Pali £ r, Alask a
Dorothy M, Bell—Editor
Published once a reek at Palmer,-Alaska, for the Matanuska Valley Farmers’ Cooperating
Association for the purpose of giving ner's of the Associations’ uork, problems and
Accomplishments, f ;
SUBSCRIPTION RATS' ! : : 0l.75 per year $1.00 foif six months 10$ a copy
LET’S GET ACQUAINTED. '
Just prior to tho last Quarterly mooting uhich uas scheduled for December 7, lip., Wil- /•,
son, our neu manager, sent out invitations to this meeting to allithe Co-op employees#
With the exception that Department Heads have usually been sinvited, -this is the first
time that all the employees received an invitation to attend, . *
It uas really surprising hou many of tho employees responded and attondod the meeting*
There uere as many employees there as members, but this uas duo to the cold ucatn nr.
Fou faimers ventured out that evening and. as most of the employees livo in toun tho
WfeathSr did not .interfere uith their attendance,
Follouing the meeting several employees ucro heard to say that they really enjoyed
attending. It mado them fool as if they rerc a part of the Association. They met
a feu of the people for uhom they..aro really uorking. All too often employees have
been accused of uorking for a pay check and not for the company. Well—perhaps thoro
is a reason for this. Thoy live a life apart from tho Association. They do not mingle
uith the people uho comp&SQ the Association except perhaps in soijic. other organization.
As one of tho older employees of the MVPCA tho editor believes that there has been all
too 1ittlo"opportunity for the employees to become acquainted uith the people for uhora
the really Fork, The. result has boon that employoos in each" department have become too
department con sc io us, and forget that they aro a part of one big organization. And too—
uhy shouldn’t the employees knou the problems that face the organization. Won’t that
help them to understand the importance Of their part in seeing that the Association
progresses ahead. Tho employees are really a very, important factor in the success or
failure of the Association. Their cooperation and interest in tho uolfare of the
Association’s business is certainly to be desired, Hof better can it be fostered than
to include thorn in some of the meetings of the Association?
Let’s have a feu more got-to-gethers and get aquainted.
FARMERS FAVOR CO-OPS '
During this past year ip Michigan a Survey vras taken by rcascarchers at Michigan State
College to find out just tihat farmers think about co-ops. Five hundred farmers more
queried. .Among those surveyed were both cooperative patrons and non-members. HcroTs
v:hat MSC’s spadework- revealed:
1. About 90 per cent of the interviewees thought co-ops are a good thing.
2, Eighty five percent of the farmers who are not co-op members bcFived they arc bene
fiting from the existence of farmer cooperatives.
3C Most farmers offered no criticism of cooporatives, . :
4? Farmers thought co-ops provide the advantage of lor; costs, highor'returns, refunds
and dividends. \. . . > * . ••• : • :
5. Seventy five per cent of the 500 thought co-ops were strong. ;
6. If prices weren’t right, one out. of three farmers 'surveyed would desort co-opa; most
non^membprs said they would quit, but on the other hand, co-op members polled said they
would stick by their cooperatives. <
7. Tfhen askod to recommend course of action co-ops should tako riion the organizations
begin losing money, farmers thought cooperatives should "recruit non members, find out
the cause of the slump, stick by and put more cash into their organization."; r
8* Ninety per cent o,f both members-and non-members -said co-ops did business equal to
or better than other businesses. . Other opinions stated: co-ops are good business yard
sticks, op orate pff iciontly, and 'arc a community asset.
90>Scrvice at cost was not' popular, and more than half the formers favored lower prices
and less refunds. - - ^ > •
10* A larger percentage of interviewees would rather issue refunds,as stock than to
havo the co-op borrow monoy from a bank to increase capital*..,. . . »*
11. Tho farmers said they had lcarnod most about co-ops from trading With them.
12. Most formers ogroo that cooperatives are non-profit organizations, and that patron
age refunds or earnings should not bo taxod at the association levels ^
13. A large percentage of the farmers polled did not know what .taxes their co-ops pays,
And remember that- ^ , ' = 1 \ > *
Farmers-help every body uhon they uork together.' v
The better the farmer learns to fill his role as a coOporator'j the mofo.rddoly,hiy co
operative uill bo ablo to extend for him those;merchandising activities vh mucvally
benefit the producer, tho distributor, and the consumer* .
F*F. Hill, Govornor Farm Credit Adminletrati