Dorothy BT. Bell
Harriet B. Bell
Palmer,Alaska
Editor
advert isin^'
Published once a week at Palmer, Alaska, for the Pt tenuSka Valley
Farmers’ Cooperating Association for the purpose of giving news of the
.associations work, problems and accomplishinents.
4
FiTTP.SH'R TT'TTON T? / TF
:,1.75 ntjr vear
.1.00 for six months 10d a copy
HOW '.FARMERS U
COOPERATIVES
USE THEIR
PURCHASING
Meric an Institute of G'o-ynoration
FERTILIZER is one of the most important items- handled by purchasing co
operatives. To farmers, both quality and economy in fertilizer are im
portant because, in the case of some crops, such as potatoes, it"may ac
count for 25>£ of the cost of production.
F.URETERS who once grow oats to feed their horses now call upon their pur
chasing cooperatives to. provide them with petroleum products to run
their machines. They range all the way from fuel oil and gasoline to a.
variety of specialized lubricants.
FEED ITEXIFG is done extensively by cooperatives serving livestock pro
ducers and dairymen. Feed costs range, as high as 60 percent in the pro
duction of po;rk, and are as high as 60 percent in the production of milk,
FOULTRYKEN arc also heavy feed users, and arj served widely by purchas
ing cooperatives. The pace they sot is important in this respect, too,
since feed may. account for as much as 60 percent of a poultrymen’s pro
duction costs.
TKERR ARE approximately 7,COO local retail outlets through which U.3.
farmer cooperatives distribute supplies under their own and other brand
names. The latter are frequently featured on counters and shelves.
OETTIIJG THEIR MOrEY' 3 WORTH has always been one oi the primary aims of
farmers in setting up purchasing cooperatives. They have established
strict standards of quality based on the latest research in laboratories
maintained by industrial .concerns and L^nd Grant Colleges, Hore than
that, farmer cooperatives have proved the most effective moans of bring
ing these findings to practical use on .American f?.rms.
* * * * * *
No ordinary business coula operate successfully by purchasing its supplie
and equipment on the retail market—and then selling its products on the
wholesale market.
Eut,until farmer cooperatives were organized , most farmers were trying
to farm in just that way.
loth the coming-' of modern transportation and commu-nicatiori', farmers have
been able to adopt good business principles to aid them in their job of
producing..
Following the practices of any well-rftn business, they have employed pur
chasing agents to buy their production supplies. In doing so, farmers
have set up cooperatives, employing men especially trained for their jobs.