50 



BULLETIN 547, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGEICULTUFvE. 



FINANCING AND BUSINESS PRACTICES. 



Information with regard to financing and business practices was 

 secured from some 700 typical farmers' organizations from a special 

 survey. A summary of the reports is shown in Table IV. Tins table 

 gives for each kind of organization the amount of paid-up capital 

 and members' fees, the value of buildings and equipment, and the 

 amount of assets in excess of liabilities. Much material was secured 

 also by means of personal visits to organizations throughout the 

 country and by interviews with bankers and others during the years 

 1914 and 1915. 



The financing of the business operations is one of the important 

 features in a cooperative enterprise and a weakness in this feature 

 is the cause of many failures. The methods of conducting the busi- 

 ness, products handled, distance from markets, and various other 

 elements require that the plan of financing be suited to local condi- 

 tions. For this reason no "cut and dried" plan, unless well suited 

 to local conditions, should be adopted by new organizations. 



Table V. — Amounts borrowed and sources from which obtained, of 401 farmers and 

 cooperative marketing associations, by classes. 



Kind of organization. 



Elevators 



Average 



Creameries 



Average 



Fruit and produce 



Average 



Cotton warehouses and gins. 



Tobacco . 



Average. 

 Miscellaneous.. 



Average. 



Total.... 

 Average. 



From banks. 



154 

 ""26 

 "63 



"io 

 '2 



"l.'i 



2ns 



SI, 040, 950 



6,759 

 56, 650 



2,177 



1,115,275 



17,703 



05, 750 



6,575 

 85,000 

 42,500 

 39,900 



3,069 



2,403,525 

 8,968 



tnta 



9.3 



2*0 



22 



:>s, 



From commercial 

 firms. 



$722,813 

 15,379 



•s.a 



500 

 500' 



723,313 

 15,069 



From individuals. 



$36,500 

 3,650 

 4,000 

 2,000 

 1,500 

 1,500 



125, 700 

 25,140 



167,700 

 9,317 



bouo 



a 3 



