CONTENTS Early History of Farmers' Cooperatives. Development of Federations of Cooperatives. DEPOSITED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MAY 3 1 1938 COOPERATIVE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION LOANS Agricultural production in the United States involves appro mately 6,800,000 individual farm units. Most of these farms prod one or more commodities which enter into the channels of trade. It The complex nature the function of the marketing system to perform the services necess Farmers have also made material progress in the organization operation of cooperative purchasing associations. Farmers are ess tially manufacturers, and, like other manufacturers, are concer with keeping down costs of production. The major costs of farm: other than for land, buildings, and labor, are for such basic materi: of production as seed, feed, fertilizer, insecticides, oil and gas line, farm machinery, and package materials. The more value the farr receives for each dollar invested in such supplies the lower is his co of production. It is, therefore, the aim of farmers participating in cooperative purchasing associations to obtain their basic supplies economically through their own agencies designed for this purpose. Early History of Farmers' Cooperatives: The history of farmers' cooperative associations in the United States covers a period of more than 125 years. The earliest efforts of farmers to work together were of an informal local character, devoted mainly to general activities for the improvement of agricultural and These early agricultural societies were the forerunners of present-day farmers' marketing, purchasing, and business rural conditions. service organizations. Cooperative grain elevators appeared as early as 1850. During the sixties and afterward, the development of farmers' cooperative associations in marketing and purchasing became widespread. 1932. The number of associations organized is an indication of cooperative activity during any particular period. The Cooperative Division of the Farm Credit Administration has a record of the organization dates of 16,178 cooperative marketing associations formed prior to About 50 percent of these are still in operation. Of the associations for which the date of organization is known, about 6 percent were organized prior to 1900; 20 percent prior to 1910; 62 percent prior to 1920; and 89 percent prior to 1925. The 10-year period of greatest organization activity was 1914 to 1923, during which more than 50 percent of all recorded marketing associations were formed. The peak for a single year was reached in 1920, when 1,779 new associations were set up. The m The period during which the height of organization activity reached differs somewhat for the several commodity groups. active period for organization of associations to market dairy produ and grain was during the 10 years, 1912 to 1921, inclusive. Forty p cent of all associations for handling dairy products and 63 percent all grain marketing associations were organized during that peri About 81 percent of all livestock-marketing associations were for during the period 1915 to 1924. Many of these were local shipp Fifty-five percent of all fruit and vegetable mark ing associations were organized during the period 1918 to 1927. associations for marketing poultry and eggs, 83 percent were organi associations. from 1920 to 1929. The prevailing type of cooperative marketing association organi up to about 1920 was the local or community enterprise. Previous this time large numbers of farmers' grain elevators, cooperat creameries, cooperative cheese factories, livestock-shipping as ciations, and associations for packing and shipping fruits and ve tables were organized. Development of Federations of Cooperatives: Early in the development of local associations it was found t certain services could be performed for members more advantageousl; local units were joined in an overhead organization known as a fede tion. The trend in this direction has been continuous since about 18 There were in 1935 nearly 50 active federations of local marketing as ciations. In a federated association, growers are members of l associations. The local associations are, in turn, members of federation. The locals own and control their physical facilities and usually perform such functions as grading and packing, while the federation ordinarily performs such services as selling the products, collection of sales proceeds, promulgation of and supervision of regulations relating to grades and preparation of members' products for market, joint purchasing of supplies, and the handling of transporAmong actual organizations, however, many variations will be found, so that it is sometimes difficult to classify an association as strictly federated or otherwise. tation claims. More than 40 years ago farmers began to set up cooperative sales agencies for selling their products in terminal markets. These agencies receive the products direct from farmers or from their associations, sell to the best advantage, and return the proceeds, less expenses, to the shippers. There were in 1935 about 50 cooperative terminal market sales agencies. |