How to Get the Highest Price for Eggs-By e. Granger, 



Cali- 

 fornia 



THE ONLY WAY IS FOR PRODUCERS TO ORGANIZE A COOPERATIVE POULTRY ASSOCIATION LIKE THE ONE 

 HERE DESCRIBED, AVOID THE COSTLY MISTAKES IT HAS MADE AND SHARE ITS SPLENDID SUCCESS 



THE only reason why California leads 

 in methods of cooperation among 

 agriculturists is that the farmers and fruit 

 growers have been forced to organize here 

 quicker than elsewhere. We simply cannot 

 live without it. 



The first and only successful organization 

 of poultrymen I know of is the Sonoma 

 County Poultry Association of California, 

 with headquarters at Santa Rosa. This has 

 been in active operation for over three years 

 and now ships about 20,000 eggs weekly. 



Sonoma County, north of San Francisco 

 Bay, ranks first in the state for poultry pro- 

 ducts, which include over 5,000,000 eggs and 

 50,000 dozen fowls annually, sold for $3,000,- 

 000.00. San Francisco is the chief market, 

 requiring for home use, for winter tourists, 

 and for the vessels sailing from this port, so 

 many eggs that it is necessary as well to im- 

 port poultry and eggs from the East to the 

 value of $4,000,000 annually. 



The California poultry men are no longer 

 at the mercy of the commission men, but are 

 getting more for their eggs than ever before 

 and are in a fair way to control prices. A 

 few years ago eight men who were raising 

 poultry and eggs on a large scale at Santa 

 Rosa organized the "Santa Rosa Poultrymen's 

 Association," with the object of securing fair 

 prices for eggs to every member, whether 

 he had many or few to sell. How this 

 was accomplished may be seen from the 

 following passage from a letter written by the 

 present Secretary of the Association, Mr. F. 

 W. Wilson, to the Petaluma Weekly Poultry 

 Journal (Oct. 31, 1906): 



"At first two or more members were ap- 

 pointed to meet on some certain day in the 

 week at Santa Rosa and dispose of all eggs 

 brought in by members. Then later the 

 Association eggs were shipped once a week 

 to San Francisco and someone went along to 

 sell them. This was not satisfactory, and it 

 was decided to bring in all the eggs of the 

 Association to Santa Rosa and sell them to the 



highest bidders. It was found that the bid- 

 ders were in collusion, and that plan also was 

 given up. Then contracts were let in the 

 city to furnish a certain number of eggs per 

 week. But all other means of disposing of 

 eggs proving more or less of a failure, the 

 present method was tried, viz. : selling all the 

 product of the Association for one year, price 

 based on paper or exchange quotations. 



The eggs are shipped on contract to a large 

 wholesale dealer, who pays the association a price 

 based on the prevailing marKet 



The individual farmer brings his own supply 

 graded into firsts (white and weighing one-twelfth 

 of twenty-two ounces\ and seconds 



Specifications of the size and quality of the 

 two grades of eggs sold are printed and bids 

 for the year's product called for. The highest 

 bidder, all other conditions being equal, gets 

 the contract." 



At one time the Association tried to start a 

 commission house of its own in San Francisco, 

 but this was not found practicable. Mean- 

 while it had been incorporated, and had 

 changed its name to the present form — - 

 Sonoma County Cooperative Poultry Asso- 

 ciation. The plan is to form branch associa- 

 tions in different parts of the county, but 

 this has not yet been realized, except in 

 Petaluma, an important shipping point. 

 Anyone in the county can join the Association, 

 and bring or send in the eggs by wagon, 

 trolley freight, or railroad. There are at 

 present over three hundred members. 



The dues are only one dollar a year. The 

 officers give their time and services, with the 

 exception of the secretary, who is paid one 

 dollar for each meeting. Mr. Charles Gillett 

 has been president from the beginning, and 

 has served faithfully and energetically. Be- 

 sides the regular business transacted at the 

 meetings, the members discuss subjects of 

 mutual interest to progressive chicken farm- 

 ers, and are frequently addressed by some 

 leading poultrymen, or by a professor from 

 the State University Experiment Station. At 

 present the question of selling eggs by weight 

 is being agitated. 



The contract for the year, which must be 

 signed by all members, demands that all eggs 

 shall be fresh and classes them as firsts, which 

 must be white eggs weighing at least one- 

 twelfth of twenty-two ounces each, and as 

 seconds, which include all colored eggs, all 

 eggs under the stipulated weight, and all 



132 



dirty eggs — unless the sellers are requested 

 not to wash them. This occurs at times 

 when eggs are so plentiful that they are put 

 into cold storage after they are bought, since 

 they will not keep so well if washed. The 

 purchaser empties the seller's egg-cases, and 

 returns them with the necessary number of 

 fillers. Payment is made in cash. The San 

 Francisco market prefers white eggs, there- 

 fore the White Leghorn has come to be the 

 favorite hen on the coast, though Buff Leg- 

 horns and Black and White Minorcas also 

 have their admirers. 



Last year the contract, which was con- 

 sidered very good, was made with the Sonoma 

 County Fruit and Produce Company, who 

 agreed to pay for firsts the highest San Fran- 

 cisco market quotations, less five per cent, for 

 handling; and for seconds five cents per 

 dozen less; also promising a minimum price 

 of eighteen cents per dozen, however much 

 below this the market price might fall. That 

 the produce of the Association is considered 

 well worth bidding for is shown by the still 

 more advantageous contract for the present 

 year, which went into effect the first of Feb- 

 ruary. Swift and Company obtained this 

 contract, and agree to pay the highest San 

 Francisco market quotations net for firsts, 

 and five cents per dozen less for seconds; 

 the minimum price to be twenty cents per 

 dozen. This extremely good contract has 

 attracted considerable attention in other 

 parts of the state and in other states. 



The notable effect of this organization of 

 poultry men and women is that it has kept 

 up the price of eggs all over the county. 

 Dealers cannot get eggs unless they will pay 

 somewhere near the Association prices, or 

 the farmers who supply them will join the 

 Association — and members agree not to sell 

 to outsiders. 



The value of the Association was also felt 

 just after the disastrous earthquake of April, 

 1906, when members agreed to accept a 

 minimum price of sixteen cents for a short 

 time, and received it, while other poultry- 

 men carried their eggs home because they 

 could get no more than ten or twelve cents. 



Dirty eggs are ranKed as seconds, and are 

 therefore washed, unless destined for cold storage, 

 when they do not Keen as well 



