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INSURANCE 

 HITS ALL 

 TIME PEAK 



PROSPERITY on the farm is boost- 

 ing insurance purchases among 

 farmers to the highest peak in his- 

 tory according to year-end reports 

 presented at the 19th annual insurance 

 roundup of the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association last month in the Edge- 

 water Beach Hotel in Qiicago. 



More than 700 Illinois Agricultural 

 Association insurance agents and Farm 

 Bureau officers representing every 

 county in the state, attended the meet- 

 ing. The three lAA associated insur- 

 ance companies whose business is con- 

 fined largely to Illinois farmers are 

 Country Life Insurance Company, 

 Country Mutual Casualty Company and 

 Country Mutual Fire Company. 



Although ordinary life insurance pur- 

 chases in the United States for 1947 

 declined 3.4 per cent from 1946, Illi- 

 nois farmers bought 11.4 per cent more 

 life insurance through Country Life in 

 1947 than in 1946, A. E. Richardson, 

 Country Life manager and director of 

 insurance service for the lAA, reported. 



J. H. Kelker, manager of the Coun- 

 try Mutual Fire Company said, "It has 

 been necessary for farmers to increase 

 their fire, wind, and extended cover- 

 age and crop hail insurance by more 

 than 163 million dollars in 1947." 



Frank V. Wilcox, manager of Coun- 

 try Mutual Casualty Company reported 

 that Country Casualty has more than 

 160 thousand vehicles of Illinois Farm 

 Bureau members insured. 



Charles B. Shuman, lAA president, 

 speaking at the evening banquet em- 

 phasized the fact that farmers need 

 adequate insurance service more than 

 any other group. The farmer, Presi- 

 dent Shuman said, needs every practical 

 means of reducing the hazards of his 

 varied operations. 



Donald Kirkpatrick, AFBF and lAA 

 general counsel, told the insurance 

 roundup audience, that he believed "we 

 are entering the golden age of agri- 

 culture" and predicted that there would 

 be a great growth in Farm Bureau in- 

 surance. He said he believed there 

 would be a continued high demand for 

 agricultural products because of the in- 

 crease in our population, the shifting 

 of 1^ million people from the farms 

 to the city, thus creating more con- 

 sumers of farm products, and the in- 

 creased standard of living, plus normal 

 exports. 



MARCH. 1948 i^ 



Officers and members of the Illinois Farm Bureau baseball league meet In Hotel Sherman, 

 Chicago, to discuss rules and regulations for the coming season. At table (for left) are 

 Roy Johnson, secretary, and Otto Steffey, president of the league. At far right is Ebb 

 Harris, vice president. Standing is Floyd Phillips, DeKolb county, chairmcm of the nsios 

 and regulations committee. Insert is Orvol Grove, Chicago White Sox pitcher, who ad- 

 dressed the meeting. 



Bin&r Fantt Buretw BasebaU 

 Season l^edicted for 1948 



TIT O MAJOR changes in rules and 

 vk\ regulations resulted from the annual 

 ■ meeting of officers and members 

 ll of the Illinois Farm Bureau Base- 

 ball League in Chicago, Feb. 5. Otto 



URGE EXPANSION 

 IN HORTICULTURE 



Further expansion of the horticul- 

 tural department of Southern Illinois 

 University was urged recently by the 

 Southern Illinois Horticultural Society. 



In asking for added state funds the 

 horticultural society said that horti- 

 culture is centered in the southern 

 third of the state and that lack of 

 personnel and facilities at Southern 

 Illinois University makes it impossible 

 to teach students there adequately in 

 this science. 



The horticultural society took the 

 stand that this proposed expansion 

 would make possible better teaching of 

 horticulture to many young persons 

 living in Southern Illinois unable to 

 attend school elsewhere. It would also 

 make possible better services to farmers 

 producing fruit and vegetables ia this 

 area. 



Steffey, Stronghurst, was reelected presi- 

 dent, and Ebb Harris, Grayslake, was 

 reelected vice-president of the league. 

 Representatives of 12 counties were 

 present. 



The Farm Bureau Baseball League is 

 exf)ected to be bigger than last year when 

 29 counties took part. Three new counties 

 have signified their intention of taking 

 part next season — Hamilton, Macoupin, 

 and Lake. Counties were requested to 

 make known their intention of joining 

 the Farm Bureau Baseball League by 

 May 1. 



They can join by June 1 with the 

 consent of other league members. Tlie 

 baseball for next season was adopted and 

 prices of equipment were discussed. 

 Principal speaker was Orval Grove, 

 pitcher for the Chicago White Sox. 



In his talk he made two points; one, 

 more and more major leagues are turning 

 to amateur leagues such as the Farm 

 Bureau Baseball League for prospects; 

 and two, any young man with ambition to 

 become a baseball player should realize it 

 is a long step from high school to the 

 major leagues, and that it would be a 

 good idea to work up the ladder gradually 

 rather than to jump all the way at once. 



A movie, "The World Series of 1947," 

 was shown through the courtesy of the 

 American and National Baseball Leagues. 



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