﻿2 BULLETIN 1150, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



especially in the Middle West, where in some cases associations are 

 accessible to several markets. 



The solution of many of these problems depends upon the man- 

 agement having a thorough knowledge of the relative advantages 

 of different methods of handling live stock and operating the asso- 

 ciation, the relative costs of shipping to different markets, the rela- 

 tive merits of different methods of selling and weighing live stock, 

 and the extent to which these factors influence the rate of shrinkage 

 or loss due to dead and crippled animals. 



The question of what business policy shall be pursued in connec- 

 tion with these and other problems can be answered intelligently 

 only when the details regarding the different shipments are summa- 

 rized and the results analyzed. Reliable figures which can be used for 

 this purpose too frequently have not been' preserved by shipping 

 associations. In fact, bookkeeping has been neglected more among 

 shipping^ associations than in most other types of farmers' organiza- 

 tions. jPerhaps the chief reason for this situation is that it is a 

 relatively simple matter to organize a shipping association. A 

 group of farmers may meet in the morning, elect a board of direc- 

 tors and a set of officers, hire a manager and begin business the 

 same day. The details of management and record keeping are usu- 

 ally left to be worked out as the necessity arises. 



Another explanation for the frequent neglect of record keeping 

 is to be found in the fact that each sale — that is, each shipment — is 

 often treated as if it were a completed fiscal period. The entire pro- 

 ceeds are either paid out or reserved at the time of settlement and 

 the shipment is considered a closed incident. Other causes are the 

 small average annual income received by the managers, the lack 

 of standardization of business practices, and the frequent changes 

 of managers and directors. The fact that many associations also 

 handle feed and other farm supplies, often on credit, has done much 

 to complicate the situation. 



The adoption of a simple but adequate system of records by the 

 associations generally would be a long step in the direction of rais- 

 ing the standards of efficiency of operation, of building up the vol- 

 ume of business and of inspiring loyalty on the part of the members 

 and confidence on the part of the community generally. Further- 

 more, it would lay the foundation for successful cooperation among 

 the associations. The association which fails to meet any one of 

 these essential conditions is not likely to be in a position to render 

 the kind of service which the community has a right to expect of it. 



The system of records and accounts recommended in this bulletin 

 is based on the methods used by shipping associations in different 

 parts of the countrj 7 which experience has demonstrated are sound 

 and practical. Its operation in a number of States has already dem- 

 onstrated its adaptability under a wide range of conditions and 

 methods of operation. 3 



3 Some of the forms as presented are revisions of forms found in actual use, and 

 others, particularly the shipment summary record and the cash journal, are original with 

 the author. Final revisions were made at a series of conferences o« shipping associa- 

 tion business practices and accounting held in Chicago during the summer of 1921 under 

 the auspices of the Illinois Agricultural Association, at which conferences the underlying 

 principles involved and the forms themselves, substantially as here presented, were 

 approved. In addition/ to the author, the following men took an active part in the dis- 

 cussions of the accounting records : S. W. Doty and F. G. Ketner, of Ohio, Ralph Loomis 

 and T. D. Morse, of Missouri, and F. M. Simpson, of Illinois 



