The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1929-11-27
Federal Farm Board Holds
Meeting At Chicago NoU. II
FOrty-Third Annual Convention
of Federal Farm Board Held
! at Chicago, Nov. IA

The Federal Farm Board met
Thursday, November ID, in Chicago
with the Association of Land Grant
Colleges and Universities, which is
holding it's Forty-third Annual Con-
vention, to develop a cooperative
educational program for carrying to
the American farmer information
that will enable him to take full ad-
vantage of the provisions of the
Agricultural Marketing Act.
At a preliminary conference in
Washington, September 23rd of the
Federal Farm Board with the Execu-
tive and extension, Organization and
Policy Committees of the Associa-
ton and extension workers of the
Department of Agriculture, the
Board accepted the generous offer of
these groups to make available the
services of the forty-nine land-grant
colleges and universities, their ex-
tension services and the $500 extern
sion workers in this essential educa-
tional work. 1t was emphasized that
the Board, wherever possible, wishes
to avoid setting up agencies in dup
ication of existing machinery. In
turn spokesman for the committees
pledged the fullest cooperation with
the Farm Board.
The Board today renewed it's ac-
ceptance of the invitation to cooper
ate with these agricultural education
agencies of the country. In so far
as the have been developed, the Board
informed the Association of it's pol
icies. 1t was explained that the
Boards functions are limited by the
Act to those economic phases of
agriculture that relate to market
ing.
The educators were advised that
the policy of the Federal Farm
Board, under the authority of the
Agricultural Marketing Act, is to
develop national cooperative market
ing organizations, grower-owned and
controlled, to point where a suffi-
cient percentage of the various agri-
cultural commodities may be controll-
ed so as to be effective in having an
influence on prices through better
bargaining power and better distri-
button, and through the control of a
large volume so as to market at low
cost. The Board believes that the
quickest approach of this is through
the amalgamation, or consolidation
of existing cooperatives into nation
al sales organizations without set
ting up any specification as to the
qualifications of local associations
other than that they must come with
in the requirements of the Capper-
.Volstead law.
The Board has reached this con-
clusion because of a knowledge of the
fact that most cooperatives have
failed not because of their particul-
ar form of organization and method
of doing business, but because they
did not have a national sales organ
ization and did not have a sufficient
percentage of control and therefore
too high an overhead. In short they
could not make showing to men,
bers that warranted the support from
producers.
The Board has also reached this
conclusion believing that if efficient
national sales organizations are pro-
vided the experience of the various
cooperatives will finally cause them
to adopt the most effective local or
ganization plan.
The Board feels that the colleges
of agriculture and the Extension
Service can perform valuable serv-
ice in advising cooperatives to join
any national sales organization that
has been endorsed by the Farm
Board and also in advising growers
to join locals that are part of any
national sales plan that is endorsed
by the Farm Board The Board is
hopeful that the agricultural colleges
and the Extension Service will re-
cognize the Importance of this work
and will lend its support.