COOPERATIVE AGRICULTURE


ages, commissions, and agency allowances. The members
of the National Association of Food Chains pledged their
help to the National Cooperative Council whenever seasonal
surpluses and emergencies might threaten a substantial
portion of an important crop.

 These developments were embodied in resolutions and
unanimously adopted by the members of the National
Association of Food Chains, comprising some 150 food store
chains, including about 37,000 stores. The National Co-
operative Council adopted a resolution commending the
work of the special committee and another resolution
commending the action of the food chains.

 Since then a number of separate Producer-Consumer
campaigns have been carried out to meet surplus emergen-
cies with such products as canned peaches, domestic fresh
beef, dried fruit, poultry, avocados, walnuts, lamb and
grapefruit During the 1936-37 season a grapefruit overage
of 22.000 cars between Florida and Texas was largely
disposed of through one of these campaigns.

 For the disposal of surplus crops through chain co-
operation, several requirements are to be met According to
the association, "First, it must be demonstrated statistically
that an emergency exists, i.e, that a surplus threatens the
market. Second, the request for aid must come from the
farm organizations or producers themselves. Third, the
farm organizations must represent a substantial majority
of the producers of the crop in all major producing areas."

 When these requirements are met, dates for the nation-
wide sale are set and the entire personnel of each chain
company is enlisted