PAGE FROM THE PAST
From the archives of Rural Cooperatives
and its predecessor magazines
50 Years Ago...
From the November and December 1957 issues of News for Farmer
Cooperatives
Co-op Field Days Promote Better Farming
Field Days at Potato City in August this year offered many
attractions. Each year Pennsylvania Cooperative Potato
Growers Inc., Harrisburg, sponsors the event — an excellent
example of co-op help toward better farming. Field Day
guests toured the experimental plots of the co-op’s potato
research farm, where 5,200 varieties of
potatoes grow under the direction of
Dr. E. L. Nixon.
For the first time, the association
arranged a complete demonstration of
harvesting methods and improved
machinery and equipment for
Pennsylvania growers and growers
from neighboring states.
The machinery included new
harvesters, pickup loaders — both selfpropelled
and tractor drawn — as well as tractor mounted
diggers and loaders.
For its soil demonstration, the co-op showed how to lay
out a diversion terrace, used to make experimental plots
productive and manageable. Plant food experiments stressed a
practical farmer approach to fertilizing small grains and
potatoes.
Some of the women competed in a recipe contest while
teenagers took part in a fishing contest. Naval Air Station
from Niagara Falls brought in helicopters for an air show.
Candy Shows Build Member Interest (cover
article)
Things came to a boil in the Pacific Northwest this fall at
the Homemaker Holiday Candy Shows. Three sponsors
backed these gatherings: Homemakers Department, Pacific
Supply Cooperative, Walla Walla, Wash., with Mrs. Helen
King at the helm; local associates affiliated with the regional;
and Western Beet Sugar Producers Inc. of Salt Lake City,
Utah, with Mrs. Ruby Garrett (officially known as Nancy
Haven, home economist), representing it and demonstrating
the candy making.
These adult leader training shows, with a lot of advance
planning by Mrs. King and help from the local women, drew
large crowds to the co-ops. The good effect of these free
shows spread. Some people in the audience took what they
learned about beet-sugar candy making back to other local
groups. These might be 4-H Clubs, home economics clubs,
churches, Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, women’s clubs, school
teachers, Granges, Farm Bureaus and others.
The operation required detailed
planning, and Mrs. King had it all
down on suggestion sheets she sent
out to chairmen of the local women’s
groups. These sheets made up an
Advance Kit and included suggestions
for preparation of the show with ideas
to make it of the greatest possible
value to the local co-op.
Response to these shows was
excellent. In most cases, two or three
times more people came than were expected, and local
managers were enthusiastic about the results. Walt Steele,
manager of the Polk County Farmers Co-op, Rickreall, Ore.,
wanted to know, “How soon can you send another
Homemaker Show our way? This was the easiest promotional
meeting we ever did. Everything was outlined in the advance
kit and was ready for us, so everyone knew just what to do.”
“No more could have been done, than was done, for me or
my company, Western Beet Sugar Producers Inc., to make a
successful joint program,” Nancy Haven said,
30 Years Ago...
From the November and December 1977 issues of Farmer
Cooperatives
More Women’s Involvement Resulting From Jobs
Well Done
“If the house were on fire, a woman would not stop to say:
‘This part is my husband’s — I’ll go over and put out the fire
in my area.’ No, she would pitch in to save what they could
together. And that’s why women should be involved in our
cooperatives: To pitch in together for the survival of the
family farm.”
This analogy was given by Dorothy Shaner, farm wife from
Kingfisher, Okla., who participated in the National Institute
on Cooperative Education (NICE) to get ideas to take back to
the cooperative that serves the Shaner family farm.
Cooperative leaders wanting to
encourage involvement of women in
cooperatives attended a special
workshop on the subject. Tools and
techniques for developing leadership
were offered to the 35 men and
women enrolled.
If any of the rural women felt
remotely unnecessary to
cooperatives, the thought was
quickly dispelled at the various sessions on women’s
involvement. Women have the opportunity to be an
influential force in cooperatives, particularly those 60,000 to
75,000 who are wives of managers and directors, said Owen
Halberg, AIC president, keynoter of the women’s workshop.
Some formal women’s activities date back to 1916, reported
Joann Fulcher of Farmland Industries. But there is some way
to go, she added. We are still struggling with many managers,
members and women who are unwilling to admit women to
total participation. Fulcher ended her talk by quoting a
woman co-op member who said: “We don’t want to run
things. We just want to help make things run.”
Most Iowa Co-ops Have Revolvement Plans
Nearly two-thirds of the respondents in a survey of Iowa
cooperatives have some kind of revolving fund, reports the
Iowa Institute of Cooperation. The Institute conducted a
survey as part of its work on proposed state legislation dealing
with equity retirements. The Institute sent out 450 survey
forms to members and received 172 completed returns, a
reasonably accurate rate of return.
Among the more important questions was one asking for
the dollar amounts paid under its
revolvement plan to estates of
retired members. Some 135
respondents answered affirmatively,
reporting that they paid a total of
$1,427,768. Following are some
other highlights of the survey:
- Sixty-one percent of those
responding have some kind of
revolving fund.
- Only 39 percent have a program
for converting allocations into
preferred stock.
- Fifty-two percent have a chronological (specific year)
requirement plan for equity.
- But only 26 percent use a retirement plan based on a
percentage of all outstanding stock.
- Affirmative responses to the question of revolving member
equity during the past three years ranged from 54 to 58
percent.
- A whopping 79 percent of the respondents have programs
that pay out estates of deceased members, with 65 percent
picking up all estates.
- Only 15 percent have plans providing for the redemption of
stock of retired persons.
- Only 15 percent redeem the equity of persons who move
away from the area.
- Sixty-two percent said they paid out 20 percent of the coop’s
earnings in cash, while 40 percent paid more or less
than 20 percent.
10 Years Ago...
From the November/December 1997 issue of Rural Cooperatives
Merger Creates Europe’s Largest Dairy Co-op
Two Dutch dairy cooperatives in northeast Holland have
merged to form the largest dairy cooperative in that country
and in the European Community. Friesland Dairy Foods and
Coberco merged to form De Zeveb Provincian. The co-op
represents 15,000 dairy farmers and has an 11-billion-pound
milk supply. Its manufacturing subsidiary, Friesland Coberco
Dairy Foods, has annual sales volume of $5.4 billion. Both
cooperative partners specialize in cheese manufacturing.
Unlike its American counterparts,
which draw their financing through
members, Friesland allows nonmember
investment and earnings
from its operations.
Volume Climbs at Southern
States
For the fourth consecutive
year, Southern States Cooperative
set a sales record in 1997 with
more than $1.21 billion in sales.
Southern States, headquartered in Richmond, Va., operates in
the Mid-Atlantic states. Sales volume was up from $1.12
billion in 1996. Net savings of $27.5 million was just short of
the fiscal 1996 record.
The cooperative added
$14.4 million to its net worth,
which reached $177.1 million after
revolving all 1975 patronage refund
allocations. Since 1988, Southern
States’ total assets have grown from
$273 million to $409 million, net
worth from $118 million to $177
million, and working capital from
$72 million to $109 million.
CF Industries, Southern
States’ interregional cooperative fertilizer source, paid a
record $13.1 million in patronage, up from $12.7 million in
1996. Half was paid in cash and the other half as preferred
stock. Southern States’ board voted to pay patronage refunds
totaling $17.5 million.
