Fruit Growers Annual 



Meeting at Centralia 



•.■••V-- 





The solution of farm problems lies 

 largely in farmers' own hands, Earl 

 C. Smith, president of the I. A. A., 

 said in addressing the annual meeting 

 of the Illinois Fruit Growers Exchange 

 at Centralia, May 11. He pointed out 

 that while farmers and those directly 

 dependent on agriculture comprise ap- 

 proximately one-third of the people 

 they receive only one thirty-eighth of 

 the nation's income. More thorough or- 

 ganization of farmers, he declared, is 

 the way to gain fair compensation for 

 the labor and investment in agricul- 



\ ture, '^--r ■■:■ ^■..;■.iV •■•■ • '■'•:;" '-.: ■ ^:'.--> •■- ,.; •; • . .; •: ;; ,;■ ■ ^v;-'^- > r . 



1 {Essential factors in the success of 

 any co-operative marketing organ- 

 ization, Mr. Smith said, are efficient 

 management, proper financing and a 

 substantial volume of products. He 

 pledged continued and active support 

 of the niinois Agricultural Associa- 

 tion to improve the conditions of fruit 

 and vegetable producers in the state. 



" •• ■■' . .,'.. '' •'•■/,' " .'■..■•■' . •■■'?, ," 



:v • ; High Reputation 



In his annual report Manager H. W. 

 Day reviewed the work of the Ex- 

 change during the past year, stating 

 that Illinois Fruit Growers Exchange 

 products during the past 12 years had 

 won a high reputation in the markets 

 where sold. There was no overproduc- 

 tion of Illinois fruits and vegetables 

 last year with the possible exception 

 of cantaloupes and watermelons. Lack 

 of buying power in the cities was 

 largely responsible for low prices. 



Mr. Day discussed the truck peddler 

 problem stating that this method of 

 seHing had lowered the price level cost- 

 ing growers far more than small sav- 

 ings in commissions. This truck trade, 

 he continued, can be turned to the ad- 

 vantage of the growers if they will 

 organize and sell through their co- 

 opeAtive associations. 



A total of 4,600 cases of straw- 

 berries were sold through the Ex- 

 change for the Edgar County Growers 

 Association last year; more than 5,000 

 cases for growers at Centralia. 



Forty thousand boxes of cantaloupes 

 were packed, graded and sold for the 

 Poag Growers Association in Madison 

 county; more than 20,000 bushel boxes 

 of cantaloupes and the equivalent of 

 37 carloads of watermelons for the 

 Beardstown Melon Growers Associa- 

 tion. -..,.■..•_ 



The 1933 apple and pear crops were 

 short, the Exchange handling only 50 

 carloads of apples, 13 cars of pears. 

 The peach crop, likewise, was light 

 price levels ranging from 90 cents to 



L. L. Anderson of Summer Hill, Pike county, & director of the Illinois Fruit Growers Exchange, 

 in apple orchard. Tree is loaded with Golden Delicious apples, 1933 crop. 



$1.85 per bushel f.o.b. shipping point. 

 A total of 309 cars were marketed 

 for growers, shipments going to 23 

 states. ' ;;':•■.'•■■'..■■•■•;;*■ •^'■••C.:', 





Vegetables Marketed 



• A ■ 



Approximately 3,500 cases of as- 

 paragus were sold for the Godfrey 

 Growers Association in Madison and 

 Jersey counties. Ten cars of cabbage 

 were marketed for the Clear Valley 

 Shipping Association in Whiteside 

 county; in addition L. C. L. shipments 

 were made of asparagus, rhubarb, to- 

 matoes, flowers, red raspberries and 

 cantaloupes from Cobden. ^ ; ; 7; 



^ "The truck problem is the biggest 

 single factor in building up volume 

 through the Exchange. Many growers 

 are too ready to sell their crop to the 

 trucker who comes along with a silver 

 tongued story," Day said. "This tends 

 to undermine bargaining power exerted 

 by the co-operatives." 



The Manager suggested that the 

 members give serious consideration to 

 a policy of a small package check-off 

 to be set aside to the credit of the 

 member, preferred stock to be issued 

 for the amount accumulated. 



Logan N. Colp, field secretary, made 

 a brief report on field activities. 



The following officers and directors were se- 

 lected for the coming year: Talmage Defrees, 

 Smithboro, president; R. B. Endicott, Villa 

 Hidge, vice-president; W. L, Cope, Tonti; Fred 

 Hawkins, Texico; J. W. Lloyd, TTrbana; Arthur 

 Foreman, Pittsfield; L. K. Allen, Carbondale; 

 Ernest G. Kinsey, Centralia; Harry Fulkerson, 

 Dow; George E. Adams, West Liberty; L. L. 

 Anderson, Summer Hill; R. W. Shafer, Edwards- 

 ville; Chester Boland, Paris; H. B. Koeller, God- 

 frey; Nelson Cummins, Bix; Logan K. Colp, 

 secretary-treasurer. ■■■:'■.:■■. 



Defends Farmers' Hog 



iMn-^--r^:.: Marketing Records 



The discrepancy between govern- 

 ment census figures on hog numbers 

 on farms and the number of hogs ac- 

 tually marketed during the year was 

 pointed out recently by A. B. Leeper, 

 vice-chairman of the Adams County 

 Corn-Hog Control Association. •" • ' ■'•'■• ■- ^ 



In Adams county, farmers' figures, 

 according to Leeper, show that ap- 

 proximately 155,000 hogs were sold 

 annually during the base years of 

 1932 and 1933. The government census 

 for the county shows around 85,000 

 hogs on farms. Subtracting old sows 

 and boars, which roughly figure about 

 10 per cent of hog totals, means that 

 government census figures run only 

 about 50% as high as the actual num- 

 ber sold as revealed by farmers' state- 

 ments, backed up by sales records. "''- 



"Illinois corn-hog signers will not 

 take with good grace any substantial 

 reduction in allotments of hog bases," 

 said Leeper. "We feel that our records 

 of hog numbers marketed are much 

 more accurate than the government 

 census figures, because ours are based 

 on actual sales tickets and other rec- 

 ords of sales. When the census is 

 taken around the first of the year it 

 does not include the large numbers of 

 hogs farrowed and marketed between 

 spring and fall." _ 



Farmers, whose interests are entirely agrricul- 

 tural, are the true representatives of the great 

 American interests, and are alone to be relied 

 on for expressing the proper American senti- 

 ments. — Thos. Jefferson, ^^- 



14 



I. A. A. RECORD 



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