , 

 pay will be the yard stick for exacting 

 taxes. When that day comes the Illi- 

 nois farmer along with owners of real 

 estate in town and city who bear 80 to 

 90 per cent of the tax load will be re- 

 lieved of a grievous and unfair burden. 



The answer to the question, "Is farm 

 organization worth the cost?" is given 

 by farmers themselves. In one day last 

 June nearly 1,700 McLean county farm- 

 ers indicated their satisfaction with their 

 organization by renewing their Farm 

 Bureau memberships for a new three- 

 year period. Similar records were made 

 in DeKalb, Tazewell, LaSalle, and scores 

 of other counties. Illinois farmers are 

 proud of their organization and what it 

 has done -for them. They have stood by 

 it when corn was 3 5 cents a bushel, 

 wheat 40 cents, and hogs $6. They will 

 continue to do so because they know 

 they are living in a world of organi- 

 zation where one man can do nothing 

 alone. 



W. L. Cope, I. A. A. director 

 from the 23 rd district, represented 

 the Illinois Agricultural Associa- 

 tion at the annual meeting of the 

 Egyptian Seed Growers' Exchange 

 at Flora on July 14. 



