The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1914-03-18
Coz Operative Farm
Products Marketing
How IL Is Done In Europe and May Be Done
in America to fhe Profit of Both
Farmer and Consumer

BY MATHEW Q. oUpoEoN.

selves as investors. and ignored the
interests OF the fruit growers them
selves. As a result the small growers
were forced u of business and out
Of the country.
Here In Ireland 80 well established
Is this principle that II is a definite
rule that no cooperative society can
pay more than o per cent per an.
mum upon the stock held by the share.
holders.
Must Market Through the Society.
Every time that any group OF Amer.
lean farmers have organized a CO.
operative marketing concern they have
met sharp and often unfair competi.
ton. The other established buyers
have offered prices which were higher
than the cooperative society could
offer without taking a loss. Often they
succeed in coaxing the members OF
the cooperative society from It's sup
port. 1t IL hard for a farmer who Is
receiving only 80 cents per bushel
for his potatoes at "a cooperative ware.
house 10 refuse i5 cents offered by
some independent buyer. But the un.
varying subsequent history is. OF
course, that as o o Al the co-opera.
tive concern Is put out OF business by
this sort OF competition prices drop,
and the farmer 10 where he was be-
fore. and helpless in the hands OF the
independent buyers,
To obviate this difficulty In Ireland.
II has been found necessary TO OK.
plain the situation fully to the pros.
pectiye members OF the cooperative
| organization. TO state TO them that un.
less they are willing TO agree TO mar.
ket all their product through the CO
operative society II IL useless to be-
gin. They are warned that they will
be approached by Independent dealers
and offered higher prices. But thus
warned and informed upon the sub.
1ect. the organizers OF Irish co-opera'
tive societies have had little difficulty
bers an agreement TO market all OF
their produce through the concern.
Importance Of Quality.
As we have said. there is no magic
In cooperation. Cooperative market.
ing simply means that the farm pro-
duce IL 10 be marketed In a business.
like way without undue waste dur.
ing the process. Pioneers In Irish co.
operation soon found hat after they
had discovered the best market and
after they had organized the co-opera.
tive society, and after the members
had agreed TO bring all their produce
TO the company, cooperation was still
an absolute failure whenever the mem.
bers OF the society delivered eve oc.
~casionally. inferior goods and mingled
them with the better goods. A cream.
cry puts out 100 pounds OF good but.
ter; II the next pound IL bad butter
the market for the butter OF that
creamery is ruined. Without high uni
form quality cooperation cannot sue.
coed. II becomes necessary therefore
for the members all to cooperate In
producing cream that Ii OF the highest
possible quality and reaches the
creamery In the best condition. But
Irish experience demonstrates that no
private concern can compete In quail
ity with n cooperative concern, for no
private can control the prod
act from Its original urce
Control" 10 Requisite.
Quality can be produced by the CO
operative society. because these con
Germs reach out to the farm Il
self. 1t Is not enough that a cream
cry has the best and latest methods
OF making butter and marketing It
II the cream comes In from the farm
In bad condition. the butter Is bad
To make good butter you must contro
the COW. and her feed. and her care
and the stables. and the milk pail
and even the milk can used In deliv
cry.
Certain rigid rules and conditions
are laid down by the creameries them
selves. and approved by a central com
mittee. Each creamery participating
In the scheme Is required to give FIRE,
access during the working hours to tn,
/ officers OF the I. A. o. s. that they ma.
I inspect the premises and books. checl
the records, examine any butter Il
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