Sfo RURAL NEW.YORKER 
575 
Four Years of Co-operative Wool Marketin 
HAT THE WORK MEANS.—What is 
meant by a successful co-operative 
marketing enterprise? The opinions 
of men will differ, I expect, on the 
application of the word “successful’’ 
to the results obtained through co¬ 
operative activities. Some will measure success only 
in dollars and cents results; others in the improve¬ 
ment made in delivering to the trade a more uniform 
and standardized product which indirectly results 
in better prices; still others will measure success in 
co-operative activities from the point of view of its 
effect on the men who are mutually associated. 
When co-operative undertakings clearly show results 
along all three of these lines then it would seem as 
though the word “successful” used as an, adjective 
would not be ill-advised. Irrespective of the finer 
points in defining the many objectives sought in co¬ 
operative buying and selling, it is difficult to deny 
the one primary mercenary objective, which is lower 
prices for the things we purchase and higher prices 
are grades of wheat or cotton. A picture of how 
New York State wools grade may be obtained by 
a glance at the following table, which is self-explana¬ 
tory. This information has been made possible by 
co-operative pooling: 
New York State Wools, Clips of 1020, 1021, 1022, 1923 
Per Cent 
Pounds 
Commercial Grades 
of Grade 
Marketed 
Delaine . 
. (5.4 
129.200 
Fine clothing . 
. 2.0 
40,300 
% blood combing . 
512.S00 
y> blood clothing . 
. 1.0 
32.700 
% blood combing. 
. 24.0 
495,600 
% blood clothing . 
. 1.2 
24,400 
!4 blood combing . 
041.700 
!4 blood clothing . 
. 1.1 
21.800 
Low and common . 
. 2.0 
41,200 
Rejects (tags, black, burry, 
etc.) . 
seedy, cots, 
. 4.0 
81,700 
Total . 
.100.0 
2,021.400 
PRICES RECEIVED—If better prices for wool is 
to be the measure of success then the facts can be 
shown from the past four years’ records made by 
the New York State Sheep Growers’ Co-operative 
keting, the average net price per pound for all wool, 
the average net prices returned to members for the 
wool, and also a conservative estimate of the range 
of prices paid by local dealers during those same 
years. 
USING THE ORGANIZATION AS A CLUB. — 
There is one particular trait of human nature in 
some of us that is hard to explain. Allusion is made 
to those individuals who are usually intelligent, as 
men go, but. who prefer to go it alone—as their 
fathers did—and wherever possible profit by the ad¬ 
vantageous situations brought about by common en¬ 
deavor of their neighbors. For example: The ex¬ 
istence of a co-operative marketing County Sheep 
Growers’ Association in a county does, beyond a 
doubt, stimulate local wool buyers to bid up to their 
limit for wool: certainly much higher than they 
otherwise would hid were it not for the competition. 
The peculiar individual to whom we refer will profit 
by this situation by dickering with local buyer and, 
threatening to join the local association, will 
The Home School—A Case of Compulsory Education for the Coy. Ely. 209 
for the products we sell, for if these are not the 
objectives then the whole movement must be based 
on philanthropy with the farmers supporting the 
cornucopia of plenty. 
BETTER PRICES.—Many of the farmers in New 
York State who keep sheep are participating in a 
co-operative marketing movement. They have been 
co-operatively grading and selling their wool clips 
for the past four years. In this undertaking they 
have not only developed a mutual spirit of helpful¬ 
ness, but they have materially improved the mer¬ 
chantable condition of their product, eliminated in 
a measure many itinerant or local wool buyers who 
were never an economic necessity, and it seems safe 
to affirm, they have obtained better prices for their 
wool. Undoubtedly “better-prices" is the strongest 
incentive, and always will be the primary motive 
that will hold men loyal to co-operative marketing 
associations. •--- » 
IMPROVING QUALITY.—This movement has 
done much to create for New York State wools a 
reputation which they have not had for many years. 
This has been made possible by proper grading and 
conditioning of the wools, and by offering to the 
trade comparatively large quantities of uniform 
grades which are attractive to the mills. This in 
turn results in direct marketing between the farm 
and the manufacturer—an economic principle always 
prominent in discussions on co-operative marketing. 
Formerly all wool that grew on a sheep was just 
wool. Now it is quite generally understood that 
there are grades and grades of wool just as there 
Association, and the degree of success can be de¬ 
termined by the reader. The following table will 
be clear to most sheep growers, but to others it may 
require some study. The important points to note 
are that when wools are graded each grade has a 
different market value. To obtain an average price 
for “just wool” it is necessary to divide the total 
value by the total quantity of all grades. This will 
give a figure comparable to the prices offered or 
paid by local buyers for the farmers’ ungraded clips 
of wool. But these local dealers buy as cheaply as 
they can, hence the range of their bids for wool 
will vary greatly according to whether or not the 
farmer is informed on current market values, the 
existence of the co-operative marketing association, 
or is a confirmed non-pooler. The following is a rec- 
Grades 
1920* 
1921* 
1922 
1923 
Fancy delaine . 
53c 
50c t 
44e 
52c 
50c t 
Fine clothing . 
... 30c 
30c 
44c 
50.8c 
Yi blood combing . 
40c 
50c 
54c 
Vs blood clothing . 
... 30c 
30c 
43c 
48. DC 
% blood combing . 
... 39e 
39o 
47c 
54c 
%blood clothing . 
30c 
38c 
49.3c 
Yi blood combing . 
33c 
43c 
50c 
Yi blood clothing .. 
... 30c 
30c 
36c 
44c 
Low and common . 
... 22.5c 
22.5c 
34.5c 
30c 
Tags . 
5c 
15c 
18c 
Rejects (burry, cots, etc.) 
22c 
22c 
35c 
30c 
Fed wools . 
38c 
43c 
48c 
Average Gross Price . 
. . . 30.3c* 
30.3c* 
45.3c 
50.8c 
Av. Expense per pound.. 
4.3c 
4.1c" 
3.7c 
4.35c 
Av. Net Ret. to Members.. . 
. . . 32.2c 
32.2c 
41.0c 
40. f>c 
Range paid by local buyer. 
10® 24c* 
16@24c* 
28@35c 
35<S>48c 
Savings to Members .. 
8@10c 
8®i 10c 
7@12e 
3@10c 
•Both 1920 and 1921 crops were marketed about the same time. 
fEstimated market value. 
ord of the gross sale price received for each grade 
during the past four years, the average cost of mar¬ 
force the buyer to bid his limit: then he will sell to 
the local dealer at a price very near the best price 
he might expect from marketing co-operatively along 
with his neighbors. He withholds the strength and 
mutual helpfulness that his participation would add; 
he takes advantage of a situation made possible by 
the courage of his neighbors; and does the very 
thing expected—helps to weaken or break down the 
cause which made it possible for him to realize fair 
prices for his product. 
INCREASING VOLUME.—Co-operative market¬ 
ing cannot be maintained on a shoestring volume oi 
business. A reasonable volume of any commodity is 
necessary, otherwise the most rigid economy in oper¬ 
ation expenses becomes too great a cost. The prob¬ 
lem of the New York State Sheep Growers’ Co-opera¬ 
tive Association, is to handle a larger volume of 
wool. To this end every sheep grower in the State 
if possible, will be supplied with information on the 
results of the co-operative wool marketing endeavor 
during the past four years. From this evidence the 
farmers should not have great difficulty in deciding 
whether or not it will be to their financial advant¬ 
age to join the movement, and whether they have 
any common responsibility in the problem of develop¬ 
ing more satisfactory markets. Since this is in¬ 
tended more as a report than an article it should be 
of further information to the readers of The It. 
N.-Y. who are raising sheep to know that in this 
undertaking there are some 1,700 sheep growers 
participating. These men are associated with their 
respective county associations of which there are 38 
