The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1930-01-16
Federal Farm Board Law
Is Very Broad in Scope
w. F. Schilling, Minnesota Mem
Der, Makes Illuminating Expla-
nation of Functions

For the past eight years before
there has been continuous line
of publicity going the rounds OF
the press of the country outlining
various plans of farm relief and
there were about as many brands
of farm relief suggested to the
members of Congress as there are
farmers in the country. But after
eight years Congress drafted the
bill that is now a law and around
which the present Farm Board is
endeavoring to function.
The bill that has been passed by
Congress is very broad in it's scope
and will permit the Farm Board
to do various things. In fact it
is so broadly framed that the
Board can do almost anything it
chooses. But as all the members
of the Board are practical men
and with broad experience in ag-
ricultural affairs, there is little
danger of their doing anything
that is unreasonable or that will
not work out in the long run to the
best interests of agriculture.
There are mny people who ex-
pect the Farm Board to assist the
individual farmer to work out
some of the very knotty problems
that are surrounding his industry
but I am sure that these men will
be greatly disappointed when they
find that it s the intent of the
law and will be the practice Of the
Board to assist farmers only thru
their cooperative organizations
rather than as individuals.
I am sure the farmers of Amer
lea will soon learn to appreciate
the value of cooperation. When it
is known, that there are about g.
100000 farmers engaged in the var
; ious agricultural pursuits you will
readily see how impossible it would
be to deal with the individual.
Thus from the very beginning the
| policy of the Board has been to in
sist that farmers get Together in CO.
! operative associations to make
their wants known. We have
found in the brief time that we
have been functioning that in prac-
tically every state there is dupli-
! cation of effort on the part Of
J farmers in trying to gain a goal
that will mean relief to produc-
! ton and marketing of their com
modify. We have found in some
cases here were as many as four
different groups of farmers organ.
lied in cooperative way, each
trying to sell on the same market
the same COMMODITY competing
with neighbors and thus adding
very materially to the expense OF
all operations and making impos.
sible the obtaining of satisfactory
results for any single organiza-
ton.
If the Board never loaned a dol.
lar to, the various cooperatives OF
America, but sat in an advisory
capacity for the purpose of assist.
ing in ironing out some OF the
knotty problems, it would be worth
| while.
There are some good cooperative
marketing associations under sane
leadership and these afford a nu.
cleus around which we must rally
But in spite of these splendid as
sociations only about 100000 out
Of 100000 farmers belong to 9
cooperative.
Many people will say that the eff
fort of Congress in shaping the
farm relief bill will prove futile il
the long. run. I, myself, have al
ways believed that the farmer
must join with his neighbor coop
eratively to market his product, tt
study the problems of production
and to meet the conditions as the.
actually exist in the markets o
the world. If he is not willing t.
do this, see no hope for the flu
ture or agriculture.
With the set-up of the Fedora
Farm Board and the broad pow
ers vested in it to assist he farm
er in his cooperative marketing OF
CARNATIONS, feel certain tina
II very much good will be accomr
lished. Already there is differ
ent atmosphere in agricultural OF
ganization. Farmers are begin
ming to wake up to the fact tina
only through better marketing an
production methods can they real
II - -.