Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-11-13
Farmers Shipping
Association Grows
Cooperative Marketing Is
Gaining. in Importance,
Statistics Show.
prepared by the United States Department
of Agriculture

OUCIGlCGlOO o44OWs
prepared by the United States Department
of AgricnltureO
AS a marketing institution the
farmers live stock shipping associa-
ton is gaining in Importance, accord
ing to a recent statistical study made
by the United States Department OF
Agriculture. 1t appears that the pres
ent tendency as regards this institu-
ton is toward the well-organized as
ISOLATION, with large enough mem
bership and operating over big area
to provide a volume of business suffi-
cient to insure the economies which
come with large. scale operations.
Furthermore with the larger units
there appears to be. a demand for
managers with training and expert
ence in the marketing of live stock.
The results of the recent study by
The Department of Agriculture have
been released in a preliminary repor.
prepared by r. n. Ellsworth of the di-
vision of agricultural cooperation.
The study is based upon reports re-
ceived from 1,547 associations located
in the rural sections and 26 farmer
controlled sales agencies established
fn 20 Of the larger terminal markets.
Active Associations.
One of the existing associations has
been operating since 1888. About one
half of the associations have been &C
tive for five years, over 10 per cent
have been active for ten years, and
nearly 3 per cent have been active for
fifteen years. Ninety-four per cent
of all the associations are in the IL
North Central states. The three states
of Iowa. Minnesota and Illinois are
credited with over one-half of all the
live stock marketing organizations.
The associations in the same three
states contain 43 per cent of the total
membership of all the associations.
These three states with Ohio contain
over SO per cent of the total MEMBER
snip. Average membership per asso-
citation ranges from Az in Ohio where
most of the associations are organized
on a countrywide basis to 80 in NORTH
Dakota. The. averages for several OF
the leading states are as follows: In
diana, PSI; Michigan, 213; Illinois,
206; Wisconsin, 203; Minnesota. 1853;
Iowa, 139. The average membership
for the United States as a whole Is
given as 191 for 1928 compared with
14C in 1915.
Shipping Association Business.
&c is estimated that the 1,547 asso-
Citations in the producing sections mar
keted live stock to the value of $780,
100000 in 1923 Sixty-two per cent of
the total business was handled by the
shipping associations in Iowa, Min
nesota, Illinois and Ohio. The amount
credited to each state is as follows:
Iowa, S42,0OO0OO; Minnesota, $685.
100000; Illinois, $16,OOO,OOO; Ohio,
SIS, 100000. During the ten years,
1914 to 1923, the average amount of
business handled by the shipping as
sociations increased from $4,000 to
$1OS,0O The average amount of bus
mess per association in 1923 credited
Ohio, 1921 900; Iowa, $4,000; ILL
nois, $4,000, and Minnesota, $4,000.
There were increases in the average
amount of business per association for
the two years ending with 1923 for
most of the states. This increase in
Ohio amounted to Al per cent; Mis-
souri,, 27 per cent; Minnesota 13 per
cent; Iowa, Z per cent; Illinois, per
cent. In Wisconsin and South Dakota
there was q decrease in the average
amount of business per association for
the two-year period.
1t appears that 40 per cent of all
the associations are Incorporated, that
the incorporated associations have "a
per cent Of the total membership, and
transacted 81 per cent of the total
business in 1923. But IL per cent of
the associations are organized with
capital stock. However, this percent
age has % per cent Of the membership
and handled 81 per cent of the 1923
business. Fifty-three per cent of the
associations, with So per cent of the
membership and doing 81 per cent Of
the business in 1928, paid patronage
dividends. Only s per cent of all the
shipping associations had contracts
with their members in 1923.
Cooperative Selling.
Cooperative selling agencies con-
trolled by farmers have been operat-
ing in the terminal live stock markets
since 1917, when such marketing agen-
cies were established by the Farmers
union at the Omaha and st. Joseph
markets. The % agencies operating
In 1923 handled nearly 100000 head
of live stock, which would fill about
10000 stock cars. Tho animals were
sold for $192,O0O,0O0 At different
times during the calendar year there
were returned to the shipper sums
amounting to $4,000 as refunds on
amounts paid as commission charges.
In both the Kansas City and st.
Paul markets there were three sales
agencies. III both Chicago and East
st. Louis there were two cooperative
commission associations.