These cae the new stockyards facilities of Decatur. Capacity will be 1200 hogs or \ 



the Macon County Marketing Association, the equivalent in mixed species. 



MACON COUNTY LIVESTOCK MEN CELEBRATE 



/3 LjeutS of Service ] 



BY BUILDING NEW FACILITIES I 



FIFTEEN years ago the Macon Coun- 

 ty Marketing Association started 

 business on $100 of borrowed cap- 

 ital. Today, if all the capital stock 

 were retired, the net worth of the as- 

 sociation would be approximately $16,- 

 000. What's more, during those 15 

 years the association has returned more 

 than $21,000 to members in the form of 

 patronage dividends. 



That's the picture of cooperative 

 growth in the 15th anniversary of the 

 association as it prepares to move to 

 newly completed facilities in the north- 

 east section of Decatur. 



The new stockyards of the association 

 is located on five acres of land and will 

 have access to all railroads serving De- 

 catur, namely the Wabash, B. & O., 

 Pennsylvania, and Illinois Central. 



The stockyards has a capacity of ap- 

 proximately 1200 hogs or the equiva- 

 lent in mixed species. Yard operations 

 are centered in a building of Haydite 

 block construction and the entire area of 

 the yards is surfaced with concrete. A 

 modern office and feed storage rooms 

 have been built as a part of the facil- 

 ities. Adequate loading facilities for 

 trucks have been provided and there is 

 adequate space for empty vehicles. 



Since the beginning of its operations 

 in 1929, the association has moved its 

 yards three times. After the last move 

 in 1938, directors of the association 

 turned their thoughts to the ownership 

 of their own yards. Committees were 

 appointed to investigate possible sites, 

 cost of construction, priorities, etc. 

 Plans were drawn up and construction 

 begun in October, 1944. The work 

 seemed to progress slowly due to an 



I. M. Beckett, left, is the current president 

 of the Macon County Marketing Associa- 

 tion, and D. M. Hendricks, right, was the 

 first president. 



unusually severe winter, but the fin- 

 ished job is reward enough to the di- 

 rectors and livestock men of the county 

 for their years of hard work to reach 

 this goal. 



With these new facilities, the associ- 

 ation feels that no matter what direc- 

 tion the trend in livestock marketing 

 takes, it will be able to deliver service 

 to livestock men in Macon county. If 

 the trend is toward a greater rail move- 

 ment of livestock, the association has 

 adequate facilities. If the trend is 

 toward a greater truck movement, the 

 association is prepared to move in this 

 direction. Loading facilities for the 

 largest trucks are being planned, and 

 roads leading from the yards connect 

 with the through highways direct to 

 yards or packing plants. Space is avail- 

 able for the handling of feeder cattle 

 under ideal conditions.- Pasture will be 

 available to condition cattle before sale. 



There is plenty of space for expansion 

 and with complete control of all facil- 

 ities the association can adjust its oper- 

 ations to the demands of the patrons 

 who are the real owners of the setup. 



The adjustment of services to meet 

 marketing trends has been an important 

 practice of the association in its 15- 

 year history. 



The Macon County Farm Bureau 

 was responsible for launching the Ma- 

 con County Shipping Association. Back 

 in 1927 there was a growing concern 

 about the marketing picture because 

 the cooperative shipping associations 

 of the county which had served ship- 

 pers for so many years were suffering 

 from loss in volume due to trucking 

 and packer buying. Small shippers 

 particularly were in need of a service 

 in the marketing of their livestock that 

 the local shipping associations could no 

 longer furnish. 



The Farm Bureau appointed a mar- 

 keting committee with Joe Chapman of 

 Cerro Gordo as chairman to study the 



Eroblem. The committee held a num- 

 er of meetings with shipping associ- 

 ation directors, made trips to public 

 markets and studied the situation from 

 all angles. The Macon County Mar- 

 keting Association was the result of the 

 committee's work. It was incorporated 

 under the cooperative marketing act of 

 1923 and was granted a charter on Oct. 

 16, 1929. The original directors were: 

 D. M. Hendricks, president; A. F. 

 Park, vice-president; C. E. Derr, sec- 

 retary-treasurer; A. E. Rolofsen, G. B. 

 Fyke, Blake Noland and George Haden. 



The association in the beginning op- 

 erated in the same way as the old ship- 



g 



12 



L A. A. BECORD 



