Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-05-29
ACo-OPERATIvE BACON FACTORY
BY MATTHEW S. puDeEoN.


BACON FACTORY
years cooperation has been in sue
cessful operation in Denmark, no CO.
operative society can count upon the
absence Of rivalry and competition
from private dealers. Earlier in the
game more than one cooperative So
ciety was sadly hindered in being out
bid in its efforts to purchase the
products of it's members. It is hard
indeed for the farmer to realize that
he should accept $40 per hundred for
his pigs from a cooperative society
while the outside dealer is offering
him S11 per hundred. The private
dealers here played the game that they
are playing in America Whenever
any cooperative concern started do
ing business the private dealer at
once outbid it. Here as in America
the farmers sometimes abandoned
their cooperative society and sold to
the highest bidder. Occasionally the
cooperative concern was pushed to
the wall and went out of business.
Here as in America the private deal
er Immediately dropped his price and
the farmer was where he was before
getting whatever price the dealers
agreed upon among themselves.
No Selling to Rival Dealers.
1t did not take the organizers of
the cooperative movement long to
realize that this could not go on. Con-
sequently, when new organization is
started now the matter is fully ex-
planned to the prospective members.
They are told that unless they expect
to give unlimited loyalty to the con-
Germ, unless they are willing to agree
to bring all of their output to the So
ciety even when the society is outbid
by private dealers, there is no use in
starting a society at all. 1t is fully
explained to them that the high prices
which may be offered can only be
temporary and that the permanent
welfare of the community demands
that the cooperative concern be or
ganized and be Loyalty supported. The
matter thus fully before them the
Danish farmers do not hesitate to en-
ter into a contract TO deliver all their
product to the local cooperative So
ciety. The members of this bacon
factory here are under absolute agree
ment to deliver pigs to no other deal
er, although any member may of
course use such hogs as he needs for
his own use. Here is the contract:
I'VE, the undersigned hereby pledge
ourselves to deliver to the
cooperative bacon factory, which 1t is
proposed to establish, all the pigs OF
weight between $50 and 200 pounds,
which we may produce for sale. Such
pigs will be delivered on conditions
decided by the shareholders of the
society, and that we shall receive
such amount in payment of such de-
| livered swine as may be realized for
them by the factory less preliminary
expenses incurred in the organization
! of the society and the annual Install
ments on loan for building and plant
payable during a period of about ten
years, together with current working
expenses"
| If a member delivers pigs to any
! dealer he is penalized. He has gone
into this agreement with full knowl-
edge of it's purpose. AS result no
one seems to be in the least dissat-
isfied, although occasionally competi-
tors offer prices that are indeed tempt
i1.g. The manager told us, however,
that repeatedly he had farmers not
only express satisfaction over the
profits which they were receiving, but
! when in addition to fair price they
have been paid dividend they have
repeatedly demonstrated that il
seemed to them they were getting
more than they should out of the CON
| Germ.
Sixty Thousand Pigs Per Year.
"We handle from sixty thousand to
seventy thousand pigs each year
said the manager. During parts OF
the year two thousand pigs per week
will come in. These all are nearly
of the same age and size, practically
all being between twenty-four and
twenty-eight weeks old and weighing
from 1S0 to 200 pounds. They have
been fed almost the same food and
have been raised upon conditions that
are absolutely uniform. Slight differ
ences occur in the individuals, some
being little fatter than their mates
others differing in the quality o1
meat, although it would take ar
expert to detect these differences. Oul
annual turn over of bacon amounts to
about million and half dollars. We
send out some fresh pork. Our lead
ing article is cured side bacon with
ham and shoulder attached. We send
out also lard, sausage, boneless ham
and number of by-products. You
will note as you go through the fac
tory that every product which we
send out is marked with govern
ment stamp with the number 80
which is the number of this factory
Utilizing All Except the SqueaI.
"All the waste from the factory is
carefully cared for. We do not de