Show PROPER FIELD FOR CO OP AMONG FARMERS U by or dr W I 1 dean of the school of commerce and busl bul actis administration utah agricultural college V many ventures in the tha field of ca cooperation have tailed failed because fd cooperators coop orators did not differentiate bo tween the things they should and could not and should not attempt to do this does not mean that all groups should attempt to do uie the same ith thinea ingis julch depends upon the zen fen rat ral situation what Is a the principal Pat object to be attained through cooperation era eca tion what is a to be the size ot of the organization what commodity or r commodities are to be grown or handled what will be the probable volume upon uie the answers to and similar questions the scope or tes tea ct the cooperative enterprise should lo be 10 determined but through it all tots fundamental principle must be kertin mind cooperation like ilka charity must be begin in at home it Is in futile for any group of 0 tanners farmers to think ot of reaching away out to perform the complex functions of mar kotani or distribution until they have teamed learned do well the things that are arc chogo at hand band failure to o tills this important principal has been the rock upon which many a well anten toned enterprise has foundered tou foun ered AS one studies the history of our most successful cooperative organizations he finds that nearly all of them have had to buck back up for a second start simply because thoy their did not ai af airi first sa recognize their own limitations na ma turn lly the lesson la is learned at terrice rost coat organizations are so injured by too the shock that they do 10 not have the power to start anew what then are some of 0 the things that a group ot of farmers can do in a cooper cooperative aUve way with wilh reasonable hope of success if it Is a marketing or one of toe easiest a and nil at the sema time ono one of the most important things such a group can do Is to determine with great care just what commodity or commodities can tie lie most successfully produced there are many fact factors orif to be considered soil roll ani and conditions distance to market methods ot of reaching the martet martel the variety or type that la Is in greatest lenad liesa and aad many other items must be careful carefully fy well weighed bed end examined the writer lias has la in mind one locality which set out oat cooperatively to gain its economic salvation by growing strawberries tor for rather distant markets alter after much expenditure of effort they discovered that the particular variety of berry selected and planted though lovely to look ook upon would hardly stand shipping across the street necessarily their was considerably delayed it if not seriously jeopardized other localities that have studied these matters with great care have built up reputations which are worth millions ot of dollars dollare there la is cucil to be accomplished in this direction very veri rarely are markets glutted with superior lu perlor products that have attained a market reputation another marketing function closely rotated related to the one already described which farmers working cooperatively tan cm perform better and cheaper than anyone else Is that ot of gr grading adling ani peeking products for market here again the opportunities tor for improvement are great few indeed are the cil cooperative Operative enterprises that have realized ad their full es in this direction everywhere enn consumers sumers are more mere end and more dent demanding anding cemmorn use that are uti form anil and dependable throughout to meet tills this demand markets and market ag agencies emeleo are willing to pay a premium tor for products prod nets of this class nere laere to is the producers opportunity port unity to lo 10 10 lo do those two things thoroughly thomous aly find and well Is an adequate program for any now BOW cooperative enterprise no mattor matter how ambitious it may bo be steps beyond this in the marketing process should be ba lett left to other agencies agene a which by renson of exper experience experienc lenc e and nd specialization are much better tilted to do the work than a now new or ot of farmers can possibly be with a local group actively cooperating to do the things thing a ore are so BO prominently fitted to do properly eon con netted up with a dependable distri tou uve agency we have ton on almost ideal arrangement generally rally wa should toe be the permanent arrangement ran gement it may bo be however that a the local organization organisation gains ec a pei leace and to la able to acquire erti clent cleat management it may with profit ach out and perform other functions met are or more strictly a part of the marketing process this Is true aiters the volume of business but loess handled bandied la Is urge largo A considerable sid erable number ot of our most tuc sue cooperative enterprises after A moat humble bumble bee lanne hove have grad ral nally audly widened their scope until they now cover the tha entire di it tance ainee from producer to con consumer samer imort abat frequently this Is in shed OY by it a number of local in Is district federating ledwa tuie themselves to settler to torm form it cen centam aft enles lee agency it to la not glowny alway for ft a oc c association to eon con with wath OB an independent market PC fac ot distributive organization which 1 to dependable this la Is unto unfortunate fortunate for the there are r undoubtedly many reliable selling agencies klow ever tha failure allure to establish suitable connections and the general lack of confidence among farmers lar mera organization in n existing marketing markot lne agencies has baa ed the american farm bureau Feder federation atlon through gli various col cor port pors eions which it line liag fostered to establish at various markets selling belling organizations which are supposed to represent the organized farmers 01 erectly thus livestock commission houses have been established in several of the principal livestock live alv e stock markets it Is the aim of these coninis iton elon hous houses es to connect up with cooperative livestock live stock shipping associations in such a way as to handle all shipments in ants made by these organizations already AI a large volume of business tins has been handled in this way to a less extent but in a similar banner grain is being marketed through agencies that are supposed to he directly representative of the organ zd lad farmers themselves the point to be noted la Is that these cooperative selling agencies becom available to farmers only after they have perfected local organization to do the things Indi indicated entel in the earlier part of this discussion up to the present time an effort has been made to set more or less noll defined limits to the field ot of cooperation before concluding it should bo be pointed out that there are a few fundamentals upon which all successful cooperation must be based these principles must be ba adhered to whether the me organization be large or small they may be briefly stated as follows first there must be intellectual or spiritual cooperation before there can tie be successful success stu fu material cooperation to be goob cooperators cooper alora men must be thoroughly convinced of the tha value of 0 cooperation for this reason it Is much better tint that the movement be initiated by the people immediately modia tely concerned than that it be b brought to them by some one from outside second the physical condi conditions tiona must be favorable there should be b a sufficient lelent volume of business actual or potential to warrant the formation of an organization only one ona commodity or a small number ot of urn ilar commo commodities diVes should be handled third no business cooperative or otherwise can succeed without reasonably goo ingua management gement As volume volum of business done or number of fune alons ons performed increases in creasea arrange 1111 meat at becomes more and more mere important fourth there must bo be absolute loyalty on the part of the membership toward the organization to end the association bould have definite def falte objects in view and there should bo be a common understanding its as to what these objects are where there la Is any doubt as to the loyalty of member there should be a binding contrail between them and the ass association ocla the thousands of highly successful cooperative organizations la in this country show allow conclusively that cooperation amon among farmers Is both feasible and profitable it if they will but recognize their limitations and ad hore to sound fundamental principles principle |