Eligibility for Membership o -- Any producer of agricultural products 

 who is accepted by the board of directors and who pays an annual 

 membership fee of $1 can become a member. His certificate of member- 

 ship continues in effect as long as he complies with the rules and 

 regulations of the association. 



Marketing Contract » --The cooperative has an agreement employing the 

 Atlantic County Market Growers, Inc., to market members' produce to 

 the extent orders are available. The cooperative has no marketing 

 contract with its members at the present time. An exclusive market- 

 ing agreement in which the member agreed to sell the commodities 

 produced and grown by him through the co-op and its agent, ACMG 

 subject to certain conditions, was discontinued several years ago. 



Financing . - -Methods of financing used by the cooperative include 

 equity certificates, certificates of indebtedness and loans through 

 the Springfield Bank for Cooperatives. 



Board and Management . --The cooperative is controlled by a nine- 

 member board of directors serving for a period of 3 years but on a 

 staggered basis so that three new members are elected each year. 



The president and vice president of the cooperative must be elected 

 from the board while the secretary and treasurer need not be. Elections 

 take place at the annual meeting and terms served are for one year. 



Special committees appointed by the board include the nominating, 

 auditing, and entertainment committees. The committees normally meet 

 once a year and report their findings to the board of directors. 



The directors may hire a market manager to conduct the executive and 

 administrative duties of the association under their direction. 



Emp loyee s . - -ACMG currently handles the receiving, packing, and market- 

 ing of the cooperative members' products. Consequently all employees 

 salaries are paid by the corporation. 



Full-time employees paid by the corporation include a general manager, 

 head bookkeeper, and a clerk. In addition, 9 to 11 part-time employees 

 are hired for receiving, grading, and packing produce on the association's 

 platform. 



Policies . --The cooperative, in conjunction with its corporate marketing 

 agent, emphasized the importance of quality produce to their growers 

 and the services available to them such as washing, grading, cooling, 

 packing, trucking, and storage of produce. Also the need for larger 

 volume and variety of produce is stressed to improve the sales program. 



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