PAD.ER, ALASKA
Dorothy M. Bell Editor
Published every v/eek at Palmer, Alaska,.-for the Matanuska Valley Farmers' Cooperating
Association for the purpose of giving news of the Associations '"ork-, Problems and
Accomplishments ae- well os news of general interest to the Valley,
• \ \ ' / . •
^BSCRTPTl-ON ^LATE . $1.7^5' # Single .Copy 10/
NO CO-OP? WHAT THEN ?
What would happen1 to Valley Farmers if we had no Co-op?
• A ■: ' V,
In the potato market—it would mean under bidding each other until the price level
would be forced. ’Qown to. a point whore there would be no money in this ventureFew
farmers would be interested. This situation could be used as a means of putting, a
few large producers in control who would thereafter work to-gethcr. Your co-op pro
tects you from just such squeeze-out gomes as this.
The same methods could be used in the Vegetable market— with a little more ease than
in the potato market as fresh produce is more delicate to market than potatoes. How
many" small producers*. can afford to haul to distant markets? Eventually this market
would soon be'ruined and the only ones who could compote would be your largest pro
ducers. Price cutting betoreen your largo producers could soon ruin'things for th<®
too—Co-ops were organized to overcome just such situations asttMs,
While it is possible for individual dealers and producers to handle their own produce
on the market, how about the Dairy men? Can you imagine them trying to operate with
out some- central co-ordinating unit? Public Health lav/s nov prohibit the selling of
milk and milk products not rroporly handled and pasteurizod. • Each individual farmer
cannot do this work by himself. Ho needs to woric'with others in erdor to reduco the
cost of operations and still produce Grado A milk. For this reason Dairy :men organ
ized Co-ops.
A bulletin nut out by tho Farm Credit Administration entitled "Co-ops in Action" sets
forth the importance of the Co-ops, briefly but vary cloarly, in "It’s’Dargain Day’
every Day'with tho Co-ops."
"Sin;-ly, tho individual producer is in ho position to bargain effectively for tho
prico he is to receive for his products. But when producers join together coopera
tively, they seek to placo in ono organization the control of a sufficient volume of
their product to influence the prico. It is the old idea of "in union there is streng
th," going to work for tho producor. He calls it "bargaining poror."
"Practically ovory marketing cooperative tries to oxort some prico influence through
its bargaining power. More than 200 associations function solely for this purpose.
Outstanding of these are-the milk bargaining associations operating in most of the
larger citios and controlling milk worth ovor $182,000,000. in a year, produced by
130,000 dairymen who receive better prices beeause they are cooperatively organized.
"There are also numerous sugar beet assoc iations, in the Western States, bargaining
with commercial sugar factories for the prices to bo paid for beots. A few associations
bargain for tho prices members shall receive for their poultryj berries, fruits, and
vegetables; and a number of purchasing co-ops bargain for lower pricos on the supplies
they buy.
"In carrying out thoir prico bargaining functions, the'bargaining co-ops do like all
other cooperatives in'offocting lower handling chargos, narrowing, tho spread betwoon
producer and conamor, raising quality, and eliminating marketing abuses.
"A cooperative gets tho highest price possible for tho producer, but the lone itnrketcr
has to ta.ko. tho lowost bid in order to got tho solo away from his competitors,"
THE FRONTIERSMAN puts out an EXTRA as thq REEF KNOT ARRIVES
The articlo is ontitlod, "Now Tim: Record Established For Voyage in Alaskan Waters."
by A. Danielson
TodaJ-. innn^bQndreds of Soldovia13 residents gathered at the waterfront to ratch a ghost
ship, ico shrouded and weary, croop through the mouth of Scldoviq Bay and churn slowly
up alongside the wharf at Municipal Dock.
Continued on page — 3 ■.*„