FARM BUREAU (§ IB® Wi HM i^lBUl^O^III 



Midwest States Report 



Ali-Time Record Gains 



in Membership 



FARM BUREAU is on the march 

 toward even greater membership 

 gains as organization-minded farm- 

 ers rally under the banner of a united 

 agriculture. 



As leaders met for the Midwest 

 Farm Bureau Training School in Kan- 

 sas City June 23 to 26, state after state 

 reported new highs. While Illinois 

 maintained its lead with a membership 

 of more than 128,000, other midwest 

 states also showed high percentage 

 gains. 



Moving into a challenging position 

 for top membership honors is Iowa 

 Farm Bureau with 105,000. Indiana 

 reported an all-time high figure of 

 68,303; Kansas has 40,000, Ohio, 50,- 

 000, Michigan, 58,000, and so on down 

 the roll call of the 1 1 states represented 

 at the Training School. 



Service to members coupled with the 

 contribution of volunteer organization 

 workers were cited at the Farm Bureau 

 presidents' open forum by lAA Presi- 

 dent Charles B. Shuman as reasons for 

 the growth of Farm Bureau member- 

 ship in Illinois. 



While organization workers recog- 

 nized the steady progress being made 

 by Farm Bureau, they also were aware 



Participating In ths open forum at the 

 Midwest Farm Bureau conference wliicli 

 featured state Farm Bureau presidents and 

 secretaries a* panel members are left to 

 right: lAA President Charles B. Shuman, 

 Curtis Hatch, Wisconsin Farm Bureau presi- 

 dent, and H. E. Slusher, Missouri Form 

 Bureau president. 



of the big job ahead for organized 

 agriculture. 



Among the points stressed in the 

 organization conferences were these 

 two: the need for a large membership 

 that truly speaks for American agri- 

 culture, and the ability to mobilize 

 support effectively and quickly in cru- 

 cial periods. 



The tremendous power of labor or- 



By CRESTON FOSTER 



Editor, lAA Record 



Illinois Leads Membership 



with 1 28,000; Iowa 



Second with 105,000 



ganizations and industries prove be- 

 yond a doubt the need for agriculture 

 to achieve such united representation 

 so that farmers will be on a par with 

 other proups.. 



At the informal livestock conference 

 held during the Training School, re- 

 ports were made by midwest states on 

 livestock programs that were being de- 

 veloped. Otto Steffey, lAA director, 

 reported on the Illinois plan for co- 

 ordinating cooperative livestock mar- 

 keting agencies. 



It was the considered opinion of the 

 group that the decentralization of the 

 livestock industry was near at hand. 

 The trend, it was agreed, appears to 

 be away from the central markets and 

 in favor of local points. This trend, 

 particularly in marketing hogs, started 

 before the war, and wartime marketing 

 conditions and OPA regulations gave 

 it further impetus. Many believe that 

 the trend will continue even during 

 normal times. Others expressed inter- 

 est in the possibility of cooperative 

 packing plants. All state representa- 

 tives declared that livestock producers 

 could best achieve their objectives at 

 the national council tables through the 

 American Farm Bureau Federation. 



Organized agriculture's position in 

 world affairs was also brought to the 



This is a general view of the dinner session of the Midwest Form Bureau Training School held in Kansas City, Mo., June 33-26. 



L A. A. RECORD 



