The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1933-06-22
Todd Co. Farmers Hear
Illustrated Marketing Talk

Illustrated Marketing lalk
Central Coop. Man Gives Story of
Livestock Industry on a
Cooperative Basis
L am a profound believer thai,
the future prosperity of agriculture
depends entirely upon the cooper.
alive efforts put forth by produc.
ers in patronizing the marketing
associations or machinery of their
own creation at the terminal mar
kets of the country" Thus said w.
D. Gardner, representative of the
Central Cooperative Association, a
farmer-owned and farmer-controll-
ed livestock selling agency of South
st. Paul in an illustrated address
given in three southwestern town.
ships in Todd county last week.
On Wednesday night, May 81,
West Union township farmers met
in the town hall. On Thursday
night, June 1, Gordon township
farmers met at the Old Gordon
church, and on Friday night Les.
lie township farmers met at the
Oak Hill school. Attendance was
large at all meetings, and the in
terest shown by all present mani
tested that farmers are eager to
cooperate more closely in order to
gain better control of their products
and thus obtain a greater share of
the consumers dollar to which thew
are justly entitled.
I'm the first place." stated Mr..
Gardner" why do farmers cooper
ate, why build cooperative shipping
associations? To improve their
economic position to attain for
themselves more of the nations
wealth. After producing livestock
as economically as possible, the
next all important step lies in a
sound marketing program. We
know that sound cooperative live
stock marketing program will net
for the farmer more dollars and
cents than any other system This
has been accomplished in market
ing through our own cooperative
livestock shipping associations, and
the Cenaral Cooperative Associa-
ton for the farmers producing live
stock in the Northwest.
During the first eleven years of
its existence, the Central has saved
for its patrons through reduced
commissions and actual money re-
funded, approximately two and one
half million dollars. This organi-
zation is entirely farmer-owned and
the policies are made by a board
of nine farmer directors. It is an
example today of what the farmer
can do If he relies upon his own
efforts, his own intelligence and
his own judgment, backed UP of
course, by a cooperative spirit"
Then the speaker explained how
the packers have held hog prices
down below those price levels justi-
fed by the law Of supply and
demand through their direct buying
practices. He stated that this was
the most serious problem in the hog
industry today.
"By the process Of securing hogs
from individual farmers many from
competitive markets, the packer
can satisfy his need without COM
peting with other buyers. Farmers
who sell direct are giving the pack
er privileges of sorting, grading,
weighing on his own scales, and
marking the price ticket. These
factors are all important in de-
termining the net size of the check
received. -..
Packers today are getting virtu-
ally half Of the nations hogs direct
from producers without competing
for them. Thus fifty per cent of
the purchasing power is removed
from terminal markets where prices
are established. This seriously de-
teriorates the market structure at
all markets of the country. There
fore, farmers should compel all
packers to make their purchases
where they will compete one with
another. This can be done through
the refusal of the farmers to sell
direct.
Economists figure that hogs for
the last twenty months, have been
from So to So per cwt below their
proper level compared with other
livestock and the reason is that
they have been able to secure their
hogs under non-competitive condi-
tons. That would amount to ap-
proximately 81 per hog and the ser
iousness is manifested in view of
the fact that there are more than
sixty million hogs in the United
States. Four dollars on that num-
Der of hogs means that approx
mately $240,000,0OO is taken out of
the hog industry annually because
of the tremendous increase in di-
ect buying.