D E MAN D 



Government Economy, Price Stability, Shuman Declares 



IT IS indeed a privilege and pleasure 

 for me to extend official welcome to 

 you, the delegates, members and 

 guests attending this, the 32nd Annual 

 Meeting of the Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation. An annual meeting is a time for 

 retrospection, for looicing back upon a 

 year of progress, as well as a time for 

 looking forward to rededicate our efforts 

 to the tasks that lie ahead. We are thank- 

 ful for this, the first full year of peace 

 following a great world-wide conflagra- 

 tion. While it has been a year of official 

 peace, yet we must recognize that it has 

 been a year of confusion and conflict both 

 within our nation and abroad. Recon- 

 struction and reconversion after such a 

 great struggle are of necessity difficult 

 and painful. 



Enlarge lAA Program 



Because of these adjustments and the 

 accompanying confusion added to by the 

 unpredictable and changing policies of 

 governmental agencies, the year of 1946 

 has been a very difficult period in the 

 operation of your Association and its 

 affiliated companies. In addition, there 

 were several circumstances within our 

 own organization that made our task 

 more difficult. The change in adminis- 

 tration of the Association was a shock 

 of no small proportions. When you re- 

 place an administrator of many years 

 of experience and great influence and 

 ability with one of inexperience, it throws 

 many additional problems upon the re- 

 mainder of the organization. In addi- 

 tion, the great increase in membership 

 of the Association has made necessary 

 an enlarged service program. This en- 

 larged program of service had of neces- 

 sity been delayed because of the war 

 period. The fact that these many prob- 

 lems have been taken in stride and that 

 many of them are well on the way to 

 solution is a wonderful tribute to the 

 vitality and effectiveness of the organiza- 

 tion which you have so soundly built. It 

 is a tribute to past leadership which built 

 on a firm foundation. It is a tribute 

 to the loyalty, ability and initiative of 



President Shuman mokes his annual report 

 to the membership, 



t '• ''.'.'■' -' ■■'■.'-.-■.. 



a wonderful group of people constituting 

 your Board of Directors, the officers, the 

 employees and the members of the Asso- 

 ciation. I deeply appreciate the fine co- 

 operation which has made it possible to 

 repxjrt to you that the year 1946, viewed 

 from any angle, has been one of the most 

 successful years in the history of the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association. 



Despite all of these diffiailties, here 

 set forth more for the historical record 

 than as an excuse, the operations of all 

 of the directly affiliated and associated 

 cooperatives and associations have been 

 highly successful. We are all justly 

 proud of the record throughout the years 

 of these institutions. The detailed finan- 

 cial reports and major accomplishments 

 of these companies have been reported 

 in their entirety in the various annual 

 meetings and conferences held during this 

 convention. Their written reports are 

 also incorporated in the printed Annual 

 Report, which will be placed in your 

 hands. Only those of their activities that 

 are newly organized or have undergone 

 major changes will be mentioned at this 

 time. 



One Voice ;_ .- 



The Illinois Agricultural Service Com- 

 pany has continued to act as corporate 

 manager for the ten older business cor- 

 porations. In addition, the newly or- 



ganized Illinois Grain Terminals Q)m- 

 pany and Illinois Cooperative Locker 

 Service have entered into a management 

 contract with the Service Company, and 

 Illinois Milk Producers Supply Company 

 has applied for this service. With very 

 few exceptions, the cooperation of the 

 affiliated associations with the Manage- 

 ment Board has been excellent. I do 

 want to re-emphasize the importance of 

 this relationship. In Illinois, our early 

 leaders recognized the importance of a 

 close working relationship between the 

 general farm organization and the co- 

 operative associations serving farmers.The 

 key to continued maintenance of this 

 proven successful relationship is the def- 

 inite correlation of activity and applica- 

 tion of sound business principles made 

 possible by the Illinois Agricultural Serv- 

 ice Company. When we speak in Illi- 

 nois, we speak with one voice — a voice 

 representing the best interests of agricul- 

 ture in general and not as separate com- 

 modity or service groups. This is in 

 sharp contrast to the situation that exists 

 generally in other areas. We have been 

 putting into practice the slogan of "one 

 for all and all for one". Much of the 

 success of our organization and our affil- 

 iates has been due to this principle and 

 its application. From time to time this 

 principle has been attacked by those who 

 would emphasize one type of activity. 

 These attacks continue despite the prov- 

 en value of our type of organization, both 

 in the field of private business and in 

 our cooperative organizations. Farm Bu- 

 reau members are entitled to insist and 

 will continue to demand that there be a 

 definite correlation of the activities of all 

 the organizations which they have built 

 and which owe their continued existence 

 to Farm Bureau support, i ... -^ ■■..••: 



In his annual report one year ago, my 

 distinguished predecessor, Mr. Earl C. 

 Smith, said — "I feel that the enlarged 

 Farm Bureau membership requires some 

 improvement, some expansion and 

 strengthening in at least some of these 

 business operations. Thoughtful people 

 and forward looking institutions are lay- 



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L A. A. RECORD 



