Page Ttuelve 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



September y 19} 1 



about 75 per cent of the state's pro- 

 duction, finds its way to market in a 

 similar manner. Five million pounds of 

 ^'Illinois butterfat has been organized in 

 the past two years. A tremendous in- 

 crease in the volume of fruit and vege- 

 tables, or approximately one-fifth (1/5) 

 of the state's production is marketed 

 co-operatively through the Illinois Fruit 

 Growers Exchange. A large volume of 

 soybeans and redtop seed is also being 

 marketed in a collective way by their 

 respective producers. Although not a 

 year old, the Illinois Grain Corporation 

 and its sales agency, the Mid-West 

 Grain Corporation, have handled more 

 than 3,200 cars of grain. 



That there is a place and need for 

 these co-operative institutions is best 

 proven by their continuing and sub- 

 stantial growth, and the many mani- 

 festations of satisfaction coming from 

 the participating members. x 



Collect $230,000 Claims - 



In recent years, claims totaling ap- 

 proximately a quarter of a miUion dol- 

 lars have been collected for farmers, 

 and in a majority of cases were claims 

 that had first been tried in the usual 

 manner, before being sent to the Asso- 

 ciation with a request for service. Near- 

 ly 1,000 of such claims were handled 

 in the past year. 



Turning from the field of marketing 

 to that of purchasing, I would merely 

 mention that more than forty million 

 dollars of legal reserve life insurance, 

 and forty-five million dollars of fire, 

 hail and windstorm insurance have been 

 purchased from companies made pos- 

 sible by the Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation and County Farm Bureaus. The 

 owners of more than 26,000 automo- 

 biles, valued at nearly seventeen million 

 dollars are protected in a like manner. 

 I can conservatively state that the ini- 

 tial and annual savings on this volume 

 of insurance would easily approximate 

 one-half million dollars. 



More to Be Done 



Something over three and one-half 

 million dollars worth of petroleum 

 products were purchased collectively in 

 the calendar year of 1930, showing a 

 saving to the Farm Bureau member pa- 

 trons of approximately $600,000. 



Should time permit, nothing would 

 please me more than to go into much 

 greater detail and to mention the many 

 activities of a general service character 

 that have been carried on and forward, 

 by and through the organization. While 

 we all are and should be proud of our 

 organization and its accomplishments, 

 yet much more remains to be done than 



has yet been accomplished. 



All of these achievements, both in the 

 field of marketing and purchasing, have 

 been made possible by the Farm Bureau 



movement of Illinois. Very little, if 

 anything, could have been accomplished 

 without the aid of a strong and militant 

 organization. While the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association and its associated 

 companies are in a strong position, yet 

 the need of the hour is for a better un- 

 derstanding on the part of its present 

 members and the enlargement of its 

 membership, that its influence and pow- 

 er may be such as to speed the day of 

 a proper solution to our many and cpn- 

 tinuing problems. /^: '':\vr-'':^. ■:■■■/')<■:'' ■'::'':':'''''^'-' 

 The farmer is bearing much more 

 than a fair share of the tax burden. 

 Nothing must be left undone to secure 

 fair treatment for those engaged in the 

 farming industry. Farmers still lack ef- 

 fective bargaining power in the sale of 

 many of their products. The farmer is 

 still receiving too small a percentage of 

 the consumer's dollar. Much must be 

 done to bring about closer adjustment 

 of American production to market de- 

 mands. Farmers are not yet receiving 

 their rightful interest in and benefits of 

 the American protective policy. These 

 problems must be solved. I know of 

 no effective way to bring about a speedy 

 and proper solution, except by farm- 

 ers speaking and acting together through 

 their organization. If our common in- 

 terests as farmers are to be protected, 

 our marketing system and economic po- 

 sition improved, we must stand and 

 work together constructively and in- 

 telligently for our mutual welfare. 



So the Buyers Don't 



Know What to Pay 



THE fact that the board of directors 

 of the Egyptian Seed Growers Ex- 

 change did not set the advance payment 

 on seed resulted in a big commotion 

 among the seed dealers, reports the Clay 

 County Farm Bureau in its recent bulle- 

 tin. "For the past two years the pool 

 advance has set the price for the dealers 

 to pay. With no advance the dealers 

 did not know what to do. The story 

 came to the Farm Bureau office recently 

 from a territory where there are few 

 pool members to the effect that the 

 local growers hoped the pool would set 

 the price so the buyers would start to 

 take their seed. 



"Some of the buyers who have been 

 in the market for years would make no 

 offer whatsoever," continues the state- 

 ment. "Other buyers started in paying 

 10 cents, dropped to nine, and later on 

 to eight and seven. One member of 

 the Exchange said he hoped the buyers 

 would get their price down to two 

 cents per pound and perhaps the fellows 

 outside the pool this year would be glad 

 to get in next year. 



"Last year was one year when pool 

 members got more for their seed than 



Iroquois Boys and Girls 



See Sights in Chicago 



THIRTY-FIVE boyi, girls and lead- 

 ers from the 4-H Clubs of Iroquois 

 county visited the I. A. A. offices on 

 August 25 in charge of George T. 

 Swaim, former farm adviser in Ford 

 county. Local leaders Raymond R. 

 Meents and Eddie Lafond also accom- 

 panied the club members. 



Representatives from Stockland, Shel- 

 don, Loda, Buckley, Gilman-Danforth, 

 Ashkum and Donovan Clubs were in the 

 party. They came primarily to attend 

 the auction of their baby beef calves at 

 the Union Stock Yards. The boys and 

 girls were guests of the Chicago Pro- 

 ducers' Commission Association, and of 

 Swift & Company, where they were 

 treated to luncheon. 



Commenting upon the visit to the 

 I. A. A. offices, Mr. Swaim wrote: "Sev- 

 eral members expressed surprise at the 

 number of projects carried on and the 

 evident efficiency with which the mem- 

 ber's money is being spent. From the 

 I. A. A. offices the tour led through the 

 offices of the subsidiary companies and 

 then out to the lake. The view of Lake 

 Michigan and the big fountain in Grant 

 Park were of great interest to most of 

 the group. 



"Riding in the fast elevators was a 

 new experience to some of the young 

 folks. Leaving the 12th floor of the 

 Transportation building where the I. 

 A. A. and subsidiaries occupy the whole . 

 floor, a great whoop went up when the 

 elevator operator put on speed for their 

 benefit." 



16 Townships Play 



Ball, McLean Picnic 



Teams from 16 townships in McLean 

 county competed in the soft-ball tour- 

 nament at the annual picnic of the 

 Farm Bureau and Home Bureau at Mil- 

 ler Park, Bloomington, on Saturday, 

 September 5. 



Larry Williams and Vernon Vaniman 

 who debated the question: "Resolved, 

 That Farmers Are Not Ready for Co- 

 operative Marketing," featured the af- 

 ternoon program. 



L. E. Tanner of Anchor, an officer in 

 the State Horseshoe Pitchers' Associa- 

 tion, managed the barnyard golf con- 

 test. 



the fellows outside. It is true that some 

 non-members got as much as pool mem- 

 bers. The pool members received 18 

 cents per pound. It is estimated that 

 the average non-member received be- 

 tween 15 and 16 cents per pound for 

 his seed. Just ask one of the 18-cent 

 boys what he thinks of co-operative 

 marketing." i ' ^ v i; ■• 



