Page Twelve 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



March, 193S 



Livestock Growers Plan Expansion 



OfRcers Discuss Marketing Trends and Problems in Annual Meeting, Bloomington 



SAM SORRELLS 



CONTINUED expansion with co- 

 ordination of all co-operative 

 livestock marketing agencies in and 

 adjacent to Illinois were emphasized 

 as the goal for 1933 at the annual 

 meeting of the Illinois Live Stock 

 Marketing Association, Blooming- 

 ton, February 14, More than 300 

 livestock growers 

 representing all 

 sections of the 

 state gathered 

 for the meeting 

 held in the Mc- 

 Lean County 

 Farm Bureau au- 

 ditorium. Presi- 

 dent Samuel Sor- 

 rells, of Raymond, 

 presided. 



How the tre- 

 mendous increase 

 in the movement 

 of livestock to 

 market by truck has affected mar- 

 keting machinery was outlined in 

 the annual report of Ray E. Miller, 

 secretary and manager of the Asso- 

 ciation. During the year 1932 there 

 were three outstanding develop- 

 ments, he reported, which include: 

 (1) increase in trucking and 

 further decrease in rates charged 

 by truck, (2) increase in the direct 

 movement of livestock to packers 

 and (3) a continued decline in the 

 price of farm products with a cor- 

 responding effect upon economic 

 conditions of Illinois farmers. 



Truck Rates Cut 



The decline of truck rates to a 

 point where they are now in many 

 instances lower than rail rates, and 

 the convenience of truck trans- 

 portation, have eliminated most of 

 the remaining livestock shipping 

 associations and promoted an enor- 

 mous increase in the direct move- 

 ment of hogs to packers. Miller 

 said. As a result, the marketing of 

 hogs has been decentralized and 

 country buyers, whether private or 

 packer representatives, are again 

 playing one producer against the 

 other in driving down prices. 



High freight rates as well as ex- 

 orbitant costs which farmers are 

 compelled to pay for corn, yardage, 

 and commissions are among the 

 chief reasons for the increase in 

 the direct movement of livestock. 

 "The only substantial relief of these 

 costs which farmers have been able 

 to secure at all have been secured 

 as a result of co-operative com- 

 mission agencies which either have 

 reduced commissions, refunded 

 substantial parts of commissions, 

 or increased and improved the serv- 



ices which their members received," 

 Miller continued. 



"The net result of this decentral- 

 ization of marketing has been to 

 throw one community in competi- 

 tion with another, one state in 

 competition with another state, and 

 one part of our marketing system 

 in competition with another part. 

 While the terminal market is seek- 

 ing to stabilize prices on a satisfac- 

 tory basis, the disorganized move- 

 ment from many country points 

 exerts continued bearish pressure. 

 We are still depending on the ter- 

 minal markets for our price deter- 

 mining machinery but are doing 

 nothing or very little to protect 

 them. 



"The Illinois Live Stock Market- 

 ing Association was established to 

 give livestock growers the highest 

 price to be obtained for the partic- 

 ular kind of livestock they have to 

 offer at the time they wish to sell. 

 And in doing so the Association is 

 correlating the movement and sale 

 of livestock from country points 

 with the operations of co-operative 

 sales agencies on terminal markets. 

 Under present conditions both 

 parts of this marketing machinery 

 are essential and will be a perma- 

 nent part of the marketing or- 

 ganization." 



In a little more than a year the 

 Association gained from an initial 

 membership of four units in Ver- 

 milion, Macon, Shelby and Iroquois 

 counties to eight units now operat- 

 ing in the above counties and in 

 Edgar, Knox, McDonough, and 

 Coles. The ninth, at Bloomington, 

 McLean county, will probably be in 

 operation by April 1. Individual 

 membership increased since Octo- 

 ber, 1931 from 950 to 4,379. Seven 

 district units marketed 2,033 decks 

 of livestock during the year 1932 or 

 an average of 169 decks per month. 

 Vermilion county led with 460, 

 Macon 389, McDonough 348, Gales- 

 burg 302, Shelby 271, Iroquois 199, 

 and Edgar county 61. More than 

 three -fourths of the livestock han- 

 dled in the co-operative concentra- 

 tion points consisted of hogs. 



More Volume Needed ' - ■ 



"The one factor which has the 

 most to do with the service to be 

 rendered by the Illinois Live Stock 

 Marketing Association is volume," 

 Miller said. "A particularly fertile 

 field for increased shipments co- 

 operatively lies in the Farm Bureau 

 membership itself. Many Farm Bu- 

 reau members who thoroughly be- 

 lieve in that organization and who 

 are consistent patrons of the insur- 



ance and oil companies, have not 

 yet given their wholehearted sup- 

 port to the co-operative marketing 

 of their livestock which accounts 

 for nearly two-thirds of total Illi- 

 nois farm income. 



"With the support of more pro- 

 ducers the Association can render 

 the highest type of marketing serv- 

 ice and can be a powerful factor 

 in helping to raise country prices 

 for livestock and support the co- 

 operative commission agencies on 

 the terminal markets." 



President Sorrells Speaks 



"Disintegration of livestock ship- 

 ping associations, rapid expansion 

 of direct marketing, the need for 

 better contact between the individ- 

 ual producer and the co-operative 

 selling agencies on the terminal 

 markets, and mounting marketing 

 costs all have pointed the way to' 

 the need for more complete or- 

 ganization in the country," said 

 President Sorrells in opening the 

 meeting. "Our units, commonly 

 called co-operative concentration 

 points, make available more fre- 

 quent and regular shipping service, 

 make possible home grading of 

 livestock and shipment in graded 

 loads of one species, effect savings 

 in freight costs by the use of 

 double-de-^k equipment and reduc- 

 tion of mixed shipments, reduce 

 losses from dead and crippled stock, 

 decrease competition between small 

 shipping associations, and make 

 possible the full-time employment 

 of men trained and experienced in 

 grading and marketing livestock. 



"The organization of the State 

 Marketing Association is merely a 

 step toward consolidating what's 

 left of some 500 local shipping as- 

 sociations which existed at one time 

 in Illinois," said Mr. Sorrells. "Live- 

 stock growers know that imder the 

 old marketing system the tendency 

 always has been toward higher 

 marketing costs until co-operative 

 agencies entered the field. More re- 

 cently the grower has learned that 

 he can provide marketing service 

 for the same cost or less and build 

 up a surplus or reserve for future 

 needs. 



"In developing our organization 

 we must recognize that direct mar- 

 keting is here to stay. We must also 

 recognize that the terminal mar- 

 kets are playing and will continue 

 to play a highly important part in" 

 determining price levels. Any mar- 

 keting system which attempts to 

 move all livestock direct is ill con- 

 sidered and weak, and will not pro- 



(Continued on page 13, Col. 3) 



: 



