Southwest; at St. Louis, Mo., for the soft-wheat territory; at St. Paul, Minn., for the near Northwest; at Los Angeles for California and the Pacific Southwest. In addition, agents or representatives are maintained at Seattle and Spokane, Wash.; Portland, Oreg., Ogden, Utah; Denver, Colo.; Wichita, Kans.; Enid, Okla.; Omaha, Nebr.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Duluth, Minn.; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Indianapolis, Ind.

STOCKHOLDERS OF NATIONAL

Stockholders of the Farmers National have headquarters at Baltimore, Md.; Fostoria, Ohio; Lima, Ohio; Lansing, Mich.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Kankakee, Ill.; Chicago, Ill.; St. Louis, Mo.; Kansas City, Mo.; Hutchinson, Kans.; Enid, Okla.; Omaha, Nebr.; St. Paul, Minn.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Grand Forks, N. Dak.; Aberdeen, S. Dak.; Wessington Springs, S. Dak.; Denver, Colo.; Ogden, Utah; and Spokane, Wash.

Below are the names and addresses of the members of the wheat advisory committee:

George S. Milnor, vice president and general manager Farmers National Grain Corporation, Chicago, Ill.

Bert Lang, vice president First National Bank, St. Louis, Mo.

F. J. Wilmer, Rosalia, Wash., president North Pacific Grain Growers (Inc.). John Manley, president Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association, Enid, Okla. William H. Settle, president Central States Soft Wheat Growers Association, Indianapolis, Ind.

J. A. Schnitzler, Froid, Mont.

E. H. Hodgson, Little River, Kans.

Mr. Milnor and Mr. Lang were certified to the board as "handlers or processors."

Below are the names and addresses of the members of the coarse grains advisory committee:

S. J. Cottington, president Iowa Farmers Grain Dealers Association, Stanhope, Iowa.

George S. Milnor, vice president and general manager Farmers National Grain Corporation, Chicago, Ill.

James Murray, Quaker Oats Co., Chicago.

Wayland Magee, president Nebraska Crop Growers Association, Bennington, Nebr.

Sam H. Thompson, president American Farm Bureau Federation, Chicago, Ill.
C. E. Huff, president Farmers National Grain Corporation, Chicago, Ill.
L. J. Taber, master National Grange, Columbus, Ohio.

Mr. Milnor and Mr. Murray were certified to the board "handlers or processors."

as

More detailed information may be secured by writing to the Farmers National Grain Corporation, 343 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Ill.

AMERICAN COTTON COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION

Approximately 2,000,000 bales of 1930 short-staple cotton had been delivered to the American Cotton Cooperative Association before the 1st of December. More than 500,000 additional bales probably will be delivered during the winter and spring months.

More than 150,000 growers are members of the 11 State and regional associations which form the American Cotton Cooperative Association. These associations own and control the National. The National organization markets all of the cotton delivered to the State and regional association units throughout the Cotton Belt, stretching from North Carolina to California.

While most of the cotton handled by the American association is of the short-staple type, it also handles some longstaple cotton. In addition to the cotton handled by the American Cotton Cooperative Association, the Staple Cotton Cooperative Association of Greenwood, Miss., received during 1930 more than 300,000 bales from at least 1,600 farmers. The total cooperative cotton delivered in 1930 therefore will be close to 3,000,000 bales, or about 20 per cent of the Nation's crop.

The American Cotton Cooperative Association was organized on January 13, 1930. Its headquarters are at 535 Gravier Street, New Orleans, La.

The American Cotton Cooperative Association is a grower owned and controlled organization. By establishing this organization, farmers from every important cotton-producing State brought into one agency the handling and selling of all the cooperatively marketed short-staple cotton of the United States. In addition to handling short-staple cotton the American Association markets all of the long-staple cotton sold cooperatively with the exception of that handled by the Staple Cotton Cooperative Association of Greenwood, Miss. Approximately 90 per cent of the 15,000,000 bales of cotton grown annually in the United States is short-staple cotton. Cotton growers through their member associations are stockholders and owners of the American Cotton Cooperative Association. Each State or regional association is represented by one member on the national agency's board of directors.

State organizations operate exclusively within one State. Each of the regionals-the Mid-South Cotton Growers Association and the Southwestern Irrigated Cotton Growers Association-handle cotton

from three different States. The Mid-South organization's territory covers Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee. The Southwestern organization's territory covers the irrigated cotton-growing areas of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

PLANS OF AMERICAN

The plan of the American Cotton Cooperative Association was adopted at a meeting held in Memphis, Tenn., on December 10 and 11, 1929. The Federal Farm Board called this meeting and approved the final plan. The association is organized to meet the provisions of the Capper-Volstead Act and the agricultural marketing act, and is incorporated under the laws of Delaware. It has an authorized capital of $30,000,000.

The association has branch offices in Atlanta. Ga., and Houston, Tex., and sales offices and representatives in all of the important cotton markets of the United States and foreign countries.

The State and regional associations are under contract with the American Cotton Cooperative Association to market and distribute all of the cotton received by them through the central agency at New Orleans. The member associations supervise, through representation on the board of directors, the operations of the national association. The contract between the associations is effective until August, 1940. After a period of two years, however, the member associations have the privilege of withdrawing from this agreement. There is a recognized division of labor between the national association and its member units. Each one performs the work to which it is best adapted and can do with greater economy and efficiency. (See accompanying chart.)

CENTRAL AGENCY'S ACTIVITIES

The activities of the national organization are as follows: Financing, transporting, warehousing, insuring, classing, hedging, invoicing, selling, and business analysis. In addition to performing these services for the member associations, the American Cotton Cooperative Association, under its by-laws and charter and in accordance with the Capper-Volstead Act, may purchase from nonmembers an amount of cotton equal to that handled for its member associations. Furthermore, it has the power to do anything, anywhere, that commercial corporations may do in the handling, processing, and marketing of cotton and its products, or cottonseed and its products.

The major activities of the State or regional associations are as follows:

Obtain contracts with farmers; receive and assemble farmers' cotton; prepare the necessary records as to number of bales, weight, grade, and staple; distribute advance payments, and make final settlements with growers. The State and regional associations also are responsible for all other membership and public relations, such as the publication of a house organ, membership correspondence, the announcement of policies with reference to advances, and the distribution of news items regarding plans, purposes, and activities of each of the member associations. The associations provide facilities

in cooperation with the central organization for receiving and delivering cotton to the American Cotton Cooperative Association. Production credit services, cooperative buying activities, and gin and other processing facilities are operated as subsidiary corporations of some State and regional organizations.

ANY GROWER MAY BE MEMBER

Any cotton grower may become a member of the State or regional association operating in his locality by signing a contract or marketing agreement. Usually a small membership fee is charged. Contracts generally cover a 10-year period, and as a rule carry an annual withdrawal privilege. Membership contracts are very liberal, allowing for those practical considerations which experience has demonstrated are necessary to meet the peculiar requirements of the individual grower.

At the time of delivering cotton, the member may choose the pool into which he desires his cotton placed. Three pools are made available to the grower-cash, optional, and seasonal pools.

First. Under the cash pool plan the grower is paid the full sale value of his cotton on the day of delivery.

Second. If the farmer chooses the optional pool, he may receive a cash advance at the time of delivery and reserve the right to determine later the time at which the base price of his cotton shall be fixed. When the price is fixed he receives full settlement for his cotton.

Third. If the grower places his cotton in the seasonal pool, he obtains a cash advance at the time of delivery. In the final settlement he is paid the average price obtained by the American association on all seasonal pool cotton-grade, staple, and character of the cotton taken into consideration.

The grower may place a part of his cotton in one pool and part in another.

CASH ADVANCED TO GROWER

The initial cash advance paid to the producer at the time he delivers his cotton is less than the full market value. The grade and staple of every bale, as determined by the American Cotton Cooperative Association, are taken into consideration in determining the value of the cotton. Farmers who grow cotton of good character and staple thus get what it is actually worth. As soon as the value of the cotton is determined adjustments in the initial advances are made.

Marketing costs are taken out before final returns are made to the grower. In addition to marketing costs, a deduction may be made for the association's reserves, which, in most instances, is 1 per cent of the gross sales price. These reserves are credited to the account of each member in accordance with actual deductions. The association uses reserve funds for operating capital. Usually at the end of a certain period of time the reserves are returned to the growers in annual installments in proportion to the deductions that have been made.