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MARKETED IN 1943 BY LEE COUNTY CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 



IN THi; fall of 1932 a group of Farm 

 Bureau members launched the Lee 

 County Grain Association to pro- 

 vide a cooperative outlet for grain 

 products in the northeastern section of 

 the county. The co-operative started 

 in practically a minus financial position. 

 Today its farmer-members have a co- 

 operative with total net assets of S120,- 

 000, including a surplus of S96,000. In 

 19-13 it did over a million dollars in 

 business, paid a patronage dividend of 

 $27, HO, and added $22,000 to surplus. 

 Is it any wonder that folks say, -^it pays 

 to cooperate?" , 



Lee County Grain boosted its market- 

 mgs from 39^,000 bushels in 1933 to 

 more than one million bushels in 19i3. 

 Merchandise sales alone amounted to 

 5185,868 in 19-13. It would only take 

 about one and one-half days 'of the 

 1913 merchandise business to ec^ual the 

 total merchandise business in 1933. 



Another way of looking at the co- 

 operative's 19i3 business statement is 

 to report that it established an average 

 daily volume of 3f^00 bushels of grain 

 and $620 in merchandise sales in the 

 12-month fiscal period. Regardless of 

 how the accomplishments of the Lee 



By CRESTON FOSTER 



Glenn Gonnermqn. patron, and Joy Sand- 

 rock, secretcry-trfeasurer, examine a grain 

 sample with Manager Nathan Sword ol 

 the Ashion elevator. 



C!ounty Gram Association are esti- 

 mated, thev all point to one conclusion : 

 there are no liftnits to what co-opera- 

 tive-minded farmers with an able board 

 of directors and good inanagemcnt can 

 do in the field of marketing. 



Like many other successful co-opera- 

 tives, Lee County Grain had one im- 

 portant asset when it opened for busi- 

 ness and that was a group of farmers 

 who believed in co-operation. In the 

 northeastern part of the county there 

 were five idle elevators with a short 

 line railroad running through the heart 



of the territory, the Lee County Cen- 

 tral Llectric wliich connected with the 

 C. B. & Q. at Amhoy. This line hadn t 

 been used for a number of years. Other 

 co-operatives in the county had been 

 successfully launched, .so a group of 

 farmers and Farm Adviser C. E. Yak- 

 decided to see what could be done 

 about aiding producers in marketing 

 their grain. The co-operative was or- 

 ganized with the Lee County Farm Bu- 

 reau holding "B " stock. Lee County 

 (irain was to originate the grain under 

 contract with the Lee County Elevator 

 Company, a privately owned company 

 which was to serve as the operating 

 unit leasing the elevators and railroad. 

 Lee County Grain, as a member of the 

 Illinois Grain Corporation, would re- 

 ceive patronage dividends on its grain 

 marketings. Under this setup, Lee 

 Ciounty Grain was able to organize 

 practically without an investment. 



Organization was completed Oct. It. 

 1932, and Glen Hart, who served as 

 president until three years ago, recalls' 

 that on the day operations were begun 

 farmers were offered a full cent more 

 per bushel for their grain by other 

 private elevators in the adjacent terri- 



tory than they had previously been 

 oifering. The co-operative had already 

 exerted an influence on the market. In 

 those days, Hart remembers, corn was 

 selling as low as 12 cents a bushel. 

 There were some pretty hard times and 

 in 1935 Lee County Elevator Company 

 was unable to secure capital to complete 

 operations and Lee County Grain took 

 over all debts and leases on the ele- 

 vators from the private operator. Some 

 $1600 of preferred stock was sold by 

 Lee County Grain and a loyal group of 

 farmer-members who had faith in their 

 co-operative pledged their efforts 

 toward maintaining a grain marketing 

 service in their community. 



From 1935 to 1938, members didn't 

 get any patronage dividends from their 

 co-operative because it was concen- 

 trating on building its financial struc- 

 ture soundly. But from the beginping, 

 member patrons increased in number 

 because of the service offered and be- 

 cau.se they were made to feel they were 

 a part of the organization. Annual 

 meetings were well attended as invita- 

 tions were extended not only to the Mr. 

 and Mrs. of the family, but to the 

 children. Each family brought a bas- 



Directors ol the Lee County Grain As- 

 sociation gather at the home of Frank 

 Mynard, (center) retiring director, for their 

 organization meeting and present him writh 

 an end table. Standing, left to right, Wes- 



ley Attig. president; Holly Smith, Roy 

 McCracken, Clarence Hart, vice-president, 

 and Glenn Pioutz. Absent are Joy Sand- 

 rock, secretary-treasurer, and Arthur Burk- 

 hardt, director. 



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