38 BULLETIN 547, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



All estimate of the volume of business transacted by the farmers' 

 marketing organizations of Minnesota can be made by using the 

 figures reported by a large proportion of the associations as a basis. 

 The total annual volume exceeds $50,000,000. The 980 organiza- 

 tions reporting have about 90,000 members, which gives an indica- 

 tion of the extent of organization among farmers for manufacturing 

 and marketing purposes in this State. 



IOWA. 



As Iowa is represented by 505 farmers' marketing organizations, 

 it is second to Minnesota in number reporting. Conditions in Iowa 

 and Minnesota are very similar, and the farmers' organizations have 

 followed the same lines in both States. The two leading forms of 

 organization in Iowa are elevators and creameries, as these two 

 classes make up over 85 per cent of the total reporting. Iowa falls 

 behind Minnesota in total number of organizations largely because 

 of its smaller number of creamery and cheese-factory associations, 

 Iowa reporting 204 and Minnesota 624 organizations of this character. 



WISCONSIN. 



Wisconsin ranks third in the number of organizations reporting. 

 Conditions in this State differ somewhat from those in Minnesota 

 and Iowa. The latter are important grain-raising States and have a 

 number of farmers' elevators, while in Wisconsin, where grain is not 

 grown on such an extensive scale, there are comparatively few far- 

 mers' elevators. Wisconsin is an important dairy State; therefore 

 75 per cent of the companies reporting are creameries or cheese 

 factories. In Minnesota and Iowa nearly all of the dairy organiza- 

 tions are creameries, while in Wisconsin there are a large number of 

 cheese factories as well. The other forms of organization found in 

 Wisconsin are of the same nature as those found in Minnesota and 

 Iowa. 



KANSAS. 



Kansas is another member of the group of States where farmers' 

 organizations are the most numerous. It is an important grain 

 State; consequently over 60 per cent of the associations reporting 

 from this State are farmers' elevator companies. Kansas may be 

 contrasted with Wisconsin in the matter of farmers' associations; 

 the former has a large number of grain elevators and only a few 

 creamery or cheese-factory organizations, while the situation is 

 reversed in the latter State. 



CALIFORNIA. 



Conditions surrounding the organization of farmers in California 

 are decidedly different from those in the North Central States. 

 California is one of the leading fruit-growing States, and as the fruit 



