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'THE DIAGNOSIS' 



Left: A group of "specia/j$ts" confer over an ailing farm Bureau 

 represented by County Organization Director Rex Rhea, DeWitt 

 county, at "Vapoo" Clinic. The specialists (left to right) f. L. 

 Delay, Marion county C.O.D.; Gene Stadel, Jo Daviess farm ad' 

 viser; Asa B. Cufp, Aiclean C.O.D.; Otto Steffey, lAA board mem- 

 ber from Henderson county; R, J. Ash, Morgan C.O.D.; 8. H. 



'THE PRESCRIPTION' 



Wanstreet, Hamilton C.O.D.; and E. C. Harriott, former president. 

 Champaign County farm Bureau. Right "Professor" Steffey de- 

 tides the patient needs a good shot of axle-grease . , er , . we 

 mean . . lifeblood. "Specialist" Delay takes a sounding while 

 "Chief Surgeon" Gulp decides to operate with the first butcher 

 knife he can reach. 



time during the lAA convention was 

 the "VAPOO" clinic put on by county 

 organization directors. VAPOO stands 

 for the Value And Power Of Organiza- 

 tion. 



In the skit a very sick patient (the 

 most mutilated, crippled, and ailing mor- 

 talhuman eyes have seen) by the name 



of Podunk County Farm Bureau got 

 a thorough examination by a corps of 

 doctors, represented by the county organi- 

 zation directors. 



The kill or cure treatment recom- 

 mended bv the doctors included a blood 

 transfusion by the Rural Youth organiza- 

 tion, conditioning of the budget gland. 



and help in curing a rare disease, non- 

 enthusiasticitis. 



During the organization conference 

 L. A. Evans, supervisor of the member- 

 ship records department, and for 2H years 

 an lAA employee, announced his retire- 

 ment to the assembled county organiza- 

 tion directors. He started with the I.'^A 

 in 19:0. 



A GOOD year ahead for hog pro- 

 ducers with no sudden drop in hog 

 prices was foreseen during the an- 

 nual meeting of the Illinois Farm 

 Bureau Serum Association held 

 during the lAA convention. 



This prediction was made in a price 

 outlook talk by L. H. Simerl, associate 

 professor in the department of agricul- 

 tural economics at the University of Illi- 

 nois College of Agriculture. 



"A sudden deflation as we had in 

 1920 is unlikely," Simerl said. "Con- 

 sumer demand is strong and increasing. 

 This will help sustain prices." 



A 1949 spring crop of only 15 to 20 

 per cent higher than this year is pre- 

 dicted, Simerl said. He said that usually 

 with a crop as large as that grown this 

 year farmers would increase their crop by 

 at least 25 per cent. 



Simerl said that if we assume a 20 per 

 cent larger 1949 spring pig crop, then 

 hog prices next fall and winter probably 

 would drop 30 per cent. This would 

 mean $17.50 hogs instead of the $25 hog 

 market we now have. 



At $17.50 a hundred livestock farmers 

 should still be able to make a profit be- 

 cause of the bumper grain crop harvested 

 in 1948. 



Contrary to experiences in past years 

 when record corn crops were harvested, 



GOOD YEAR AHEAD 



Hog Producers Hear Prediction That '49 

 Will Be Excellent Year For Pig Production 

 With No Sudden Drop in Pork Prices Expected 



farmers will not glut the market next tall 

 for three reasons, Simerl predicted. These 

 are: 



1. Many farmers are satisfied with their 

 income from other sources and will not 

 want to increase hog production. 



2. Many fear a big drop in prices such 

 as occurred in 1920. They fear this drop 

 will come before they can get their pigs 

 to market. 



3. Others prefer the certainty of gov- 

 ernment support prices over the uncer- 

 tainty of hog production. 



Although hog production may be up 

 no more than 20 per cent over 1948 fig- 

 ures, hogs w^ill still account for most of 

 the increase in meat reaching city con- 

 sumers. President Russell V. McKec, 

 Marshall-Putnam county, said during the 

 association's meetings. 



He said hogs are traditionally the best 



way to market large surpluses of corn and 

 that one-half billion pounds more meat 

 should be marketed next year. In 19-18 

 21.5 billion pounds of meat were mar- 

 keted. 



In reporting on the year's activities of 

 the scrum tompany. Manager Cecil 

 Musser said it continues to be the largest 

 single purchaser of hog cholera serum 

 and virus in the United States. 



In 1948 the serum association handled 

 more than 40,000,000 cubic centimeters 

 ot anti-hog cholera serum and virus. 



Musser said that although there were 

 three per cent less hogs in Illinois this 

 year, sales of serum and virus were almost 

 the same as the previous year. 



The 10 high counties in volume of 

 sales were: Knox, Henr)-, McDonough, 

 Warren, McLean, Pike, Fulton, Peoria, 

 Stark, and DeKalb. 



JANUARY, 1949 



15 



