The L'Anse sentinel., 1924-02-01

The dealers would buy up the eggs
and put them in storage, borrow money
on the eggs In storage and so DacK
and buy more eggs. The farmers
dumped them in a helpless way ana
broke prices in that fashion, while the
produce dealers DUMPED them con-
sciously onto the San Francisco Prod
uce exchange with the intention OF
brenking the price The dumping In
the spring dominated the price OF the
entire year. California poultrymen
stood khis state of affairs until half
Of them were broke. Then they got
together to try their own hand nj
marketing. In 1916 they incorporated
the Poultry Producers of Central Cal
ifornia. One thousand producers
ioined the association and they start
ed selling in January, 1917.
Every one of these 1000 hen owners
subscribed for $40 share of stock
and signed contract to deliver all
of his eggs to the association for four
years. What the association proposed
TO do was to grade the eggs and pool
them by grades, then sell them out,
one cent a dozen being deducted to
cover the expenses. During the first
eleven months II handled S2,049,OoO
worth of eggs AT selling expense or
only 2.41 per cent. The business stead
lily grew until In 1921 II handled
662.G04 cases for it's 2,436 producer
members In 1922 the producers mar
keted $6.S33,OOO worth OF eggs, of
which 81 per cent were shipped to the,
East. Twenty per cent were carried
in storage. Only 4S per cent were
sold at once.
II took long time to build the or
ganization for the business of selling.
The tlocks had to be standardized.
The work had TO be completely reor-
ganlzed. Certain men who were
Matching specialists were put in
charge to hatch all the chicks, and the
rest Of the members ran their fiocks
without ROSTERS. The eggs were care
fully graded and fed out 10 the mar
ket In an orderly fashion, the surplus
being processed and packed away In
cold storage for the shortage season.
Under the old system the bulk OF these
eggs We're dumped in the spring on the
san Francisco market
Big Pacific Coast Business.
Portland poultry producers had foi
years been receiving the lowest price
on the Pacific coast In 1919 they
adopted cooperative marketing plan
similar 10 the one used in the Peta-
luna district. They formed the Pa
clfic Cooperative Poultry Producers
are equal to the highest The associa.
tion markets the eggs of 100000 hens
half of the production OF Oregon.
Idaho and Washington.
Three other groups of Pacific coast
have started their own
organization, all built on
the same plan. Now the five Pacific
,9ast groups have joined forces TO
work under one great overhead sales
lgency--the Pacific Coast Egg Produc-
Frs. Each group sells Its own eggs
n its own particular section. but all
the eggs to be shipped out are pooled
md handled from one office.
Along the eastern coast more than
400 New Jersey poultrymen got to-
yether in August Of 1921 and formed
the New Jersey Cooperative Poultry
Producers association, which has only
been extended 10 include pro-
ducers of all the Atlantic coast states.
This organization is another model Of
the Petaluma group.
Commercial poultrymen are making
their markets pay just return. But
they can never have complete control
over the egg market until the hun
dreds of farm flocks OF the Middle
West are laying cooperative eggs.
The huge production of the Middle
Western states is in the hands Of the
packers; their control Of the surplus
is strong enough that they can break
any market.
The only attempts that the Middle
West has made toward the co-opera-
tive marketing Of eggs has been en-
tirely along local lines. In some of
the dairy districts Of Iowa, Minnesota,
Wisconsin. Indiana and Pennsylvania
the cooperative creameries are han
ding the marketing Of eggs and poui.
try for their members. They usually
pay cash for the produce at the time
Of delivery, just the same as the
dealer. The only difference Is that the
creamery does not attempt to make
profit. In other districts there arr
shipping associations and egg circles
In all there are more than 75O of thas'
local units. Usually the village store
keeper handles the circles shipmen
and he is paid so much per dozen TO
his trouble. Through local units tn,
eggs bring slightly better prices, bu
the producers are still helplessly II
the power Of the dealers. And tn
game dealers are In control Of at leas
90 per cent of our total egg production
Women to Pool Eggs.
Now the women OF the West ar
going to pool their eggs in the Call
fornia way, and they have alrend
started to work. Local association
are being organized to assemble an