Arizona state miner., 1926-02-20

Central West began organizing ship
ping associations by the dozens. Live
stock prices were rising and country
buyers refused to Increase their prices
accordingly. Farmers met the situa-
tfon by organizing to do their own
selling The Farmers union started
organizing associations and then the
state farm bureaus got interested in
the movement and they organized hun
dreds of units, particularly in Illinois,
Iowa, Indiana, Ohio and Minnesota.
These associations are made up of
the live stock producers of a commu-
nifty or of several communities who
pay membership dues and agree to
ship all their stock through the local
unit. 1t works something like this:
A manager is hired-usually one Of
the farmers Of the neighborhood who
operates the association as side
issue, although in some of the larger
organizations he is paid enough to de-
vote his entire time to the work. 1t
is the managers job to assemble the
live stock in carload lots for shipping
into the central market, where the
Producers Live Stock Commission
company oversees the sales.
When a member has stock ready to
sell he notifies the manager, who or
ders a car for the proper date. In
many associations one day Of each
week is shipping day and the farmers
hRSSVN IN hot ~%n noIy %~rpA
three animals at a time, just as they
are ready. The common custom is to
mark each owners stock before 1t is
shipped. The shipments are then
sorted at the central market and each
mans stock is sold by itself and each
is paid the actual amount his stock
brings, after the cost of transportation
and handling are subtracted. Each
mans stock bears its pro-rata share of
the expense.
The National Association.
Before the National Live Stock Pro-
ducers' association came into existence
each local association had represent
ative in the central market to oversee
IA.
work of the new National Live Stock
Cooperative association, which Is
scarcely more than two years old. The
local association can join the Ma
tional Live Stock Producers associa-
tiOn at nominal fee-usually OF $50
for which the National association will
oversee the sales Of the local ship
mentS.
Many Of these local associations are
not Incorporated; others are; but the
most of them are simply voluntary
organizations. Generally the groups
are governed by a board Of directors
who have general charge Of the busl-
ness, as well as the hiring Of the man
ager Shipping once through the aBwo-
citation does not obligate q farmer to
make further shipments-for there is
seldom a contract. He is free to sell
or ship in any other way he likes
However, in the last few years many
Of the associations are becoming more
strict. They are Incorporating They
are adopting a contract under which
the producer agrees to sell only
through the association for a certain
number Of yearS-usually three. They
are buying office space and scales and
are making a united effort toward per-
manence.
In spite of the loose slipshod organi-
zation Of the past these cooperative
units, most of them, are making
money. In some states the saving
ranges between 20 and rs cents per
hundredweight, with a general average
of 30 cents. The saving per car usu-
ally ranges from $45 to S75. If the
savings of all these thousands Of asso-
Citations were added together it would
be high in the millions.