VALLEY SETTLER
Published onco a week in Palmer,
Alaska for the Matanuska Valley
Farmers' Co-operating Association,
for the purpose of giving news of
the association's work, problems
and accomplishments.
By... Lucille Lo Due
$1,75.per year
10^. per copy
CO-OP MEMBERSHIP RISING
MEMBERSHIP in farmers' marketing
and purchasing cooperatives contin
ued to increase during the 19p9“50
marketing season, according to new
estimates released by the Farm Cred
it Administration. Such memberships
have now reached nearly 6.6 million
r climb of 200,000 over the previous
year. This increase is, however,
considerably less than the half mill
ion increase reported annually for
the previous four years.
On the basis of the latest census
fi -ure of million farms, and
allowing for duplications because
many farmers are members of more
than ono cooperative, the FCA esti
mates that at least three out of
every five farmers are now members
cf marketing and purchasing associa
tions .
However, volume of business for
these cooperatives for 19l+9“50 is
estimate! at ^8.7-million, a de
cline of nearly ^600 million from
the I9I4.8-I4.9 figure. FCA attributes
a larye percentage of this decline
to corresponding decline in farm
prices during the 191-1-9"50 crop year.
A breakdown of this business show
ed the combined marketing business
of all associations running to '6.5
billion, and the combined purchas
ing business of all associations to
92.2 billion.
Largely because of some consolid
ation of small associations, the
number of marketing and purchasing
co-ops declined from 10,075 a year
earlier, to 10,035.
As in previous years, Minnesota
and the North Central regions led
in cooperative business and number
of associations. However, Illinois
forged to the front in number of
memberships.
Why do farmers do their hrsiness
through a cooperative? This is an
oft-repeated question. A reason
able answer to it was provided by
a survey conducted recently among
4,000 dairy farmers in Wisconsin
and Minnesota.
While many of. those oiled ~ave
several reasons, 22 per cent stat
ed that the farmers must 3tick to
gether in their market operations.
Another 20 per cent- said that mem
bership in a co-op represents part
ownership in a business, while 17
per cent brought up the better
prices they get through their co
operatives .
Ten per cent remarked that v/hon
they ship to private plants they
~et pushed around, there bein'*
security in numbers. Six per cent
said-they pet better weights from
a co-op, and a like number said
they hauled their products to a
cooperative because they like their
hauler.
Five per cent said they like
their fieldman arid another five
per cent because "v/c have a Grade A
market•"
Only three per cent mentioned
the • addit ional payments v/hich they
pet at the end of the year.
From..
Cooperative
Diaest.
COOPFRATIVE MEMBERS and their
managers don't always look at
i things in the same way. These
sometime differences have keen
borne out in surveys conducted by
the FCA.
In trying to determine the most
helpful educational tool available
to cooperatives, the FCA found
that the 237 managers questioned
leaned heavily in the .ircction of
the co-op annual meeting. In a
companion test", 2,750 representa
tive patrons gave their highest
rating to the co-op house crxan,
rating the annual meeting fifth
among ll; commonly used methods of
providing information. Managers
had judged the house or'an as the
third most effective educational
method.
Both groups rated personal con
tacts as second best. Patrons
chose circular letters third; an
nual reports fourth; educational
exhibits sixth; and radio programs
seventh. Managers rated circular
letters and annual reports a notch
lower, radio programs sixth, and
exhibits seventh.