Cartoon illustratos 

 prevision of Aiken bili 

 empliasized by Presi- 

 dent S It u m a n at 

 Springfield calling for 

 "reorganization and 

 decentralization of tlie 

 functions of the de- 

 partment of agricul- 

 ture" (see story). 

 Below: Farm Bureau 

 leaders pack meeting 

 to doors. 



RECENT and further capital ex- 

 pansion by farm cooperatives af- 

 filiated with the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association will require 

 the outlay of $5 to $6 million. 

 This was announced by George E. 

 Metzger, lAA secretary of organization 

 and information, during the annual 

 spring Farm Bureau leaders' meeting 

 held April 1 in Springfield. 



Metzger pointed out that the Illinois 

 Farm Supply Company recently sold 

 $3,500,000 worth of additional stock, 



firjncipally for the purchase of re- 

 ineries and oil reserves, and that the 

 Prairie Farms Creameries will need a 

 minimum of $1,045,000 additional capi- 

 tal for new equipment and the construc- 

 tion of a creamery. He said further 

 that the Illinois Cooperative Locker 

 Service will need a million dollars in 

 additional capital to keep pace with the 

 growing demands for cold storage 

 locker service throughout the state. 



Metzger's request for support of 

 these lAA affiliates in their appeals for 

 funds was one of many topics discussed 

 at the meeting in Springfield attended 

 by 1 500 Farm Bureau leaders. 



Other topics included the state road 

 survey committee, (See roads story on 



fiage 13) the medical student loan fund, 

 ong-range farm legislation, produc- 



tion of triple superphosphate by blast 

 furnace, the economic study committee 

 report, the shortage of petroleum prod- 

 ucts for the farm, the fly eradication 

 program, the new wool marketing pro- 

 gram, progress of school reorganiza- 

 tion, the butter-margarine contro- 

 versy, voting in the April primaries, 

 and the livestock marketing field serv- 

 ice. 



Commenting on the need for addi- 

 tional capital among growing lAA as- 

 sociated companies. President Charles 

 B. Shuman asked that Farm Bureau 

 leaders make sure that their co-ops are 

 adequately financed and in a strong 

 position. "Many of the co-ops have 

 been growing so fast, he said, that they 

 are getting beyond their capital limi- 

 tations. It is time to put our finances 

 in order. Business difficulties may 

 come, not in months but in days, he 

 warned. Let's prepare to weather any 

 storm." 



Speaking on. the Aiken bill, a long- 

 range farm program bill recently intro- 

 duced and scheduled for hearings in 

 April, President Shuman said the lAA 

 supported the principle of the bill 

 which provides for a flexible support 

 price formula based on the supply of 

 basic commodities. 



Under the Aiken measure. President 



co-opm 



Shuman explained, price supports 

 would range from 60 to 90 per cent of 

 parity. Supports would be lower when 

 supplies of basic commodities were 

 above "normal" and higher when sup- 

 plies fell below normal. They would 

 tend to level off at 75 per cent of parity 

 in time of normal supply. 



The lAA also is supporting a provi- 

 sion of the Aiken bill which would per- 

 mit the use of a 10-year moving average 

 as a base period for computing parity 

 prices, or the 1909-14 period, which 

 ever would be higher. The present period 

 used in computing parity prices is the 

 1909-14 period. 



The lAA, President Shuman said, is 

 supporting provisions of the Aiken bill 

 providing for the reorganization and 

 decentralization of the functions of the 

 department of agriculture. 



"Farmers in Illinois believe," Presi- 

 dent Shuman said, "that the local ad- 

 ministration of the various programs of 

 the department of agriculture should 

 be carried on under the direction of 

 proper agencies within the state and not 

 by centralized agencies in Washing- 

 ton." 



Shuman said also that the lAA was 

 backing the proposal to be introduced 

 into Congress for the erection of a com- 

 merical size experimental plant for the 

 production of triple superphosphate by 

 the blast furnace method. "The blast 

 furnace method," Shuman said, "has 

 been proven scientifically, but as yet no 

 private company has ventured to try it 

 on a large commercial scale." 



Support for Farm Bureau's new wool 

 marketing plan was urged by L. L. 

 Colvis, lAA secretary of marketing. 

 Colvis pointed out that 31/2 million 

 pounds of wool are grown each year in 

 Illinois. We need one million pounds 

 of that, he said, to operate efficiently. 

 Colvis said the co-op had paid an 

 average price last year of 44 cents per 

 pound while other buyers paid an 

 average of 35 cents. President Shuman 

 said that year after year the returns 

 to farmers under the wool marketing 

 program have been as great as the re- 

 turns from our other marketing co- 

 operatives. 



George E. Metzger, lAA secretary of 

 organization and information discussed 

 plans for the fly eradication campaign 







T 



By JIM THOMSON 

 Ast't Editor, lAA RECORD 



L A. A. RECORD 



