St. Tammany farmer., 1922-06-10

Meirch of Minnesota, representing the
Farmers National Grain Dealers AS
sociation; A. L. Middleton OF Iowa, also
representing the Farmers National Grain
Dealers Association; Ralph Snyder Of
Kansas, representing tho Farm Bureau
Federation; L. ]. Tabor Of Ohio, repre-
senting the National Grange; Clifford
Thorn, and an attorney representing the
National Grain Dealers Association; Don
Livingston Of South Dakota, representing
the Public; Dr. George Livingston, repre-
senting the U. s. Department Of Agri-
culture, and Bureau Of Markets; R. E.
Donnell, representing the Farmers Grain
Dealers Association of Missouri
Nearly seven months we're spent in an
exhaustive study Of cooperative grain
marketing. 1t included reports from
foreign cooperative enterprises as well as
the successful ones Of California and all
the best offered in the United States and
Canada.
Among other things the Committee OF
Seventeen found that enormous profits
were being made by persons who have no
interest in the welfare Of agriculture In the
regarding, mixing and conditioning pro-
cesses; that farmer-owned export compa-
nies were returning three cents to five cents
per bushel more than privately owned
concerns; and that biased and often er-
roneous crop reports were used to in.
fuence the market. It found that far
mers frequently suffered because credit
needed In their business was controlled
by persons sometimes unfricndly to the .
industry; it discovered that grain pur-
chased as low grade proved to be much
better, when brought on the market, 50
that terminal elevators receiving from
70 per cent to 30 per cent Of No. wheat
shipped out from 70 per cent to 80 per
cent, and that in Chicago, more than fifty
times as much speculative, or phantom
grain is sold annually as actually passes
through the market. In the matter Of
transportation, instance after instance
was cited to show where grain was hauled :
great distances and finally consumed as
-four, only short distance from the farm
on which 1t was raised
When the Committee was ready to draft
it's final report, it decided that national
organization was needed and that it
should include these features: finance
body, farmer owned and farmer-con-
trolled; perfect working marketing ma
chine that would bring grain in steady
flow to market and prevent "gluts" which
depressed prices to the advantage Of the
grain SPECTATORS; a.farmer-owned export
company; worldwide crop reporting
service; and producerowned terminal
facilities with we'll equipped mixing, re-
grading and conditioning machinery.
Then at big ratification meeting in i
Chicago, on April 6-7-s, 1921, Chairman
C. H. Gustafson presented their COM
pleted plan to 1o3 fully credited delegates
from the rs surplus-grain producing states.
The plan provides for three primary ele-
ments:
1. The Grain Grower.
7. The local Cooperative Elevator
Company, or Grain Growers Association.
;. The Central Sales Association.
With more than 10000 grain growers
in eleven midwest states electing to sell
all their marketable surplus Of grain, ap-
more than 100000, 600 bush
els, through the farmer-owned, farmer
controlled channels outlined by the Far
mers' Marketing Committee Of Seventeen,
the U. S. Grain Growers, Inc, today is at
least twice as large as any other co-opera-
tive organization or single grain firm in the
nation.