Morris tribune., 1921-03-04
RAISING A BILLION ON
DEBENTURES PLANNED
Farm Bureau Considers Calling All
Producers Agencies to Ratifca-
ton Congress


alive grain marketing plan worked
out by the American Farm Bureau
Federation's Committee of Seven
teen after five months of research
have been made public.
Every grain raising community in
the country is to have an opportun-
ity to consider the plan before it is
finally approved. The Committee of
Seventeen is now drafting plan for
a national convention, in which re-
representatives. Of every state and every
farmers organization will meet to
ratify the marketing program.
Under the grain selling plan, as
announced through the Minnesota
Farm Bureau Federation today,
national cooperative selling agency
is to be incorporated on nonstock,
nonprofit basis.
Grain growers will become life
members of this national organiza-
tiOn.
S YEAR CONTRACTS PROPOSED
Wherever local cooperative elev-
ators or grain shipping associations
be used as the basis of the national
agency. All existing cooperative
units are to be asked to take part.
In communities where there is no
cooperative elevator, the farmers
will organize a local grain growers
association.
Farmers will sign contracts to
sell all their grain through their 10
cal cooperative for five years. The
cooperative will make a similar con-
tract with the national sales agency.
The farmers, however, are to
choose the method by which they
will sell their grain. They may sell
on consignment, they may sell direct
to their national cooperative agency,
or they may decide to establish
community pool. They may sell to
a local mill, or for local consump-
ton. The object of the contracts is
to enable the national organization
to sell the grain as the world needs
it, and prevent violent fluctuations
and price depressions as a result of
flooded markets at harvest time.
WAREHOUSE SYSTEM PLANNED
The Committee of Seventeen is
completing the details of it's plan for
financing this giant farmers organ
ization. 1t proposes to establish sales
agencies in every important market,
and acquire government licensed
warehouses; for storing the farmers
grain. With the warehouse receipts
for this grain as surety, it is planned
to sell debentures or securities on
the open market, or to farmers, coun-
try bankers and the public generally,
and thus raise money to finance the
cooperative marketing plan. Will
liam G. Eckhardt, treasurer of the
Committee of Seventeen, in st. Paul
to confer with farm bureau officers,
said that the committee believes the
national marketing agency can be
made so strong that it can raise
$1,O0O,0OO,OOO a year to handle the
farmers grain.
The national cooperative probably
would advance to the farmer, when
he ships his grain, IS percent of the
price it hopes to obtain for him; the
rest of the selling price would be
paid to him when the grain is sold.
The aim Of the organization is to
enable the farmer to get some return
from his crop at once, without dump
ing the country's entire production
on the market at harvest time and
forcing the price down.
In that way, farmers would be
able to realize some return on their
crops at once, and their national
agency would hold the grain and
market it as world demand calls for
it. It is designed to prevent violent
fluctuations through manipulation,
and sudden price depression at har-
vest time as result of an oversupply
of grain flooding the market.