THE WHEAT POOL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 48, Issue 77, 11 January 1928, Page 2

THE WHEAT POOL

CO-OPERATIVE MARKETING, NORTH CANTERBURY APPROVAL. ,fP«r Association.! CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. At the Northern A. and P. Association's Hall, Raagiora, yesterday movn-j ing, Mr J. E. Strachan gave nn addi ess oil "Co-operative Marketing." Anout thirty farmers were present, the meeting being under the auspices of the Northern A. and P. Association. Mr Colin Mcintosh (president of the association) said that on his own initiative he had convened the meeting to obtain an opinion from the farmers of the district on the proposed wheat pool, and he had arranged for Mr Strachan to give an address on co-operative ketingDanish Example. "/If the farmers'of New Zealand were to improve their position," .said Mr Strachan, "they would do well to emulate the example of Denmark. Foe, 600 years and up to less than 150 years a■<•;>* Danish farmers were serfs, bound to the land and sold with it like cattle. In 1788 they were liberated. They [were then poor and landless, and were faced with an almost hopeless outlook. Now Danish farmers, man for man, were the wealthiest and best educated farmers in the world. There was no country in which the equity in land was more universally in the hands of the farmers themselves. The secret of the, wonderful progress was self-help and organisation. After seventy-five years' work the farmers in Denmark had evolved the most complete and successful system of marketing farm products to be found anywhere in the world. They had evolved, too, the most effective co-operative credit organisation, and these two facts were fundamental to the prosperity of every farmer in Denmark. The farmers in this country had shown a complete willingness to organise, and with effective individual co-operation the organisations could not be other than a success." "Because _they were so effectively organised in a business sense, the farmers of- Denmark controlled the politics of the country. The State owned the railways, fixed tariffs, developed harbours, "etc., but the farmers controlled the State, so that questions of transport, taxation, shipping, education, etc., were justified to their satisfaction. Denmark was a farmers 7 tjourrtry." Ame i can Progress.

Mr Strachan dealt next with tlie agricultural aspect in America. Progress in "this country had been mainly along the lines of secondary industry; manufacturing-, commerce, products of the mine, the factory, and the machine shop, etc. American prosperity was associated with big business organisations in cities. The farmer had been treading the down grade. While Danish farmers had been moving from peasantry to economic freedom, those in the United States had been drifting from land ownership to tenant farming. The least efficient farmers had done so, at any rate. The more efficient and intelligent had given up farming and were now located) in the cities. Fortunately, however, there were notable exceptions. There were thousands of farmers in America living on their own farms, making profits, and living a contented and carefree existence in their natural environment. It was considered by economists that unless the proportion of agriculturists could be maintained or increased, and unless the productivity of the land could be stimulated, then the prosperity of America would be shortlived. Th,e most successful farmers, there, were those who were the best organised.. The economists pointed tobetter organisation of farmers as the most hopeful means of restoring economic freedom to the rural population, and so placing the prosperity of the country on a more secure foundation.

Co-operative Methods. . In 1924 co-operative marketing associations of farmers m the United States marketed commodities valued at 450 million dollars, and thus it was obvious that sonw headway was being made. There were two types of cooperative marketing associations in America.—the federated type and the centralised type. The former was the most effective in the case of commodities such as butter and cheese, where most of the work of preparation for the market must bo carried oxi+ immediately. In this esse the natural system was one in, which these preliminary processes were conducted iti local co-operatively controlled organ!.-: ations or factories. Within xhe local community, as a group, the processes of manufacture, grading, wrapping, nncl packing were completed. Then these local organisations were federated into a central sales organisation, which was controlled by the producers, and which was responsible for marketing through one channel the products of all the group organisations. In cases where no important processes had to be carried out immediately in a local plant, the natural system o fee-operative organisation was of a more centralised type. Such marketing associations in America were clrefly concerned with commoditys such as cotton and tobacco. A good illustration of this was the American cotton growers' exchange. Co-operative marketing in Canada «•, ns associated mainly with Avheat production, and in thi-i country it had reached a high standard of development, and all the wheat was marketed through a sinde selling channel. Mr Strachan referred to the benefits to be derived from <o-oi>eraiive marketing. It could not appreciably raise the market prices of farm products, and it could not, overnight, convert an enterprise run on inefficient lines into a profit-earning concern, but it certainly would place the producers ot .agricultural products on a level ot bargaining equality with other wellorganised business groups. In his opinion, the direct benefits that might result from co-operative marketing would arise from: (a) Improved service; (h) reduced costs; (c) and, to a less extent, saving of the profits of marketing.' From these deductions, it was ob\ious, therefore, that the real questions to he decided before inaugurating a system of co-operative marketing were whether or not co-operation could give a better marketing service than private enterprise, and whether co-oper-ption could reduce the costs of marketing. After Mr St radian had replied to a

few questions, on the motion of the chairman, seconded by Mr H. Tallott, he was acorded a very hearty vote of thanks. , , The Chairman taid one object of cue meeting was to obtain definite information's to the feeling of the fanners towards the proposal to establish a wheat pool. He moved:—"That this rawting considers that the time lias arrived when a wheat pool should be formed, and the farmers present are prepared to support this pool if formed." Mr Mcintosh added that he desired to find out how many were definitely in favour of the pool, how many were opposed to it, and whether any 'desired further information before nnnmitting themselves to a decision. Mr, H. Tallott seconded the motion, which was carried 1 .