The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-06-25
DAIRYMEN NEED S4,0O0,O00 TO BUY NEW PLANTS League Intends to Buy Or
 Erect 13 New Plants
 Immediately FARMERS TO BENEFIT BY LATEST SCHEME RLarge Amount of Funds
 Have Already Been Subscribed

Officers Sofs the N. Y. Dairymen's g League. Inc, announced last night k that the Dairymen's League Cooper ative Association. Inc, now operat- [ ing twelve farmer owned country !. milk plants, has campaigns under way , to buy existing plants, or to build new ones, in thirteen widely seperat- ed sections in. League territory. The new projects call for raising nearly $4,00o.0 900, large part of which al- {, ready has been subscribed. Requests ' from dairy farmers to launch addi- ] tionaI campaigns are being received [ at League headquarters faster than they can be handled.
 Ever since milk has been shipped ! to the cities the country milk sta tions have been in the hands of dis tributors and manufacturers. These plants include milk shipping stations, butter and cheese factories and places for the manufacture of condensed. powdered and evaporated milk and other milk products.
 Ownership of country milk plants by producers means to the farmer. according to league officials, an as- sured market for his milk, stability of business and a more equitable dis trfbution of the proceeds G It means
 
 prices, they declare, as cooperative activities will result in reduced costs. Reasonable prices for a uni form high quality brand of products, they say, will bring about increased volume of business with increased re- turns to the producer in his capacity as manufacturer.
 The league intends to go slowly and develop the cooperative plan one plant at a time. Creameries and condensaries will not be built merely to permit producers to enter into competition with established plants which are taking care of the milk of a particular community. Co-6pera- tive plants will be established only in sections where the farmers believe their best interests demand they should have a plant In every case the farmers must back up their be. liefs with the required capital.
 The league leaders realize that ii can come into possession of a suf- ficient number of plants to handle all milk produced by all farmers in league territory. They are satisfied. however, that at the rate the coop erative plan is developing it will not be long before the Dairymen's League Cooperative Association will be man.
 
 products
 The quotas to be raised run from $50, 900 to s60O,00O. Ten are for $250, 900 or over In each community no campaign was undertaken until after the farmers themselves at meet ings held for the purpose voted to organize comparatively.
 The cooperative plan is financed by means of a revolving fund, which has been recommended by the United ! States Department of Agriculture to cooperative associations of producers.
 A member of the association re- ! ceives certificates of indebtedness t bearing per cent, interest, for the full amount of his investment These certificates are payable in equal in- { stallments of 20 per cent each year 1 for period of five years.
 To meet the payments on certifi- i cates of indebtedness and interest : thereon a special fund is created out of the proceeds of the business, just h enough being set aside from the amount each farmer member receives for milk delivered at the plant to re- tire the certificates as they become due.
 As security for these deductions, which in reality are loans to the as- ,sociation, new certificates of indebt- .edness are issued to the producer These new certificates in turn are payable with interest at the eXpira- tion of five years.
 After the initial capital for a plant has been raised locally and the plant established, the property passes to the .Dairymen'S League Cooperative As sociation, which assumes all obliga- tions including the payment of all certificates of indebtedness.
 The plan works this way:
 A farmer subscribes, say, $1,000 At the end of the first year he re- ceives s2o0' and ss0 interest; second year, s2OO and s4S interest; third year, s2OO and $36 interest; fourth year, S2OO and SPA interest; fifth year, $2O0 and SIP interest. Thus al. the end of the fifth year he gets back his original subscription and S1S0 in- terest- -IEt #.Te
 In the meantime he receives for his milk what the milk is worth to the association minus the amounts deducted to retire the annual certifi. cates of indebtedness and interes, charges
 The farmer. puts his milk into the business and gets his share of the proceeds of the cooperative concern operating as his agent for the sale of fluid milk and as a manufacturer of milk products. His share will bear the same ratio to the total proceeds of the business as the quantity of milk be delivered bears to the total pounds of milk handled at all the plants.
 The day may come and farmers declare things are headed that way when cooperative organiza tions of consumers will buy their butter cheese, condensed milk, etc. direc.