Judith Gap journal. [volume] (Judith Gap, Mont.) 1908-19??, 1911-05-26
The Farmers
Elevator.
BY r. 3. linficId, Director Mon.
tana Experiment Station.

4 !. !. :. !. !. = !. = :. !. !. = j. :.
The farmers elevator is cutie corr
mon in the Central Western states.
hut is rather new thing in Montana
One OF the most successful in this
state is the Farmers Alliance. in the
the strength and weakness of such or.
CARNATIONS and ] will use it as sam.
pie in presenting this topic.
The organization is cooperative
corporation. 1t has a capital stock of
100000, with $4,000 paid up. The
shares are $40 each, but no member
is limited as to the number he takes.
The membership is 400. The ALI
ance has two elevators, one purchased
and the other built.
The expenses of the Alliance are
met by the elevator and loading
charges. The members are allowed
fifteen days free storage, then | cent
per 100 pounds per month thereafter.
Two cents per 100 pounds is charged
for cleaning and loading the grain on
the cars. A commission of cent per
hushel is charged for selling wheat
and cents per bushel on oats or bar
ley. The Alliance also handles hay
for it's members.
What success the Alliance has had
in this valley has been in large
measure due to the manager. He is
farmer and understands fully the
farmers point OF view. He is also
1oc l,,,c
informed on the condition of the mar
ket. With the telephone now reach
ing nearly every part of the valley the
manager keeps in close touch with all
the members, furnishing them with
market reports whenever desired.
This service, which has enabled the
members to take advantage of the
best markets, has added thousands of
dollars to the income of the farmers.
The Alliance. as rule. buys no
grain; it is the agent through which
the members sell their grain to the
buyers. either inside or outside the
state. 1t is thus competitor with the
local grain dealer The effect of this
competition has been to raise the
price of grain from 10 to 20 per cent
in the valley. This was second ad
vantage. which the Alliance elevator
has been to it's members.
The weakness of this organization
is the weakness of nearly all farmers
organizations-the lack of continuous
cooperation. There are 400 members
in the Alliance, but the bulk of the
elevator business is supported by
from twenty-five to thirty members.
All get the benefit OF the better mar
kets. and all may get the benefit of
the daily market quotations, but most
of the members sell through other
agencies rather than through the Al
lance. AS result, it is sometimes
difficult for the manager to meet the
expenses from the commissions and
elevator charges.
With the benefits of the organza-
ton as stated. the members should at
least pay commissions to the Alliance
on all sales they make through what
ever avenue. This would assure suf-
ficent revenue to properly manage
the business II il gave surplus of
receipts, this could be distributed as
dividends in proportion to the grain
sold.
Gailatin valley Possesses some adj
vantases in taking up such plan of
crop selling by the farmers. The val
ley has been settled for over forty
years. the farmers are we'll to do, and
are quite able financially to build the
elevators and equip them for taking
care of the crop. With conditions
such as they are III this valley. the
Farmers Alliance Can be made a de.
cided success if the farmers will
stick together and Support their own
enterprise. Their failure in this re-
gard is one of the serious weaknesses
in the enterprise. Next, a capable in.
dustrious manager. who understands
and has the confidence of the farmers,
and is thoroughly familiar with the
grain business, is the keynote to sue.