The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1911-07-15
MORE PRACTICAL I'M FuTURn
Development Of Modern Machinery
Renders il Necessary for Farmers
to Learn Cooperation.

In the future farmers will have to
learn more practical cooperation than
they have ever practiced In the past.
and that for several reasons. The
farmer is intensely individualistic. His
previous training has made him SO.
He has depended on his own right
arm so long that he has become quite
Independent of his neighbors.
The development of modern ma
chinery renders it necessary for farm
ers to learn to cooperate. For ex-
ample, as we have pointed out be-
fore, lone farmer in building silo
necessarily goes to heavy expense
not only In the construction OF the
silo, but in the purchase Of silage ma.
chinery, especially the power and cut
ter. Now cutter will do for two
farmers just as well as for one, or for
three, IL they will plan their corn so
as to continue the cutting period over
two or three weeks.
Farmers would do well to cooper
ate in buying small threshing out
At rather than depend on the large
outfit, while their grain may be spoil
ing in the shock. There must be CO.
operation in this line among the farm
ers in the neighborhood. They should
either all thresh out OF the shock or
all stack, for the reason that the large
machine coming in wants to clean
up the whole neighborhood at once,
which cannot be done If it Is partly
shocked and partly going through the
sweat In the stack
Western farmers have been quite
successful in cooperating in the way
of manufacturing butter and cheese.
They have found by experience that
it is better to have creamery or
cheese factory In which the milk can
be worked up into the desired product
comparatively, thus saving labor to
the women folks and paving the way
to uniform brand of high market
value.
They have been able to cooperate in
the establishment of canning factories
and some up-to-date farmers have
co-operated In selling their eggs,
stamping them with. the name Of the
farmer and the date, having them
gathered up twice a week, and then
stamped again at the office with the
company brand. They are thus able
to supply strictly fresh eggs to the
grocery or general store In the nearest
town, or for that matter In the dis
tant city. This kind Of cooperation
ought to put at least three cents
dozen on the eggs, perhaps small
matter to the individual farmer, but
big item tc the community.
The greatest success the farmers
have made in cooperating is in the
marketing of their grain This is es-
pecially true In the sections largely
given over to grain growing. They
have established cooperative elevators
In great numbers in northern Iowa and
central and southern Illinois. We see
It reported that at recent meeting of
the Illinois Farm Elevator association
there were 500 delegates, representing
$50 out of the $50 farmers elevators
In the state.
Farmers have not been SO success
full in cooperating In buying as in CO.
operating In selling, although a num-
Der of the cooperative elevators
buy comparatively such things as salt.
coal, lum Der, and In some sections fer
tilizers. In one sense this is a fine
beginning, a very large beginning, and
yet after all 1t is only beginning.
The necessities Of the farm will com
pei cooperation to much greater ex-
tent Ia the future than in the past
Perhaps nothing but necessity will
drive farmers to It, 1t was necessity
that compelled the western fruit peo-
pie to cooperate. Otherwise they
were at the mercy Of the shipping as
sociations and railroads.
Therefore, we say we are Just at
the beginning OF cooperation among
farmers; and the sooner 1t comes, the
better. By and by we shall learn tc
cooperate in buying as we'll as in SELF
ing. and thus eliminate much of the
cost OF distribution in the cities, which
perhaps does more than anything else
to prevent the farmer from getting Q
fair return for his labor