The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1921-05-26
COOPERATIVE Marketing

ketS reports that there are about four
teen thousand farmers buying and
selling organizations scattered all ov-
er the United States. From this it is
evident that American farmers are
awake to the necessity of their taking
a hand in the business of distributing
their products. Some of these buying
and selling organizations are cooper
ative, that is, they are organized with
out capital stock and pay no stock div
idends, all proceeds less costs being
prorated among the members accord
ing to the amount of business done
through the organization. Others are
stock company organizations, and the
farmers who own stock receive mar
ket prices for their products, plus
stock dividends provided the organiza-
ton makes a profit. This kind Of
farmers organization is very similar
to an ordinary corporation and is of
little value from the growers stand
point for the reason that its prime OBJ
ject is to pay its stockholders diri-
dends on capital stock. Like other
corporations, it tries to buy as cheap
ly as possible and sell as high as pos
sible.
Some of these organizations combine
in various ways features of both the
stock company dividend-paylrg organ
ization and the non-stock, purely CO.
operative associations. For example,
some of them limit the dividends pay
able en- stock to 6 OF 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 is based on the promise OF the
paid out to patrons are called patron
age dividends. The payment Of pat
tronage dividends iG based on the
promise of the patrons are as necesa-
ry to the success OF an organization
as is the capital stock and therefore
entitled to receive share of the prof.
its realized in the marketing opera
tion.
Pure cooperative marketing, on the
other hand, means the taking over OF
the marketing process or of certain
parts of it by growers on basis OF
equal risk and equal profits. No cap
ital stock is necessary under this plan
and all receipts from the sale OF pro-
ducts, less costs of selling, are return
ed 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 ev-
cry possible degree Of variation from
the pure cooperative plan to the or
dinary stock corporation plan.
The six main principles underlying
the successful marketing of farm
products on the purely cooperative
plan may be stated as follows:
(1) The basis of such association
shall be single crop or commodity
and not combination of crops which
are marketed in unlike manner. Meth
er is the association organized merely
by counties or other political division
but rather over the entire territory
where the particular commodity Is
produced.
(2) Membership is limited to grow
ers and to landlords who receive a
part of the crop as rental.
81 Each member enters binding
contract with the association agree
ing to turn over to the association tor
its resale value all of the commodity
which comes into his possession as a
grower. The association markets that
commodity for nobody except mem
berS.
(4) 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
product.
90 Competent market men VINO
have had practical successful expert
ence in marketing the particular com
modify are employed by the assocla-
ton to handle the marketing WORK
of the association. Such marketing
work is not a job for amateurs.
(6) Such an association is set up
and operated on the basis OF the crop
contracts and without capital stock.
ctr nnn-