FARMERS 7 COOPERATIVE BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS 5 
The average number of members per association and the average 
amount of business per association for the groups of associations 
handling the various products have been determined to be as follows: 
Kind of association 
Average 
number 
of mem- 
bers per 
asso- 
ciation, 
1915 1 
Average 
amount 
of busi- 
ness per 
asso- 
ciation, 
1912-19152 
Dairy products. 
Grain 
Fruits and vegetables 
Merchandise (farmers' stores) . 
Cotton and cotton products... 
Livestock 
Tobacco 
All others... 
A 11 associations 
83 
102 
124 
220 
87 
140 
336 
231 
122 
$48, 806 
143, 268 
161, 458 
52, 919 
161, 465 
98, 777 
156, 890 
82, 986 
115, 402 
1 From reports from 4,683 associations, Department Bulletin 547, p. 25. 
2 Averages based on 7,399 reports received during 1912-1915. 
Statistical Tables 1 to 4 (pp. 14 to 20) contain in condensed form 
much of the data collected in connection with the survey of 1913-1915. 
COOPERATIVE SALES AND PURCHASES IN 1919 
Census data collected in 1919 give the number of farms in the 
United States that reported cooperative selling or purchasing as 
624,527. This number was 9.7 per cent of all the farms. The amount 
of the sales and purchases was $806,599,308. Over 500,000 (511,383) 
farms reported sales through farmers' marketing organizations to the 
amount of $721,983,639, and 329,449 farms reported purchases 
through similar organizations to the amount of $84,615,669. 
Minnesota led all the States in the total number of farms reporting 
sales or purchases, being credited with 81,145 farms; Iowa was second 
with 51,630 farms; Wisconsin third, 48,190 farms; Michigan fourth, 
47,021; and Kansas fifth, 43,188. The States in which 20 per cent 
of all farms reporting cooperative sales or purchases are : Minnesota, 
45.5 per cent; Nebraska, 32.4 per cent; South Dakota, 30.2 per cent; 
Kansas, 26.1 per cent; North Dakota, 25.5 per cent; Wisconsin, 25.5 
per cent; Iowa, 24.2 per cent; Michigan, 23.9 per cent; California, 
22.4 per cent. (See Tables 5 and 6, pp. 22, 24.) 
The amounts of the sales and purchases in those States with the 
largest totals were: California, $132,312,110; Minnseota, $89,402,621; 
Iowa, $66,164,578; Nebraska, $54,415,247; Kansas, $53,954,008; 
Illinois, $51,254,154; New York, $47,177,223; South Dakota, 
$35,235,015; Wisconsin, $32,447,211; North Dakota, $28,325,369. 
(See Table 6, p. 24.) Figures 1,2, 3, and 4 picture the situation 
in the United States in 1919 as revealed by the reports obtained by 
the census enumerators. 
COOPERATION IN 1921-1924 
The third survey was begun at about the time the Capper- Volstead 
cooperative law was enacted. (Capper- Volstead Act, Public No. 
146. 67th Cong., approved, February 18, 1922.) At that time it 
