The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-05-11
CONCERNING CO OPERATIVE
MARKETING.

~
United States Bureau of Markets
reports that there are about fourteen
thousand farmers buying and selling
organizations scattered throughout
the United States. From this 1t IS
evident that American farmers are
awake to the necessity of their TAX
ing a hand, in the business OF dlstrio-
uting their products. Some OF these
buying and selling organizations CO.
operative, that is, they are organized
without capital stock and pay no
stock dividends, all proceeds less
costs being ~prorated among the men,
hers according to the amount OF bus
mess done through the organization.
Others are stock company organiza-
IONS and the farmers who own stock
receive market prices for their pro-
ducts, plus stock dividends provided
the organization makes a profit. This
kind of farmers organization is very
similar to an ordinary corporation
and is of little value from the grow
ers' standpoint for the reason that
it's prime object is to pay its stock
holders dividends on capital STOCK.
Like other corporations, it tries to
buy as cheaply as possible and sell as
high as possible.
Combination Stock and Patronage
Companies.
Some of these organizations COM
bine in various ways features of both
the stock company dividend-paying
organization and the non-stock,
purely cooperative associations. For
example, some of them limit the divi-
Gcnds payable on stock to 6 or Z per
cent and provide that any profits
realized above such per cents shall
be paid out to the farmers who buy
or sell through the organization. The
amounts thus paid out to patrons are
called patronage dividends. The pay
ment of patronage dividends is based
on the premise that patrons are as
necessary to the success of an organ
ization as is capital stock and there
fore entitled to receive a share of
the profits realized in the marketing
operation.
Pure Cooperative Marketing.
Pure cooperative marketing, on
the other hand, means the taking
over of the marketing process or of
certain parts of it by growers on a
basis of equal profits. No capital
stock is necessary under this plan
and all receipts from the sale of pro-
ducts, less costs of selling, are re-
turned to growers in payment for the
products marketed.
. Thus we see that the thousands of
farmers buying and selling organiza-
tions throughout the country make
use of the principles of cooperation
in every possible degree of variation
from the pure cooperative plan to
the ordinary stock corporation plan.
Six Principles Briefly Explained.
The six main principles underlying
the successful marketing of farm
products on the purely cooperative
plan may be stated as follows:
l.. The basis of such association
shall be a single crop or commodity
and not a combination of crops which
ere marketed in unlike manner
Neither is the association organized
merely by counties or other political
division but rather over the entire
territory where the particular COM
modify is produced.
2. Membership is limited to grow
ers and to landlords who receive a
part of the crop as rental. >
5. Each member enters a bind
ing contract with the association
agreeing to turn over to the associ-
alton for it's resale value all of the
commodity which comes into his pos
session as a grower. The association
markets that commodity for nobody
except members.
a. The commodity is all graded
and each grade is marketed as a
pool. The members all receive the
same price per unit for the same
grade of pro6uct-