Published every Thursday at Palmer, Alaska, for the Matanuska Valley Far!ners*
Cooperating Association for the purpose of giving news of the Associations Work,
Problems and Accomplishments.
SUBSCRIPTION BY-TAIL . $1.753Q.S..£li-QQSingle. C0>y-1I&_
' WHAT DO YOU AS A MEMBER OWE YOUR CO-OP?
V7H.IT DOES THE CO-OF OWE YOU?
In a commercial enterprise the management is usually interested mainly in maintaining
u good income and keeping the stockholders satisfied through dividends. A Cooperative
is a little different and may be divided into two parts.
The' FIRST is the business administration under which comes—
1. financing 3. Merchandising 5, Credit Collections
2, processing 4. Supervision
The SECOND is membership administration under which we can list—
Maintenance of agreeable human relations.
These two arc both essential to a successfully operated Cooperative. Organization,
and Education cannot be substituted for a sound business administration nor is a
sound business administration sufficient to’nake a healthy cooperative association.
Both are essential and must go hand in hand.
Here ere some of thn most Important things to look for in a healthy Cooperative
Association.
1. Members should feel that the Association is their own. VThon they do--they will
take pride in its achievements and an interest in tho welfare of the Association. The
members should have enough of a financial investment in an Association to feel that
they arc part owners,
2. There should be some advantage in belonging to d Cooperative. This may be in tho
form of dividends, better prices or better services. However, there doos need to ho
a loyalty strong enough to hold members when difficultios arise. In othor words
members should be more than "fair-weather friends" of tho Association,
3. Services of the Cooperative to tho members and others should be such that it will
encourage their continued patronage. There is no reason why employees of a Coopera
tive Organization should render any I003 “satisfactory service than would be the caso
under the supervision of a private firm, “oth might employ'managers and havo stock
holders. Neither one may bo operated directly by the owners. The lack of private
ownership initiative is a poor excuse for poor service, in fact many privately owned
irms arc operated miles from any of the owners. Thcroas/in a Cooperative an enploy
•0 can hardly got out of sight of an owner of the business.
The Cooperative member in order to make his Co-op successful must contribute two
essentials to his organization—Capital and Patronago,
Pa.tronage means volume of business and this is the life blood of his organization.
It 15“ only through volume that coopcmtivcs arc able to make a saving for you in pur
chasing or in marketing.
Hero are two things to remember:
.1, Harm products marketed or supplies purchasod by each individual farmer are rcla
ivoly small, but a group of farmers con deal in Quantity (tons and carload lots.)
2, A farmers individual bargaining power is woak, but Cooperative bargaining power
c-r be very strong—just as strong .as Labor bargaining howor.
Working to-gc-thor in Cooperatives is not a non iden* T7c haven’t always been orgail—
? z.: d in n permanent organization for the purpose of doing business, but people have
rco their problems and solved then cooperatively for centuries. For instance—in
c-'rly Colonial days wo had "House raisings" "Quilting Bees" which wore Cooperative
n ds of mooting certain economic needs of thoso days—Farmers have since found it
no;.os inry to work together to solve their economic problems. The answer has boon
’•O' <:■> rat Lvos,"
"Tinongh'the building of Cooperative Organizations farm pooplo can conduct their own
c loin- as, effect savings and protect thomselvos from ore 16station. But the movement
lugr.ivos initiative and driving force from the member ship, ifcmbers of Cooperative
Li a:ei.at ions have a real responsibility in that regard.*'
From the —Alberta Cheat Pool'. Calgary, Alberta
Canada,
"C horatives don’t just happen, Tt takes intelligent progressive farmers to build
t’v a, suoport them and make than cuccossful.
Oklahoma Cotton Grower