I. A. A. RECORD— Deceiiiber. 1983 



15 



.- ,♦ 



Producers Can Get 



More of Consumer $ 



:::^K!'..i Dollar :.:*v:p: 



Program For A. F. B. F. 



Annual Convention 



by Frank Gougler 



FIGURES released by the United 

 States Department of Agricul- 

 ture show that the gross farm 

 income for 1932 was only slightly over 

 five billion dollars. Yet it reported 

 that the consumer paid fifteen billion 

 dollars for these same commodities 

 for which the farmers received five 

 billion dollars. In other words, there 

 now exists a spread of 200% between 



butter at the end of the year than 

 was anticipated. 



It is of interest to note what co- 

 operative creameries in adjoining 

 states where conditions are no differ- 

 ent than here in Illinois have ac- 

 complished over a period of years. 

 Reports from two creameries located 

 in Indiana furnish interesting in- 

 formation as follows: 



I 



what the farmer receives for his prod- 

 ucts and what the consumer pays. 



Every farmer knows that this 

 spread is entirely too wide and that 

 it should be narrowed. Experience 

 proves that the most effective way to 

 correct this situation is through co- 

 operative effort. Individually the farm- 

 er can in no way correct this situa- 

 tion — collectively he can. 



In order to improve the situation 

 for Illinois farmers in the sale of 

 butterfat, a state-wide plan for 

 establishing co-operative creameries 

 was launched a year ago. Creameries 

 are now operating in the Rock Island 

 district, the Peoria district and the 

 Bloomington district. Others are be- 

 ing organized in the Champaign dis- 

 trict, Olney district, Mt. Sterling 

 district and Carbondale district. Each 

 of these co-operatives now being or- 

 ganized must raise $30,000 cash for 

 equipping the creamery plant. The 

 Champaign district is nearing its goal 

 in the raising of this amount of 

 money. 



Our plants now operating at Rock 

 Island, Peoria and Bloomington, have 

 not operated a year; therefore, it is 

 not possible to give information as 

 to their accomplishment, except to 

 say that they will process far more 

 • ;"** ... ,;■:. ; 



Figured on a poundage basis for the 

 above two creameries, the value of 

 these refunds amounts to 3.3c per 

 pound. But, this does not represent 

 all of the gains. The Crawfordsville 

 plant with equipment is today valued 

 at $110,000, all of which is paid for 

 except $2,000. This value represents 

 another cent per pound butterfat. The 

 total gain then amounts to 4.3c per 

 pound gain thru co-operative effort. 

 Suppose we apply this gain to the en- 

 tire butterfat production in Illinois, 

 which is over 50 million lbs. annually. 

 Fifty million pounds times 4.3c per 

 lb. amounts to $2,150,000 additional 

 income which may be gained by Illi- 

 nois producers through the efficient 

 operation of their own plants. Look- 

 ing at it from another angle, it 

 should be noted that the refunds re- 

 ported above amount to more than 

 enough to finance the initial cost of 

 establishing a co-operative creamery 

 once each year during the period these 

 plants have been operating. 



One of the major factors in the 

 200% spread between the price the 

 producer receives and the consumer 

 pays is large profits made on farm 

 products after they leave the pro- 

 ducer. The way to get some of these 

 profits is to take the commodity a step 

 or two nearer to the consumer. 



Earl C. Smith, A. R. Wright and 

 Geo. F. Tullock are the three voting 

 delegates of Illinois to the American 

 Farm Bureau Federation convention, 

 Chicago, December 11-12-13. Alter- 

 nates are Charles S. Black, C. E. 

 Bamborough and Samuel Sorrells, all 

 members of the I. A. A. board. The 

 entire board is expected to attend the 

 convention. 



-" This year's meeting, according to 

 President Edward A. O'Neal, will 

 feature the agricultural adjustment 

 program, farm credits, and taxation. 

 Speakers will include Secretary of 

 Agriculture Henry A. Wallace, Ad- 

 ministrator George N. Peek, and 

 Chester C. Davis, director of the Pro- 

 duction Division of the AAA. ' 



Governor Paul V. McNutt of Indi- 

 ana will tell how that state recently 

 shifted a big share of the tax burden 

 from real property forcing other in- 

 terests to help bear the load. The 

 Indiana Farm Bureau had a big part 

 in bringing about this change. 



Von T. Ellsworth of the California 

 Farm Bureau will discuss their ex- 

 perience in securing an equitable dis- 

 tribution of the tax burden in that 

 state. :■:':'-: A'-'-'' ',''-- '"■.".■■ ^^ 



Other speakers will include Gover- 

 nor John G. Winant of New Hamp- 

 shire who will tell what a state 

 government can do in promoting the 

 welfare of agriculture; A. S. Goss, 

 Land Bank Commissioner of the Farm 

 Credit Adn.inistration, and M. L. Wil- 

 son, director of subsistence home- 

 steads in the Department of Interior. 



Farm women will be interested in 

 the talk by Miss Connie J. Bonslagel, 

 state home demonstration agent in 

 Arkansas. Other features will include 

 singing and music, a quartet contest, 

 and a nation-wide public speaking 

 contest. 



Boggess, DeFrees Recover- 

 ing From Accident Injuries 



C. p. Boggess who was seriously 

 injured in an automobile accident sev- 

 eral weeks ago while serving as cap- 

 tain of the mobilization campaign in 

 Bond county, is slowly recovering 

 from bone fractures. 



Talmage DeFrees, I. A. A. director 

 from the 22nd district, has fully re- 

 covered from facial lacerations and 

 bruises received in the same accident. 

 He attended the I. A. A. board meet- 

 ing in Chicago, Nov. 17. 



The car in which they were riding 

 was hit by a switching freight train 

 at an unguarded crossing.,' 



