December f 19} 1 



THE 1. A. A. RECORD 



Page Elev99 



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M 



avTTfg lYioncy on rcea an 



How the Cook and Lake County Farm Bureaus Are Serving Their Members 



Feed and Supplies 



CO-OPERATIVE purchasing of 

 feeds and other necessary commodi- 

 cies through their local farm supply 

 companies is a project Farm Bureau 

 members in Lake and Cook counties 

 latently appreciate. 



The Lake County Farm Supply Com- 

 pany, the first to handle feed in large 

 volume, is now getting out nearly a car- 

 load a day, selling livestock feeds to 

 approximately 1,400 farmers, according 

 to A. D." Smith, manager. The Garden- 

 ers' Supply, Inc., in Cook county, still 

 m its first year of business, handles 

 about two cars of feed a month. 



Feed has been sold through the Lake 

 County Farm Supply since its organiza- 

 tion in 1928, along with fertilizer, seed, 

 potatoes, apples, fence posts, and other 

 farm supplies. About 90 per cent of 

 the Farm Bureau members are cus- 

 comers of the company. 



Handle Variety Products 



Gardeners' Supply, Inc., was set up 

 ill Cook county primarily to make it 

 possible for truck gardeners to secure 

 at cost insecticides recommended by 

 the University of Illinois, not readily 

 available locally, according to Farm Ad- 

 viser O. G. Barrett. Garden seed was 

 added later to help make the enterprise 

 pay. Truck farmers in Cook county 

 buy annually $150,000 to $200,000 

 worth of garden seed from independent 

 seed houses, Barrett said. 







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TKtCKl,0\l) or DAIIIV AMI I'OII.IICY KKKI> IIKAIIY TO UK l>i:i-l\ KIIKP 



iiY <;aiiijio.mohs' si im'i.y, cook toi ntv co-oi'i:uati\ k. 



organization had no appeal," said Bar- and Cook counties believe that a real 

 tett. service can be rendered Illinois Farm 

 "To make Gardeners' Supply go Bureau members by large volume pur- 

 along with the general educational pro- chasing and mixing of feeds on a state- 

 gram of the Farm Bureau, Joe Zick- wide basis. In normal years when farm 

 mund, a Cornell university man who prices justify the feeding of mixed 

 specialized in horticulture, was cm- grains and concentrates substantial sav- 



ployed as manager. 



Pays Out from Start 



"Our price of feed to members is 

 based upon the market price of ingrcd- 

 Later fertilizer was added, and on ients plus a fixed sum per ton to take 

 the suggestion of farm people poultry care of overhead, including milling, 

 and dairy feeds were included a short freight, and handling costs. We man- 

 time after the company began business, age to keep a little below retail prices 



ings can be made to further reduce tht 

 farmers' cost of production. 



Higher Livestock Prices 



Aim of New Sales Plan 



MACON county farmers who arc 

 shipping their livestock through 

 the Illinois Livestock Marketing Asso- 



The four main items handled now are and were still able to declare a 3 per f^\^x.\on are receiving better prices every 

 insecticides, garden seed, fertilizer, and cent patronage dividend at the end of 

 feed. Gardeners' Supply does not handle the first six months. We also set aside 



petroleum products, but many Farm 

 Bureau members in the northern part 

 of the county buy from the Lake Coun- 

 ry Supply Company. 



$2 5,000 in 6 Months 

 The audit at the end of the first six 

 months, which include the best busi- 

 ness months of the year, showed a vol- 

 ume of approximately $2 5,000 of busi- 

 ness, or twice the amount expected. 



a substantial sum for a reserve. 



"Since the Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation is not \et in a position to pur- 

 chase feed and fertilizer on a state-wide 

 basis, we find it necessary to buy 

 through the Indiana Farm Bureau. We 

 buv insecticides from Illinois Farm 

 Supply. 



Formula on Every Sack 

 'One thinsj I like about the Farm 



At the recent annual meeting of the Bureau feed is that it has its formula 



board of directors action was taken to 

 set up a second unit at Blue Island to 

 serve the south half of the county. The 

 present warehouse is at Arlington 

 Heights in the extreme northern end 

 )f the county. 



on every sack," continued Barrett. "If 

 f.itniers think they can save money by 

 buying the ingredients and mixing 

 them, we sell them the ingredients. 

 Tlu'iL is no secret about this feed." 



The Lake County Supply Company 



"This project is to be an important buys its feed from independent dealers 



tactor in increasing Farm Bureau mem- and sells at local retail prices. The 



bership in Cook county on account of profits go back to members in the form price, but that is a problem which will 

 the extensive dairy and truck farming of patronage refunds. have to be overcome by the farmerv 



interests for which many projects of the Farm Bureau leaders in both Lake themselves, Gricser said. 



week than they would have received aj> 

 individuals from any other outlet, de- 

 clares William I'ulk, manager of the 

 Macon County Marketing Association, 

 one of the member co-operatives. 



R. W. Grieser, sales manager for rht 

 state association, attributes th«s to the 

 centralized direction of shipments on 

 the basis of the latest marker informa- 

 tion r.ithcr than bv guess. Livestock 

 is directed to the market where it is in 

 greatest demand. \ 



The stock is assembled, sorted and 

 graded at the local in.uketlng associa- 

 tions and on tiie sliippnii; instruction.^ 

 of the state co-operalive is sent cither 

 direct to packers or to one of the Pro 

 ducers' agencies on the terminals. 



The organization is sometimes handi- 

 capped by lack of sufficient volume of 

 the proper grades to bring the best 



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