COOPERATIVE AGRICULTURE


 5. Borrowers become stockholders and as such have
a voice in the management of their association.

 6. Established and satisfactory credit arrangements
with a permanent organization making short-term loans to
agriculture, bring a feeling of security to the farmer.

 In spite of the initial difficulties confronting the farmer-
cooperative movement in this country, the sales of farm
commodities sold through cooperative associations during
the marketing season of 1936 aggregated nearly $2.000,000.-
000 and the purchasing of farm supplies by cooperatives
engaged in that activity amounted to S250.000.000 Over
12,000 marketing and purchasing associations have a mem-
bership of 2,000,000 farmers

 The figures in above paragraph by W. I. Myers.
governor of the Farm Credit Administration, as published
in NEWS FOR FARMER COOPERATIVES, Oct., 1936.

 Coopetative marketing and consumer associations have
existed in one form or another in England and Europe for
centuries Abroad, the International Cooperative Alliance
comprises 105,000 cooperative societies in 39 countries, with
an estimated membership of 90.00.000 and with an annual
cooperative trade of approximately S20.000000.000

 AgricLltural cooperatives in this country are of many
different kinds, embracing a considerable variety of func-
tions The majority ol "local" cooperatives are organized
for marketing. or purchasing. or both. MIost of them work
on the same general plan