The L'Anse sentinel., 1924-02-08

pool of 6.79S,O00 pounds, one-half OF
Ohio's clip. was sold.
The plan works something like this:
During May and June the growers de-
liver their wool to central place, al
though there Is no contract binding
them to deliver. (That perhaps Is the
greatest weakness of the Ohio pooD
The wool Is then shipped to leased
warehouses at Columbus or Wheei-
ing, w. Va. for grading and storage.
In addition to this association there Is
| a warehousing company with about
1000 stockholders. This company has
a warehouse at South Columbus, where
the wool may be assembled, graded
and stored. A commission merchant
is employed to direct the sales.
The wool is pooled by grade for the
year and producers are paid the re-
ceipts, less the expenses. AS soon as
the wool is delivered the grower is
paid 20 per cent Of the value Of the
wool. which may be obtained on ware
house receipts. Between 1910 and 1921
this marketing plan saved the pooling
farmers S1,000,000 over dealers bids.
The success OF the Ohio pool. which
is the largest In the United States, has
led the growers in other corn-belt
states to adopt similar plan. In 1921
Michigan had the largest pool outside
of Ohio with 2,5S6,O00 pounds. and
Iowa, Indiana and New York each
pooled over 100000 pounds. Other
Middle West pools were in Illinois,
South Dakota, Missouri, Kansas. North
Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and
West Virginia.
Most OF the pooled clips OF the
Middle West are handled by the Ma
tional Wool Warehouse and Storage
company OF Chicago, company made
up of 200 western sheep growers. The
wool handled through the company Is
brought to the warehouse. where Il Is
graded and stored until II can be sold
for reasonable price. This company
will handle both wool pools and ship
ments on consignments from growers.
II is not cooperative. but II does fur
nish good service In both grading
and sales.
State pools collect the wool from
the local pools and this Is shipped by
carload lots into the Chicago ware
house. The wool Is graded by state
pools and the growers are sent ware
house receipts. But the warehouse
company does not make a sale until
the association has given its approval
Usually the whole pool goes at one
transaction For this reason market
ing specialists declare the plan lack
ing. To sell an entire years clip at
one time is not in line with good mar
keting ethics. Orderly marketing.
toward which American farmers are
striving, means supplying the market
with the product as the product Is
needed
In the Range States
In the range states wool is the one
big crop. Every pound must pay a
just return There are no other crops
to fall back on. Yet the wool grow
ers are reluctant about trying CO.
operative marketing. These ranchers
are individualists The range is cursed
with the same problems that are prev
alent In the corn belt. But IL was with
much hesitation and fear that the
range growers came together to mar
ket comparatively. They tried IL first
In 1905 in Fremont county, Idaho. The
pool was success, SO much so that
the growers of other states were more
than merely interested. They began
pooling with their neighbors. The
movement spread slowly to Idaho, Ore
gon and Wyoming. Although the area
covered by each pool was small, the
pools frequently averaged $4,000
pounds.
Various plans Of organization were
tried. In the Idaho pool each grower
signs a power-of-attorney to the pool
manager. who takes the control and
the pool Is sold at a fiat rate ungraded
When pools Of the corn belt began
to meet with success there was de.
mand for larger pools In the West
In 1921 about 100000 pounds was
assembled In five large pools. Almost
half of this was In the two Montans
: pools. 1t was In 1921 that the Pacific
Cooperative Wool Growers was or
, ganized by the Oregon Farm Bureau
federation. II started with 1,7OC
! members who signed fve-year con.
tracts. This iron-clad contract is the
chief difference between the Pacific
, Cooperative Wool Growers and the
. other western woolmarketing asso.
! Citations. 1t differs, too, in that II has
: sales manager whose sole business
!, Is to sell wool instead of turning Il
over to commission merchant. This
a policy is directly opposed to the dump
ing system Of the Central West.
. The wool is collected locally and
sent to a bonded warehouse in Port.
I land to be graded and sold. The price
A has averaged cents a pound above
Z that made by the outside bidders
' Now the association has spread out
. into northern California, western
e Idaho, southern Washington and all OF
. Oregon.