April, 1932 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Seven 



> 





Farm Bureaus Succeed 



In Getting Tax Cuts 



Tax Committees Vigilant in Reduc- 

 ing Burden on Farm Property 



REDUCTIONS in taxes on farm 

 lands are being reported from a 

 great many counties following the com- 

 pletion of tax bills by county clerks. In 

 almost every county the reductions can 

 be traced directly to the efforts of Farm 

 Bureau tax committees to adjust assess- 

 ments on farm lands and property in 

 line with present values. f 



Farmers in Sangamon county will 

 this year pay $202,431 less taxes on 

 land than they paid in 1931. In addi- 

 tion there has been a reduction of ap- 

 proximately $9,000 in the personal 

 property tax levied in the rural town- 

 ships. 



Save $60 on 160 A. 



"The reduction in taxes to be paid 

 in 1932 was secured entirely through 

 the action of the Farm Bureau and the 

 co-operation of certain public officials," 

 says the February issue of the Sangamo 

 Farmer. "Provided no further reduc- 

 tions are secured, the saving to farm 

 owners will average approximately $60 

 per 160 acre farm this year, or about 

 $240 in the next four years." 



Farmers in Marshall and Putnam 

 counties are highly pleased with the re- 

 sults obtained by tax committees of the 

 Farm Bureau, according to local reports. 

 Following the report of these commit- 

 tees to the boards of supervisors in the 

 respective counties, assessed valuation 

 of land in both counties was reduced. 

 In Putnam county the chief reduction 

 was on the rougher lands; in Marshall 

 county the valuation was reduced 25 

 per cent. Several of the levies were also 

 lowered following the reduced valua- 

 tion. Some actual savings reported in 

 Marshall county are as follows: $68.89 

 saved on 200 acres, $67.2 5 on 160 

 acres; and $100 on 300 acres. 



25% Cut in McLean 



The McLean County Farm Bureau 

 News comments upon tax reductions as 

 follows: 



"For more than ten years the Farm 

 Bureau has been waging a fight in Mc- 

 Lean county with the help of the Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Association to secure 

 lower valuations on farm lands. In 

 1931 an approximate reduction of 25 

 per cent in valuation was secured. 



"Valuations on farm land in McLean 

 county were $59,616,665 in 1930. On 

 a basis of board of review final figures 

 for 1931, land values were $45,273,336. 

 This is a reduction in land valuations 

 of $14,343,329. 



"The state tax is 39 cents on $100 

 valuations. The reduction on valuations 

 of farm land of $14,343,329 multiplied 

 by the state tax rate of 39 cents makes 

 a saving in state tax on McLean county 

 lands of $5 5,938.98 this year. Each 

 school district has a separate problem 

 with respect to other taxes. We are 

 informed, however, that the reduction 

 in total taxes on farm lands this year 

 averages 30 to 60 cents per acre." 



Baseball League to 



Open on May 14 



More than 50 Farm Bureau baseball 

 representatives from some 20 counties 

 gathered at Bloomington, March 24, for 

 the spring meeting of the Illinois Farm 

 Bureau Baseball League. 



Lake, Kane, and possibly DuPage 

 counties, plan to enter teams in the 

 League this year for the first time. The 

 executive committee was authorized to 

 revise the plan for redistricting the 

 counties to provide for all teams de- 

 siring to play. Official play is scheduled 

 to begin Saturday, May 14. Playing 

 rules adopted are similar to those fol- 

 lowed last year. 



County Service Connpanies 

 Announce Cash Dividends 



LaSalle Grain Co-Op. 



Making Good Progress 



THE LaSalle County Co-Operative 

 Grain Company during its first 

 eight months of operation handled 94 

 cars of grain, according to the annual 

 report of Manager 

 E. L. Johnson. Every 

 car of grain shipped 

 was handled through 

 the Illinois Grain 

 Corporation and the 

 Farmers National. 



The last sixteen 

 cars of old corn 

 shipped graded No. 

 1. During the same 

 period about eight 

 per cent of the corn 

 inspected at the Chi- 

 cago market graded No. 1. Other grain 

 likewise graded higher than the bulk of 

 the market. Johnson believes that this 

 co-operative company is getting more 

 money for the grain it handles because 

 it is equipped with modern machinery 

 for handling and cleaning grain, which 

 is largely responsible for improving the 

 grade. 



Based on the volume of grain handled 

 during the first eight months, the com- 

 pany expects to handle between 250,- 

 000 and 3 50,000 bushels when they 

 have completed their twelve-month pe- 

 riod. 



E. L. Johnson 



During its second fiscal year, the Lee 

 County Service Company had 1,040 

 customers, 5 50 of which were Farm 

 Bureau members, it was reported at the 

 annual meeting of the company at Am- 

 boy March 10. 



Preferred stock dividends of 7 per 

 cent were paid prior to the annual 

 meeting, and an 8 per cent patronage 

 dividend has been announced for Farm 

 Bureau members in good standing who 

 patronized the company during the 

 year. The company operates four bulk 

 storage stations located at Franklin 

 Grove, Harmon, Amboy, and Compton. 



Twenty-five members of the Effing- 

 ham County Produce Association re- 

 ceived refunds of $5 or more at the 

 annual meeting of the association 

 March 5. Two members received more 

 than $25, one between $20 and $25, 

 seven between $15 and $20, five be- 

 tween $10 and $15, and ten between 

 $5 and $10. The refund amounts to 

 4'/2 cents per pound of butterfat sold 

 by Farm Bureau-Produce Association 

 members between July 7 and December 

 31, 1931, and 2^ cents per pound sold 

 by non-Farm Bureau members who are 

 members of the Produce Association. 



Sweet Cream Butter 



Brings Most Money 



If Illinois butterfat were sold on 

 grade, three grades would likely be es- 

 tablished as follows: 



A. sweet, 



B. No. 1 sour, 



C. No. 2 sour. 

 Investigations show that on the aver- 

 age Illinois produces 13 5/2% of sweet 

 cream, 45 Yz 7c of No. 1 sour and 41% 

 of No. 2 sour. Taking a four year av- 

 erage, butter made out of sweet cream 

 is worth 1 '/2C more than butter made 

 from No. 1 sour cream, while butter 

 made from No. 2 sour cream is worth 

 3 '/^c less than butter made from No. 

 1 sour and 4^c less than butter made 

 from sweet cream. 



These figures prove quite conclusive- 

 ly that producers of high quality cream 

 are penalized severely when they get no 

 more for their product than the pro- 

 ducer of No. 2 sour cream. Stated in 

 dollars, the average producer of sweet 

 cream takes annually about $20 less 

 for his butterfat than it is actually 

 worth, while the poor producer gets 

 from $20 to $25 more than he is en- 

 titled to. Co-operative produce mar- 

 keting should correct this injustice. 



