Eligibility for Membership .-- Membership is open to persons producing 

 agricultural products who pay an annual membership fee of $1 and 

 patronize the association. 



Marketing Contract o-- The cooperative had a marketing contract with 

 members for its direct sales program on peaches which expired at the 

 end of the 1966-67 season. Currently the cooperative sells only on 

 auction and has no marketing contract with members „ 



Financing .-- The cooperative's financing has been through equity 

 certificates J capital surplus, commercial banks, and the Springfield 

 Bank for Cooperatives . 



Board and Management .-- The board of nine members is elected for 3 

 years on a staggered basis so that 3 new members are elected at 

 each annual meeting. 



The president, vice-president, and treasurer must be elected from 

 members of the board; the secretary need not be. 



The four committees are supply, cold storage, auction, and finance. 

 The function of each committee is to meet periodically, study the 

 departments it is responsible for, and recommend findings to the 

 board of directors. 



The board hires the general manager who is responsible for carrying 

 out policy, hiring employees, and supervising the operations » 



Employees „ --Full-time employees include a general manager, two sales- 

 men, two engineers, two warehouse supply men, two clerks, and a 

 secretary. In addition, the cooperative hires about 52 seasonal or 

 part-time employees for work in their office, supply, cold storage, 

 and auction programs. 



Policies . -- The cooperative encourages quality produce at the auction 

 -by having a Federal inspector available during the sales period. 

 Auction samples are representative of total produce for sale. 



Another objective is to increase the sales of production and marketing 

 supplies by offering volume discounts. The cooperative hopes to 

 increase its membership through supplying good services to growers at 

 one centralized location. 



Operations 



The cooperative has its programs divided into separate departments 

 such as supply, marketing, and cold storage to provide an effective 

 delegation of authority and accountability within each area of 

 activity. 



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