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Consumers’ Cooperatives:
Operations in 1950
A Report on Membership,
Business, and Operating Results




Bulletin No. 1049
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Maurice J. Tobin, Secretary
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Ewan Clague, Com m issioner




Consumers’ Cooperatives:
Operations in 1950
A Report on Membership,
Business, and Operating Results

Bulletin No. 1049
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Maurice J. Tobin, Secretary

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Ewan Clague, Com m issioner

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. - Price 20 cents



Letter of Transmittal
U nited States D epartment of L abor,
B ureau of L abor S tatistics,

Washington, D. (7., December 14, 1951.
The S ecretary of L abor:
I have the honor to transmit herewith a report on operations of consumers’
cooperative associations in the United States in 1950, prepared by Florence
E. Parker, of the Bureau’s Office of Labor Economics.
E wan C lague, Commissioner.
Hon. M aurice J. T obin,
Secretary of Labor.




(ii)

Contents
Progress in 1950_____________________________________________________________
Local associations____________________________________________________________
Leading consumers’ cooperatives__________________________________________
Distributive associations in 1950__________________________________________
Nonfarm cooperatives_______________________________________________
Operating expenses__________________________________________________
Trend of development, 1942-50_______________________________________
Central organizations________________________________________________________
Wholesale associations___________________________________________________
Membership________________________________________________________
Distributive facilities________________________________________________
Distributive and service operations___________________________________
Resources and financial position______________________________________
Services of central cooperatives___________________________________________
Service business_____________________________________________________
Resources of service federations__ - - _________________________________
Production by central cooperatives________________________________________
Productive facilities of wholesales_____________________________________
Productive facilities of federations____________________________________
Goods produced_____________________________________________________
Operating results____________________________________________________
Resources and financial condition of federations________________________
Employment and earnings____________________________________________________

Page

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TABLES
1. Estimated membership and business of consumers’ cooperatives in 1950, by
type of association_____________________________________________________
2. Leading consumers’ cooperatives (nonfarm), 1950___________________________
3. Comparison of farm and nonfarm consumers’ cooperatives, 1950_____________
4. Comparison of operation of farm and nonfarm consumers’ cooperatives, 1950__
5. Operating expenses of farm and nonfarm consumers’ cooperatives, 1950, by
type of association_____________________________________________________
6. Trend of operation of store and petroleum cooperatives, 1942-50_____________
7. Distributive and service business, earnings, and patronage refunds of cooperative
wholesales, 1949 and 1950______________________________________________
8. Value of services performed by cooperative wholesales and federations, 1943-50__
9. Service activities of central cooperative organizations, 1949 and 1950_________
10. Value of manufactures of cooperative wholesales and federations, 1943-50____
11. Productive activities of central cooperatives, 1949 and 1950_________________
12. Employment and earnings in local and central cooperatives, 1950____________




(in)

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10
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Consumers’ Cooperatives in 1950
Progress in 1950
Retail consumers’ cooperatives showed a decided
improvement in 1950 over 1949, with increases in
both membership and business. Membership
growth has been uninterrupted for over 2 decades;
at the same time, volume of business has increased,
with the exception of 1949, when it declined for the
first time. Continuing a trend that started in
1946, the number of associations decreased again
in 1950.
The combined business of the retail distributive
cooperatives in 1950 amounted to $1,253,500,000.
This represented an advance of 3.1 percent in
terms of money; tonnage handled probably in­
creased also, because retail food prices reported
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics rose only 1.2
percent in the same period.

Among the associations reporting gains or losses
on 1950 operations, 86.0 percent of the store
associations and 96.2 percent of the petroleum
associations had net earnings; of the reporting
group, 34.6 percent and 42.7 percent, respec­
tively, showed larger earnings in 1950 than in
1949.
All types of local service associations had in­
creases in membership and business in 1950. The
credit unions also had another banner year.
The regional and district wholesale cooperatives
had a combined business of over $446 million—
an increase of 26.8 percent over 1949. This
represents a substantial advance, in view of the
fact that the BLS wholesale price index rose only
4.2 percent during the period. Operating results
also improved markedly; earnings from the 1950
operations of regional and district wholesales

T a b l e 1.— E stim a te d m em b ersh ip a n d b u sin ess o f co n su m ers1 cooperatives in 1 9 5 0 , by ty p e o f a sso c ia tio n 1
Type of association
Local associations

Retail distributive______________
Stores and buying clubs______
Petroleum associations...............
Other______________________
Service________________________
Rooms and/or meals...................
Housing___________________
Medical and/or hospital care:
On contract_____________
Own facilities______ _____
Burial:
‘ Complete funeral_________
Caskets only_____________
Burial on contract________
Cold storage___________ _____
Other______________________
Electric light and power 1*3_*________
Telephone (mutual and cooperative)
Credit unions___________________
Insurance associations........................
Federations 7
Wholesale:
Interregional..................
Regional........................
District_____________
Service.................................
Productive...........................
Electric light and power3...

Number
Number
Amount of
of Number
Amount of Number
associ­ ofNumber
of associ­ ofNumber
associ­ of mem­ Amount
members business
business ofations
members business ofations
ations
bers
472
3,235 2, 642,000 $1,253, 500,000
1,800 1, 575,000 835.000. 000 375
1,350 1,025,000 400.000. 000 70
85
42,000 18, 500,000
27
534
779
344,200 . 41,280,750
175
175
19,250
7,875,000
175
175
25, 000 210,720,000
25
25
35,000
800,000
65
25
127,000 12,600,000
28
5
28,400
500,000
3
8,500
1,350
1
8
5,200
77,250
165
85.000
10
6.350.000
135
118
18.000
2.350.000
906 * 3,252,000 219,000,000
33,000
1,650
675,000
10,000,000
10, 580 4,609,000 995.960.000 10,050
100
2,000 3 11,750,000 210.250.000
2

30
20
18
15
15

475,500 $193,750,000
365,000 150,000,000
30,000,000
85.000
25, 500 13, 750,000
204,470 27,457, 500
7.875.000
19,250
25.000 3 10,720,000
800,000
35, 000
6.250.000
98, 000
71, 500
4,000
34.000
1,720
32.000
5,000
1,675,000
16, 500
500,000
33,750
4,378, 550 946,160,000
8 550, 000 «10,250,000

2,763
1,425
1,280
58
245

2,166,500 $1,059,750,000
1,210,000 685.000. 000
940,000 370.000. 000
16, 500
4,750, 000
139, 730 13,823,250

29.000
6.350.000
40
24,400
428, 500
23
1,350
8, 500
3
43,250
3,480
7
6.318.000
80.000
155
675,000
1,500
17
906 43, 252,000 219,000,000
9, 500,000
641,250
31,350
49,800,000
230,450
530
1,900 8 11,200,000 • 200,000,000

Assns.

77 310,530,862
4,992 3439,250,000
280 87,150,000
1,135
2,303,000
402 82.308.000
109 11.900.000

1Associations are here classified as farmers’ cooperatives if over half of the
members are farmers, and as nonfarm if over half of the members are not farm­
ers. See accompanying text.
3 Gross revenues.
3 Data furnished by Rural Electrification Administration; preliminary
figures.



Farm

Nonfarm

Total

a)

4Number of patrons.
8Number of policyholders.
* Premium income.
7 Figures do not agree in all cases with those in tables 7-11, for those given
here include an allowance for any nonreporting associations.
3 Wholesale distributive, retail distributive, and service business.

2

combined totaled over $13 million, compared with
$8.8 million in 1949. Patronage refunds from
wholesales to their member associations amounted
to nearly $9K million, an increase of nearly $3K
million over 1949. Assets were somewhat more
current than in 1949. Inventories were larger.
Member equities declined slightly, as a result
either of redemption of share capital or of write­
off of depreciated investments or of other assets.
Another unfavorable item in the wholesale picture
was a 2.9-percent decrease in number of affiliated
local associations, reflecting largely the dissolutions
of the latter during the year.
The value of goods produced in plants owned by
wholesales continued to increase in 1950, reaching
an all-time high of $118,715,137. Largely be­
cause of a $13 million drop in output of one pe­
troleum-refining association, the value of produc­
tion of the productive federations totaled only
$80,723,973, or 12.3 percent below 1949. Because
of this, the total produced in all cooperatively
owned plants fell to $199,439,110, or to a level
1.0 percent below 1949. This is the first decline
in total production recorded since the Bureau
began to collect such information in 1943.
Service federations, however, increased their
business by 15.3 percent, to more than $2 million.
Estimates of number of associations, member­
ship, and business for the various types of coopera­
tives in 1950 are given in table 1. They include
data for continental United States, Alaska, and
Puerto Rico, but not for Hawaii.1 Estimates are
also given according to the field of membership—
whether farm or nonfarm. An association is
there classified as a farmers’ cooperative if over
half of its members are farmers, and as nonfarm if
over half of its members are not farmers. Thus,
each of these classes contains a large number of
nonfarm and farmer members, respectively. For
example, although the REA cooperatives are
classified as all farmers’ (because all have a major­
ity of farmer members), many rural people are
also served who live in the small towns, or even on
farms in the area of service, but who do not earn
their livelihood by farming.
1The information for Alaska was obtained directly from the cooperatives
there; that for Puerto Rico was furnished by the Office of the Inspector of
Cooperatives of Puerto Rico,,
The table shows number of associations, not number of establishments
operated. Many cooperatives have one or more branches. The table does
not show volume of business done in any particular line; many associations
carry on several departments doing various kinds of business, but in table 1
all are classified according to their main line of business,



Local Associations
Leading Consumers’ Cooperatives
Eighteen nonfarm cooperatives (15 distributive
and 3 service) reported a membership of 3,000 or
over and/or a business of a million dollars or more
in 1950. These are shown in table 2.
T able 2.— L ea d in g co n su m ers1 cooperatives {n on farm ), 1 9 5 0 1
Association
Distributive association s

Consumers Cooperative Society of Palo Alto, Calif...
Cooperative Trading, Inc., Waukegan, 111_________
Greenbelt Consumers Services, Greenbelt, Md_____
Harvard Cooperative Society, Cambridge, Mass___
United Cooperative Society, Fitchburg, Mass______
United Cooperative Society, Maynard, Mass........ .
Cloquet Cooperative Society, Cloquet, Minn______
Franklin Cooperative Creamery Association, Min­
neapolis, Minn______________________________
Cooperative Services, St. Paul, Minn_____________
Virginia Cooperative Society, Virginia, Minn______
Consumers Cooperative Society, Ithaca, N. Y______
New Cooperative Co., Dillonvale, Ohio___________
University of Oregon, Cooperative Store, Eugene,
Oreg______________________________________
Shirlington Cooperative Department Store, Arling­
ton, Va____________________________________
Consumers Cooperative of Eau Claire, Wis________

Member- Business,
ship, 1950 1950
2,262
6,283
2, 678
25,193
3,264
2, 654
4, 398
3,468
4,339
2,905
1,958
2,159
3,300
3,265
2,088

Service associations

Group Health Association, Washington, D. C______
Consumers Cooperative Services, New York, N. Y___
Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Seattle,
Wash______________________________________

$1,933,948
2,684,000
2,399, 316
3,378, 542
1,296,999
1,312,308
1,881,800
5,724,272
798,031
1,011,922
1,078, 231
1,943, 608
525,983
1,046,240
1,250,102

7,738
851,773
6,200 1,303,848
3, 509 1,362,711

1Includes those having 3,000 or more members and/or a business of $1
million or more.

Distributive Associations in 1950
Membership of reporting associations averaged
1,694 for the stores and 783 for the petroleum co­
operatives. (The corresponding figures in 1940
were 819 and 719.) Average volume of business
per association was $396,845 and $291,514, re­
spectively ($413,471 and $277,166 in 1949). Net
earnings for the stores that had net earnings
averaged 3.1 percent on the total business done;
where there were losses they averaged 2.9 percent
of sales per store. (The corresponding figures for
1949 were 3.9 and 2.3 percent.) For the associa­
tions whose main business was the handling of
petroleum products, earnings averaged 6.3 and
losses 3.6 percent (7.2 and 2.6 percent in 1949).
Information on patronage refunds was available
for 426 local associations; these returned a total of
$5,213,185. The rate of return, based on amount
of business done, was 2.3 percent for the stores,
4.8 percent for the gasoline cooperatives, 3.8 per­
cent for the “ other distributive,” and 3.8 percent

3

both a smaller average membership and a smaller
average business. Both earnings and losses of the
nonfarm stores were larger than those of the
farmers (table 3).
Among the petroleum associations, the situation
was exactly the reverse on all these points.
The net-worth status of both stores and gasoline
stations was less favorable for the nonfarm than
for the farm associations, with a fifth or more
having a members’ equity of less than 50 percent,
and with smaller proportions in the higher equity
classes than were found among the farmer organ­
izations.
The net worth of 65.3 percent of the nonfarm
stores
improved in 1950 as compared with 1949.
Number
associa- Value of
Among
the farmers’ cooperatives the proportion
tions
product
was
78.8
percent. For the petroleum associations
All products__________________________1 25 $6, 300, 193
the figures were 76.9 and 85.9 percent, respectively.
Bakery products______________________ 2
170,625 The membership increase was smaller for both
Meat products_______________________ 22
405,296 the nonfarm store and gasoline stations than for
Dairy products_______________________ 1 5, 139, 750 that of the farm associations, and smaller propor­
Ice cream____________________________ 1
584,522 tions had an increased membership (table 4). Con­
1 One association manufactures both dairy products and ice cream, and thus
appears twice in the items.
siderably larger gains in volume of business, how­
ever, were made by the nonfarm associations of
both types, and larger proportions had a greater
Nonfarm Cooperatives
volume in 1950 than in 1949.
Nearly four-fifths (79.2 percent) of the nonfarm
Comparison of the nonfarm and farm store
associations indicates that in 1950 the former had stores reporting had earnings in 1950 and for over
for the service cooperatives. In addition to these,
6 associations returned patronage refunds but did
not report the amount. Another 69 associations
had earnings but decided not to make patronage
returns, either because the earnings were too small
to be significant or because the members felt the
need for strengthening the association financially
and therefore voted to put the earnings into the
reserves. Patronage refunds could not be paid
by the associations that had a loss on the year’s
operations.
Twenty-five nonfarm cooperatives reported pro­
duction in their own plants exceeding 6% million
dollars, as follows:

T able 3.— C o m p a riso n o f fa rm a n d n on farm co n su m ers’ co o pera tives , 195 0 1
Item

Petroleum associations

Store associations

Both types

Nonfarm
Nonfarm
Nonfarm
and farm Nonfarm Farm and farm Nonfarm Farm and farm Nonfarm Farm

774
1,050
783
Membership, average____________________________________ 1,169
864 2,060
1,217
1,694
886
514 $325,405 $290,487
Amount of business, average__________ ____ ___
$305,260 $339,818 $396, 845 $302,349 $435,131 $291,94.9
90.9
95.0
Assns. having earnings, as percent of all reporting on this point. $335,099
75.6
84.9
90.0
90.5
77.6
93.3
Percent of sales
Net earnings of those with earnings______________________
Net losses of those with losses__________________________
Patronage refunds of those returning such________________

4.7
3.1
3.5

3.5
4.1
2.6

4.9
2.5
3.9

3.1
2.9
2.3

3.0
1.6
2.0

6.3
3.6
4.8

4.9
1.6
2.8

6.4
4.0
4.9

78.8
20.5
.8

85.7
13.9
.4

76.9
23.1

85.9
13.7
.4

6.7
37.8
29.0
26.0
.4

20.0
35.0
30.0
15.0

6.4
37.9
29.0
26.3
.4

3.3
4.4
2.6

Percent of associations
Net w orthLarger than in 1949________________________________
Smaller
No
nhanthan in 1949_________________________ ___
p p

.

81.0
18.6
.4

66.4
33.6

83.5
16.0
.5

74.6
24.9
.5

65.3
34.7

Percent of associations
Net worth (as percent of total liabilities):
Less than 50 percent_______________________________
50 but under 75 percent----------------------------------------------75 but under 90 percent-------------------- -----------------------90 but under 100 percent........ .................... .................. .........
1DO pftrep.n t.
Based on reporting associations only.



8.7
39.5
29.7
21.5
.5

25.0
40.1
23.8
9.3
1.7

6.1
39.5
30.6
23.5
.3

11.6
42.0
30.6
15.1
.6

25.7
40.8
23.0
8.6
2.0

5.6
42.6
33.9
17.9

4

a third of the total these were larger than in 1949.
This showing was surpassed by the farmers’ stores,
90.3 percent of which had earnings in 1950, with
slightly over a third of the total having larger
earnings than in the previous year.
Among the nonfarm petroleum associations, the
earnings record was better than in 1949 for the
nonfarm stores, but here again the farmers had a
better one, with 96.6 percent compared with 83.4
percent of the nonfarm stores having earnings.
More of the nonfarm than of the farm gasoline
stations showed larger earnings than in 1949.
T able 4.— C o m p a riso n o f o p era tio n o f fa rm a n d n on farm
co n su m ers’ co o pera tives , 1 95 0

Store associations
Item

Petroleum
associations

Non­
Non­
farm Non­ Farm farm Non­ Farm
and farm
and farm
farm
farm

1950 compared with 1949

Membership:
Percent of increase__________
Percent reporting—
Increase_____________
Decrease_________ _____
Amount of business:
Percent of increase.............. ......
Percent reportingincrease________________
Decrease.. ____ _________
Net earnings:
Percent going from—
Gain to loss_____________
Loss to gain_____________
Percent reporting—
Loss in both years_______
Increased earnings..... .........
Decreased earnings_______

3.6
68.9
31.1
3.3
52.6
47.4

2.0
61.3
38.7
5.2
53.3
46.7

4.5
72.1
27.9
2.7
52.3
47.7

4.9
74.3
25.6
4.9
65.0
35.0

2.9
64.7
35.3
14.6
72.2
27.8

4.9
10.7
9.0
34.6
40.7

3.6
16.6
17.2
34.5
28.1

5.7
7.0
4.0
34.8
48.5

2.5
1.8
1.4
42.7
51.7

5.5 2.4
5.6 1.7
11.1 1.1
50.0 42.4
27.8 52.5

5.0
74.6
25.4
4.2
64.6
35.4

Operating Expenses
The operating expenses of 142 cooperatives are
shown in table 5. These associations had a com­
bined business of $29,670,127. Their individual
sales ranged from $9,278 to $1,881,800. In both
the store and petroleum groups the nonfarm
associations had higher expense ratios, mainly
because of greater outlay for wages and salaries.
The nonfarm store associations also spent more
for advertising, wrappings, and rent. The non­
farm store group included two with combined
losses of $166,845. Had these not been included,




the group would have shown operating earnings of
1.7 percent and total earnings of 1.8 percent.
Of the total number of stores, 24 had operating
losses, but in 2 cases other income was sufficient
to overcome the loss, with the result that the
associations showed earnings for the year. Two
of the gasoline cooperatives, none of the lumber
yards, and 4 of the cold-storage associations had
losses. These figures represent a considerable
advance over 1949, when 37 of 118 associations
had losses.2
Total operating expenses were slightly higher
than in 1949 2 for both the farm and nonfarm
store associations that furnished expenditure
statements, and both operating earnings and total
earnings were lower. The farmers’ petroleum
associations also had higher expenses and lower
earnings than in 1949, but the reverse was true
for the nonfarm stations. The lumber yards
reduced their total expense ratio and increased
their earnings rate.
Trend of Development, 1942-50
Although membership in both store and petro­
leum associations has increased each year, the
rate of increase has been slowing down since the
end of the war (table 6). The same has been true
in general as regards volume of business, with the
exception that in 1 year (1949) a decrease was
shown by both types of associations.
From the earnings standpoint, 1947 was the
worst year for the store associations since the
1930’s, with 28.5 percent of those reporting show­
ing losses. The proportion in this group has
decreased steadily, however, and only 13.9 percent
were in the red in 1950.
The earnings record of the petroleum associa­
tions has consistently been better than that of the
stores, owing partly to larger margins in this
industry and to greater patronage refunds received
by the retail associations from their wholesales.
2 For data for 1949, see page 4 of U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin
No. 1013 (Consumers’ Cooperatives in 1949: Operations and Developments).

5
T able 5.— O p e ra tin g expen ses o f fa r m a n d n on farm co n su m ers’ cooperatives, 1 95 0, by ty p e o f a ssocia tio n
Percent (in terms of total sales) spent for specified item
|

Store associations

Item of expense
Total
(86)
Gross margin_____ _____________ ______________
Operating expenses:
Wages, salaries, and commissions____ __________
Group insurance, retirement, etc________________
Advertising_____________________________ ____
Wrappings and miscellaneous sales expense_______
Total sales expense_________________________
Miscellaneous delivery expense, except wages..................
Rent____ _________________ ____ _______________
Light, power, water, heat, ice______________________
Insurance and bonds- ____________________________
Taxes and licenses:
Social security, withholding, etc_________________
State and county taxes and licenses__________ ___
Interest on borrowed money______ : ____________ ____
Office supplies and postage________________________
Telephone and telegraph --------------------------------Repairs to plant and equipment____________________
Depreciation of plant and equipment___ ____________
Bad debts and collection expense____ ______________
Inventory, audit, and professional________ _____ ____
Warehouse and plant expenses_____________________
Directors’ fees and expenses________________________
Travel___________ ____ _____ ______________
Education, public relations, publications____________
Membership dues, meetings, donations________ _____
Laundry and cleaning expenses_____________________
Employees’ bonus_________________ _____________
Miscellaneous. ____________ ________________ ____
Total operating expenses.......-_____ ___________
Total operating earnings____ _________________
Total earnings (including other income and
other expenses)---------- -------------------------------

Petroleum associations
Nonfarm
(8)

Farm
(31)

Nonfarm
(62)

Farm |
(24)

16.3

17.0

13.5 |

20.4

24.4

19.1

21.9

47.8

9.5
.1
.5
.5
10.6
.3
.7
.5

10.1
.1
.6
.6
11.4
.3
.8
.6
.3
.3
.4

7.3
0) .2
.1
7.6 |
.3
.1
.5
.5

9.9
.1
.2
.2
10.4
1.9
.5
.6
.5

8.9
.1#2
.1
9.3
2.0
.2
.5

5.4
#2

.1
.6
.2
.1
.1
.2
1.0
.1
.2
.1
.1

.2
.5
.1
.2
.2
.2
1.2
.1
.2
.2
.1
.1
.1

13. 1
(0 .3 !
.3
13.7
1.7
1.4
1.0
.4
.3
.7
.1
.3
.4
.4
1.1
.1
.2
.2

22.8
0) .4
2.4
25.6
.6
.1
5.1
2.0
.4
1.6

.4
.2
.5
.2
.1
.1
.2
.8
0)
.2
0)
.1
0)
.1
0) .1
0)
.3
15.5
.8
1.1

.2
.1
.1
.2
.8
0)
.1
0)
.1
0)
.1
0) .1
0)
.3
16.3

(9

0)
0)
0)

0)

.7

.2
12.0
1.5

2.9

.7

Total
(39)

Cold
Lumber storage
yards, associations,
farm
farm
(13)
(4)

0)
0)
0)

.2
17.6
2.8
4.1

0)

.1
.1
.1
.1

.5

.2
.4
.2
.2
.2
1.2
0)
.2
.2
.1

0)

0)

.4
22.6

5.6
.1
0) .2
.4
0) .5

0)

.1
.1
.1

.2
0) .5
0)

1.6
6.4
.4
1.4
.2
.2
.2
.2

.2
16.0

.6
9.5
12.4
12.6

48.1
2.2
2.9

0)

3.1

1.8

2.3

.1
1.0
.2

.3
.1
.2
.8

4.7

(i)

.3
.4

Less than 0.05 percent.
8i Loss.

T able 6.— Trend of operation of store and petroleum cooperatives, 1942-50
Item
Membership:
Percent of increase over preceding year_______
Percent reporting—
Increase over preceding year ----------------Decrease from preceding year__________
Amount of business:
Percent of increase over preceding year_______
Percent reportingincrease over preceding year------------------Decrease from preceding year----------------Net earnings:
Percent going from—
Gain to loss _ _______________________
Loss to gain __ _________________
Percent reporting—
Loss in current and preceding years. ......... .
Increase in gain over preceding year...........
Decrease in gain from preceding year_____
i Decrease.

981437—52------2




Petroleum associations

Store associations

1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1942 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1942
10.8
77.5
22.5
27.9
94.1
5.9

11.4
78.2
21.8
10.7
86.3
13.7

14.4
79.9
20.1
22.6
89.4
10.6

3.6
68.9
31.1
3.3
52.6
47.4

5.2
70.0
30.0
i 1.3
41.4
58.6

8.4
77.5
22.5
11.3
73.0
27.0

13.4
80.9
19.1
39.9
80.8
19.2

11.6
72.8
27.2
30.8
90.5
9.5

15.9
82.9
17.1
11.5
72.9
27.1

25.6
98.8
1.2
19.6
80.3
19.7

8.3
75.5
24.5
30.8
90.8
9.2

4.9
74.3
25.6
4.9
65.0
35.0

5.4
72.9
27.1
1.2
52.4
47.6

6.5
76.9
23.1
23.2
93.2
6.8

9.6
80.2
19.8
26.3
89.7
10.3

4.9
10.7
9.0
34.6
40.7

7.4
10.9
32.6
40.3

8.8

9.0
3.3
11.8
37.0
38.9

19.4
3.7
9.1
30.8
37.0

5.8
9.1
3.3
62.5
19.2

4.2
10.7
8.4
49.4
27.2

6.4
4. 2
2.0
62.3
25.1

5.4
4.9
2.2
69.5
17.9

2.5
1.8
1.4
42.7
51.7

2.8
2.1
1.5
51.9
41.7

2.9
1.8
.3
54.8
40.2

2.4
.8 .9.7 2.0
1.0 .9
1.2
.5
.5
.4
55.3 88.0 78.9 74.5 64.7
40.8 11.1 20.3 23.3 31.7

9.5
73.8
26.2
13.6
78.9
21.1

6

Central Organizations
Wholesale Associations
Membership
No change occurred in the number of affiliates
of the interregional associations, National Coop­
eratives, Inc., and Cuna Supply Cooperative. Six
regional wholesales, also, reported the same num­
ber of member associations as in 1949 (table 7).
Among the other organizations reporting for both
years, 11 increased their membership and 8
suffered a decrease. For the whole number for
which membership in both years is known, the
number of affiliates fell 2.9 percent. This is the
first decline in membership, for the whole group of
regional wholesales, ever recorded by the Bureau.
It was probably to a great extent the result of the
dissolution of local associations. The 26 regionals
reporting in 1950 had a combined membership of
4,522 local associations.
Twenty-one regional wholesales estimated that
their 4,265 member associations had 1,761,000 in­
dividual members in 1950; 15 of these regionals
(with 3,792 affiliated associations having 1,690,000
members) belonged to National Cooperatives, Inc.
Distributive Facilities
Associated Cooperatives (California) sold its
farm supply, hardware, and building-materials
departments to a newly organized central farmsupply cooperative. The regional leased both office
and warehouse space to this organization and has
been providing it with warehouse service on a
contract basis which is reported as being “ very
satisfactory.” The wholesale reported that, as a
result of these readjustments, the commodities
now being handled are practically the same as in
1944 (groceries, automotive supplies, and appli­
ances), but with a volume of business 4 times as
large. The patrons also are the same as in 1944—
mainly urban cooperatives, the farm-supply groups
having transferred their membership to the central
organization mentioned previously.
The handling of a certain line of farm machinery
was discontinued by the Idaho and Oregon Grange
Wholesales because the manufacturer had opened
his own West Coast agency.



Central States Cooperatives (Illinois) started a
retail branch in a new public housing project in
midsummer, 1950. It was stated that as soon as
the project was fully occupied and the residents
had organized a cooperative, ownership and man­
agement of the store would be turned over to it.
Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association
added grain terminals at Indianapolis and Evans­
ville, Ind., Louisville, Ky., and Decatur, Ala.
Farm Bureau Services (Michigan) expanded its
branches in Bay City, Emmett, Hastings, Saginaw,
and Traverse City.
Farm Bureau Cooperative Association (Ohio)
built an addition to its grain terminal. It dis­
continued the marketing of eggs and poultry, be­
cause another cooperative agreed to undertake this
service for its member associations.
The Oregon Grange Wholesale built a $200,000
cold-storage locker plant at Pendleton and opened
a retail branch store at Baker. The retail branch
at Enterprise was closed.
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooperative Asso­
ciation purchased two additional chick hatcheries
from local affiliates. It discontinued the market­
ing of eggs, as “unprofitable.”
Utah Cooperative Association discontinued the
handling of appliances and paint, because of in­
adequate facilities for their promotion.
Grange Cooperative Wholesale (Washington)
moved into its new building, providing both ware­
house and office space.
Marketing of potatoes, previously carried on
by Pacific Supply Cooperative (Washington), was
turned over to a local association.
Among the district wholesales, Northern Co­
operatives (Michigan) undertook the smoking
and curing of meats and added the processing and
freezing of Copper Country strawberries to the
activities of its refrigerator department.
Distributive and Service Operations
Most of the regional wholesales showed sub­
stantial increases in their wholesale distributive
business (table 7). For the entire group of asso­
ciations reporting for both 1949 and 1950, the
increase was 26.7 percent. A number of the
wholesales noted that sales fell off considerably in
the first half of the year. In certain parts of the
country heavy snows followed by spring floods

7
deferred farm planting operations and caused a
falling off in business during that period. The
short-supply situation that threatened in the
second half of the year, as a result of the outbreak
of hostilities in Korea, caused a flurry of buying
(in anticipation of later shortages) that raised the
total year’s sales above the level of the previous
one.
About mid-1950, the “price squeeze” in the
petroleum industry relaxed and conditions im­
proved. Thus, associations operating petroleum
refineries, that had been forced to sell their
products below cost of manufacture, were again
able to show earnings. These were in many cases
below those of recent years, but compared with
1949 the majority of the regionals showed sub­
stantial increases. Midland Cooperative Whole­
sale (Minnesota) reported earnings that were “the
third largest” in its entire history. The asso­
ciations reporting earnings for both 1949 and 1950
had a combined increase of 47.5 percent.

Four associations had losses in 1949 but earn­
ings in 1950. Three associations had losses in
both years. One of these, however, reported that
it would have shown earnings had it not been
necessary to allocate nearly $48,000 to the reserve
for doubtful accounts. This wholesale was hard
hit by the numerous dissolutions of member asso­
ciations, many of which probably cannot pay
their debts to it.
Falling volume of business was noted as a cause
of either losses or decreased earnings in several
cases.
The amount of patronage refunds declared on
the year’s business exceeded $9Ji million—about
60 percent over 1949 (which showed the lowest
return in many years).
Several regionals noted a reduction in operating
expenses as one important factor in the better
earnings showing in 1950. In some cases un­
economic services or departments were closed or
were being operated with reduced staff.

T a b l e 7.— D istrib u tiv e a n d service b u sin ess, ea rn in g s , a n d p atro n a g e refu n d s o f cooperative w h olesales , 1 94 9 a n d 195 0 1
[Associations marked * are members of National Cooperatives, Inc.] *
Association

Number of
affiliated asso­
ciations
1950

All associations:
Interregional:
Wholesale business___ _____ ____________________
Service business______ _________ ________________
Regional:
Wholesale business................................... ......................
Retail business...................................................................
Service business_________ _______________________
District:
Wholesale business______________________________
Service business................................................................

1949

24
53

Regional




1949

1950

1949

Patronage
refunds
1950

1949

$11,084,830 } $71,889 8$28,033
77 $10, 504,188
26,674
48, 506
403,102,318 316,954,907
4,522 4,996 20,391,681 19,041, 786 12,952,029 8,662,461 >,393,815 $5,903,262
7,484,423 4, 228, 710
6,018,823 5,620,978 } 182,759
193 220
180,603 105,508 117,778
351,479
290,970

Interregional

See footnotes at end of table.

1950

Net earnings

77

Ulinois—National Cooperatives * (Chicago)-........ ......................
Distributive business, w holesale.____________________
Service business________________ ____________________
Wisconsin—Cuna Supply Cooperative 6 (Madison)............... .....
California—Associated Cooperatives 7 (Oakland)*____________
Distributive business, wholesale____________ __________
Service business_______________________ _____________
Idaho—Idaho Grange Wholesale 8 (Shoshone).............................
Distributive business, wholesale____ ______ ____________
Service business____________________________________
Illinois—Central States Cooperativesfl (Waukegan)*_________
Distributive business, wholesale_______________________
Distributive business, retail_____________________ _____
Service business____________________________________
Indiana—Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association (Indi­
anapolis) *__________________ ________________________
Distributive business, wholesale_______________________
Service business____________________________________
Iowa—
Iowa Farm Service Co.12 (Des Moines;_________________
Distributive business, wholesale____________________
Service business____________________________ ____
Cooperative Service Co.7 (Waterloo)___________________

Amount of business

926,
826,
99,
433,
432,
12
1,
1,161,
1,036,
107
92,
32,
>99, 536,
86 >98, 382,
1,154,
6, 696,
40 ! 6,687,
(13)
114,8,
51

86

10,407,020 10, 789,469
10,380,346 10, 740,963
26,674
48, 506
265,361
123,842

S50,186
« 21,703

842,888
s 14,855

1, 246, 570
1,121,497
10,455 8 63, 241
125,073
120,425
1, 546,146
118,758
830,168
1,126,349
1,061,906
8 44, 552 836,485
35, 364
29,079
36,039,457
35,064, 684 53,117,090 8 2, 553, 695 2,638,956 1,177,746
974, 773
6,167, 594
(18;

202,186
12, 422

(»)
(13)

190, 979
10,683

(13)
( 13)

8
T a b l e 7.—Distributive and service business, earnings, and patronage refunds of cooperative wholesales, 1949 and 19501—Con.
[Associations marked * are members of National Cooperatives, Inc.]2
Association

Number of
affiliated asso­
ciations
1950

Regional—Continued
Michigan—
Farm Bureau Services 12 (Lansing)*........................................
Distributive business, wholesale. .................................. .
10^
Distributive business, retail...........................................
Service business.................................................................
Farmers Petroleum Cooperative 12 (Lansing).----------------42
Distributive business, wholesale.......................................
Service business_________________________ ________
Minnesota—
nlidland Cooperative Wholesale (Minneapolis) *................. 1
Distributive business, wholesale._. _______ ______ _ \ 637
Service business_______________________________
Farmers Union Central Exchange (St. Paul)*..................... 1 384
Missouri—
Farm Bureau Service Co. of Missouri11 (Jefferson City)----26
Consumers Cooperative Association 12 (Kansas City)*..........
Distributive business, wholesale..... ......... ........................ • 1,417
Service business-------------------------------------------------116
Producers Grocery Co. (Springfield)---------------------------- Nebraska—Farmers Union State Exchange 8 (Omaha)*...............
Distributive business, wholesale---------------------------------- /ii\
Distributive business, retail..................................................... Pv
Service business_______________ _____ __________ -........
New Jersey—Eastern Cooperatives, Inc. (Palisades Park)*------Distributive business, wholesale_____________ __________ 163
Service business_________________________ _______ ____
North Carolina—Farmers Cooperative Exchange * (Raleigh)*—
Distributive business, wholesale_______________ ______ _
57
Distributive business, retail--------------------------------------Service business____________________________ ________
Ohio—
79
Cooperative Wholesale Association (Columbus)............... .
Farm Bureau Cooperative Asssociation (Columbus)*........
88
Distributive business, wholesale.....................................
Service business_______________________________
Ohio Farmers Grain & Supply Association 4 (Fostoria)....... .
Distributive business, wholesale....................................... • 250
Distributive business, retail....................... .................... .
Oregon—Oregon Grange Wholesale 18 (Portland)...... ...................
Distributive business, wholesale.............................................
XinU
Distributive business, retail............................ .................... .
Service business____________ _______________________
Pennsylvania—Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooperative Asso­
ciation (Harrisburg)*--------------------------------------------........ I
Distributive business, wholesale--------------------- ------------- \ 32
Service business.. _ .. . . . .. --------------------------------Texas—Consumers Cooperatives Associated r (Amarillo)*........ . 1 302
Utah—Utah Cooperative Association 8 (Salt Lake City)*..........
20
Washington—
Grange Cooperative Wholesale 7 (Seattle)----------------------54
Pacific Supply Cooperative 4 (Walla Walla)*— .................... 1
Distributive business, wholesale_____ _____ ______ _ V 130
Service business............................................................... . 1
Wisconsin—
Wisconsin Cooperative Farm Supply Co.8 (Madison)-------Distributive business, wholesale____________________
65
Service business.. ... ____________ _____ _________
Central Cooperative Wholesale (Superior)*............................
Distributive business, wholesale____________ ______ _ • 202
Service business.............. ..................................................

1949

Amount of business
1950

f $18,129,135
1J.O*nU 11 10,846,098
7,262, 235
l
20,802
f 3,190, 371
40 < 3,064,967
l 125,404
f 29,697,970
594 { 29,460,995
l 236,975
425 38,773,985
22 2,001,818
f 65,653,115
1,455 < 62,210. 583
l 3,442, 532
1,762,647
116
6,871,687
990
Q7R 5,216,
1, 525,087
129, 610
3,187,477
175 3,179, 524
7,953
18,038,862
7,194,345
10, 560, 652
283,865
844,130
79
18 52,739, 568
90 • 18 52,210,701
528,867
1, 588,292
240 1, 510, 572
77,720
1,757,352
840,845
in
1U
873, 320
43,187
f 19,513,565
30 Al 19,236,334
277,231
389 9,115,159
16 2,228,464
56 6,975,373
f18 25,068,402
127 U* 24,331,950
l 736,452
f 3,995,484
62 A 3,900, 225
l
95,259
f 10,977,075
<
10,716,
584
206
1 260,491
04 0

Net earnings

1949
$17,782,515
11,208,309
6,486, 352
87,854
14 1,876, 588
14 1,796, 552
1480,036
27,364,237
27,114,613
249,624
34,989,609
2,108,181
56,210,628
55,397,995
* 812,633
1,662,780
18 5,469,449
184,028,037
18 1,366,161
75,251
3,767,778
3,734,914
32,864
15,863,097
5,415,660
10,358,838
88,599
607,910
17 53,932,976
17 53,417,955
515,021
2,670,760
2,448,684
222,076
1,573,837
993,883
572,995
6,959
18,270,331
18,004,180
266,151
10,677,832
181, 218,343
7, 503,825
28 18,055,983
2817,440,962
615,021
]} 3,564,609
I 8,928,019
8,658,247
269,772

1950

1949

» $308,078 a$248,457
79.720

1423, 212

Patronage
refunds
1950

1949

$262, 585 $147, 269
46,603

)
> 8 1,004,332 * 197,164 563,605
J
a 4,004,345 * 2,858,250 3,195,399 1,863,204
12,024
17,088
11, 556
]
} a 521,179 * 86,334
24,334
j
56,518
45,886
31,250
39,272
169,578 ia 341,815 130,814 307,642
a 36,045

* 91,392

503,589

386,055

333,834

328,614

181
40.720
)
962,504
a ,065,582
j
a 70,931
66,138 | a 74,012
4,793
)
a 4,726
»11,914
J
]
a 634, 525
}
J «801,442
»109,211 a 349,320
53,048
22,745
350,707
286,097
I
a 505,979 * 584,814
J

33,453
734,179
48.265
48.265

647,037

27,128

28,113

* 36,653

151, 954

16,645
5,304
* 3,462

15,178

1

56,888
1
« 199,929
j

193,045
286,097
505,979

} * 276
180,020
56,421
42,614
350,707
584,814

District

24 24
Iowa—Propane Gas Cooperative i* (Eagle Grove)— ............... .
123,201
103,835
16,864
Michigan—
Bruce Cooperative Services (Bruce Crossing)---------------115,037
8
8
116,108
5,476
f 21 334,650 22 326,370 1
Northern Cooperatives8 (Hancock)------------------------------ ]
Distributive business, wholesale____________________ f 13
8 < 21 260,080 **280,636
2,997
l
74,570
45,734 )
Service business-------------- --------- -------------------9
187,174
Northland Cooperative Federation (Rock)......... ................... 1 9
91,028
» 5,725
MinnesotaFederated Co-ops of East Central Minnesota4(Cambridge)... ]
f 225,232
204,094 )
Distributive business, wholesale---------------------------- \ 03)
32 < 197,232
129,197
28,933
Service business_______________________ _____ ____
l « 28,000
74,897 )
Trico Cooperative Oil Association 4 (Cloquet)------------------ 1 (13) (13)
533, 583
16,478
(«)
C-A-P Cooperative Oil Association 24 (Kettle River)..........
f 267,738
239,299 1
217,664
Distributive business, wholesale. ............... ......... .............
19 19 \ 247,486
23,301
l
20,252
21,635 J
Service business---------- ------------- ------------------ ------{ 28 2,469,003 28 2, 524,830 ]
Range Cooperative Federation (Virginia)_______________
a
Distributive business, wholesale____________________
25 24 \ 2*2, 243,736 28 2,377,784
Service business______ . ----------------------------------[
225,267
147,046 |
5,663
Nebraska—Consumers Cooperative Propane Co.7 (Sutton)........
10 10
85,320
91,210
South Dakota5,316
10
82,840
87,393
Consolidated Propane Gas Cooperative27 (Aberdeen)..........
10
5,880
46,380
Farmers Propane Gas Association 12 (Arlington).................
7
7
38,549
2,563
41, 527
46,918
7
Farm Gas Co-op Association12 (Lennox)-----------------------7




1 6 ,6 2 0

(»)

(«)

(IS)

14,619

6,844
(IS)

4,543

12,297

( 18)

(IS)

(IS)

22,975

19,276

14,433

*32,890
1,029
9,421
6,702
3,549

26,951
5,663

03)5,880
2,103

(IS)
(IS)
2,S

9

T able 7.—Distributive and service business, earnings, and patronage refunds of cooperative wholesales, 1949 and 19501—

C on.

[Associations marked * are members of National Cooperatives, Inc.]2

Association

Number of
affiliated asso­
ciations
1950

District—Continued
Wisconsin—
Fox River Valley Cooperative Wholesale28 (Appleton).........
A & B Cooperative Association 27 (Ashland)_____________
Cooperative Services 8(Maple)__________ ______________
Distributive business, wholesale____________________
Service business_______________ __________ _____

50
4

17

1949

Amount of business
1950

1949

51 $1,326, 539 $1,384,424
272,802
279,756
4
[ 261,217
376,193
374, 535 |
7 \ 257,827
1,658
l
3,390

Net earnings

Patronage
refunds

1950

1949

1950

1949

$23,927
15, 938
18,528

$28,607
17,348
24,976

$23,927
15,938
13,000

$28,607
W
25,677

1Data are for calendar year unless otherwise indicated.
2 Tennessee Farmers Cooperative (which does not handle consumer goods)
is also a member of National Cooperatives. National also has 7 affiliates in
Canada.
3 Loss.
* Data are for fiscal years ending June 30.
5Including earnings from production.
6 Data are for fiscal years ending Feb. 28, 1950 and 1951.
7 Data are for fiscal years ending Oct. 31.
8 Data are for fiscal years ending Sept. 30.
8Data are for fiscal years ending Mar. 31,1950 and 1951.
10 Including marketing business of $60,126,192.
u Including marketing business of $3,326,207.
12 Data are for fiscal years ending Aug. 31.
13 No data.
w 8 months’ operations.

159 months’ operations.
16Including marketing business of $17,641,492.
17Including marketing business of $18,514,016.
18 Data are for calendar year 1949 and 10 months’ operations in 1950, ending
Oct. 31 (fiscal year changed).
18 Including marketing business of $4,342,516.
20Including marketing business of $510,385.
21 Including marketing business of $90,075.
22 Including marketing business of $96,624.
23 Estimated.
24 Data are for fiscal years ending Apr. 30, 1950, and 1951.
25 Including marketing business of $406,477.
26 Including marketing business of $460,531.
27 Data are for fiscal years ending May 31.
28 Data are for fiscal years ending July 31.

Resources and Financial Position
Of the 26 regional wholesales furnishing infor­
mation on their capital structure, 3 were nonstock
associations. Among the other 23, both common
and preferred stock were used by 19 organizations,
for a total of $34,218,121 in common and
$43,250,738 in preferred. The associations with
no preferred stock had $426,196 in common. The
11 reporting district wholesales had common
stock totaling $753,287. Only four had preferred
stock—to the amount of $40,500.
Assets for 26 regionals and 12 district associa­
tions totaled $192,676,466 and $2,103,835, re­
spectively. Among the regionals the ratio of
current assets to total assets ranged from 38.2 to
97.0 percent (in 1949 the range was from 38.2 to
98.4 percent), with an average of 50.4 percent
(47.9 percent in 1949). In 9 of the 25 associations
reporting on this point, 70 percent or more of the
assets were current; on the other hand, in 3 whole­
sales, less than 45 percent were current.
Among the 10 reporting district wholesales,
current assets ranged from 29.5 to 91.0 percent
of total assets (24.8 to 52.0 percent in 1949), and
averaged 52.0 percent (51.1 percent in 1949).
The ratio of current assets to current liabilities
among the regionals ranged from 1.1:1.0 to
15.2:1.0 and averaged 2.0:1.0. In 9 associations
current assets were three or more times as large as

the current liabilities. Among the district asso­
ciations the range was from 1.2:1.0 to 18.0:1.0,
and the average was 2.6:1.0. These figures showed
a slight improvement over 1949, for both regionals
and district organizations.
Member equities (i. e., ratios of net worth to
total liabilities) declined somewhat. They ranged
among the regionals from 31.9 to 100.0 and aver­
aged 53.5 percent; in 1949 the range was from
30.7 to 92.5 and the average was 69.0 percent.
In 16 of the organizations the member ownership
in 1950 was 60 percent or more; 15 were in this
class in 1949.
For the district associations the 1950 range was
from 30.6 to 100.0 percent and the average 62.4.
Several associations pointed out in their annual
reports to the members the need for more capital.
Insufficient capital or funds frozen in too large
accounts receivable, or both, were cited in two
cases as having made it impossible for the whole­
sale to benefit by discounts for cash transactions;
in one an additional $38,000 could have been
saved in this way had the association had sufficient
ready money.
A number of the regional wholesales reported
substantially increased inventories, as the result
of the supply situation caused by the military
situation in Korea. As one wholesale phrased
it, “ distributors were required to purchase large
blocks of goods in advance of need, in order to




10

have them available later.” Another association
noted, however, that one effect of the situation had
been to speed up the sale of hitherto slow-moving
inventory and to increase its value.

Services of Central Cooperatives
Service Business
The total amount of service business in 1950
was over $3 million (45.3 percent) above that
of the preceding year (table 8). The greater
part of the increase was achieved by the service
departments of the wholesales. Insurance, finance,
transport, and cold storage were the lines showing
the greatest advance.

The service federations reporting for both
years expanded their membership 6.5 percent,
their volume of business 15.3 percent, and their
net earnings 25.2 percent (table 9). However,
three federations showed losses in 1950, as com­
pared with two the year before.
A slight increase occurred in amount returned
in refunds on patronage.
Resources of Service Federations
Assets totaling $1,167,818 were reported by
14 federations. Member equities (net worth) in
the individual associations ranged from 17.0 to
99.7 percent (but one organization had an 8percent deficit). The average net worth for the
group was 68.2 percent of the total assets.

T able 8.— Value of services performed by cooperative wholesales and federations, 1943-50
1950
Type of service

Total

Depart­
ments or
subsidi­
aries of
Amount Percent wholesales

$10,020,542
All services.
Repairs (automobiles, machinery, appli­
ances, etc.)___ ______________________ 217,698
119,888
Funeral service________________________
9,513
Recreation_____ _____ ________________
798, 573
Insurance, bonds, etc___________________
Auditing, accounting, tax service_________
332, 226
Finance and credit_____________________ 2,199,147
Store services (store lay-out, management,
planning, advertising, merchandising,
etc.)________________________________ 304,822
Business analysis and advice_____________
10, 038
Transport (truck, pipeline, tank car, etc.)... 5, 600, 414
26, 674
Printing (collective purchase)____________
House insulation.
211,768
Cold storage.
189, 781
Other_____

100.0

2.2
1.2
.1
8.0
3.3
22.3

Service
federa­
tions

1949

1948

1947

1946

1945

1943

$7,867, 616 $2,152, 926 $6,895,668 6, 948, 241 $5, 572, 870 $5,485,092 $3,983,352 $4, 550, 708
225,135 193,373 236,300
217, 698
73, 443 46,445 115, 717 102, 614 120,385
1,941
10, 548
7, 572
11,001
7,398
798, 573
675, 610 210, 725 167,488
125, 225 207,001 330,810 311,104 292, 745
383, 273 1,815,874 1, 681, 069 1, 701, 216 1,100,414

3.1 304,822
.1
55.4 5, 528, 787
.3
26, 674
2. 2 211, 768
1. 9 189, 781

154,870
168,358
350, 667
242,832
321,828

153,183
97,337
4,846
246,083
167,583
130,412

77,981
104,073
4,864
49. 912
154,357
178,884

303,859 173,076 429,973 217, 669 60, 585
15, 496
24, 980
8,144
10,038
71, 627 3,208, 753 3, 781,022 2,984, 713 3,977, 795 3,103,882 3, 964,808
65,241
115, 204 68,177
25,172
16,412
333
22,856
25, 523 89,149 22, 762
55, 748 282, 747 19,853
59, 211
124,926
79,972
3,139
3,029

T able 9.—Service activities of central cooperative organizations, 1949 and 1950 1
SERVICE DEPARTMENTS OF WHOLESALES

State, association, and kind of business

Amount of service
business (gross rev­
enue)
1950

1949

State, association, and kind of business

Amount of service
business (gross rev­
enue)
1950

Total___________________________________ ____ $7,867,616 $4,990,841 Indiana—Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Associ­
48, 506 ation______________________________________ $1,154, 294
Interregional wholesales ____ ______________ 26,674
Auditing_________________________ ________ 26, 929
Regional wholesales
_______ _______ 7,489,463 4, 651,365
Trucking___ ___________________ _________ 851, 227
290,970
District wholesales_____________________ ____ 351,479
Automobile and appliance repair_____________
45,887
California—Associated Cooperatives___ __________ 99, 498
125,073
Insurance (agency)_________________ ______ _ 74,055
Accounting_______________________________
1,751
4, 267
Finance and credit_________________________ 3 113, 372
42,824
___ _ Insurance
________(agency)
__
97,747
_
120,806
Management_____________________________
Idaho—Idaho Grange Wholesale: Transport________
1,155
Iowa—Iowa Farm Service Co.: Insurance (agency)
8, 570
MichiganIllinois29.079
Northern Cooperatives: Cold storage___ ______ 74, 570
Central States Cooperatives......................... .......... 37, 278
Auditing __________________ _________
29.079
Farm Bureau Services__________ ____________ 20,802
6,733
Transport and trucking__________________ 12, 002
16,979
Trucking_____________________________
Management__________________________
13,
566
8,800
Newspaper______ ________ ___ __
00
Millwright service__ _______ ____________
National Cooperatives:
Automobile repair.............................................
48,506
Printing (purchase)........................................... 26,674

See footnotes at end of table.




1949
$974, 773
23, 321
723,938
38, 531
77, 458
3 109, 548
1,977
45,734
87,854
63, 554
11,950
5,882
6,468

11

T a b l e 9. — S ervice a c tiv itie s o f cen tral cooperative o rg a n iza tio n s, 19J+9 a n d 1 9 5 0 1—Continued
SERVICE DEPARTMENTS OF WHOLESALES—Continued
State, association, and kind of business

Amount of service
business (gross rev­
enue)
1950

Michigan—Continued
Farmers Petroleum Cooperative: Trucking.
MinnesotaMidland Cooperative Wholesale______________
Trucking_____________. . _____________ ..
Appliance repair________________________
Pipeline and tank-car service_____________
Range Cooperative Federation......................... ...
Automobile repair...................-____________
Mortuary____________ __________ . . . ____
Recreation and education.................................
Cold storage---------------------------------------Federated Co-ops of East Central Minnesota____
Trucking..................................................... .
Insurance (agency)....................... . . ................
Insulation_____________________________
C-A-P Cooperative Oil Association: Trucking__
Missouri—Consumers Cooperative Association...........
Auditing-------------------------- ----------------------Insurance (agency)_________________________
Finance and credit____ ____________________
Management-____ ___________ ______ ______
Trucking---------- --------------------------------------Pipeline service.______ ____________________
Newspaper_______________ ________________
Nebraska—Farmers Union State Exchange: TruckingNew Jersey—Eastern Cooperatives_______________
Insurance (agency)_________________________
Refrigeration repair-----------------------------------Merchandising____________________________
Supervisory_______________________________

1950

1949

$125,404
236,975
26,807
14,796
195, 372
225, 267
50, 241
73, 443
7, 572
94,011
428,000
416,800
*

Amount of service
business (gross rev­
enue)

State, association, and kind of business

11, 200

20, 252
3,442, 532
80, 754
560, 801
3179, 800
917
1,424, 226
1,088,152
107,882
129, 610
7,953
3, 555
1,047
3, 351

$80,036
249,624
35, 395
24,104
190,125
147,046
51,852
77,081
8,099
10,014
74,897
38,869
13,172
22, 856
21, 635
906,322
81, 657
448, 278
397, 327
2,784
148, 290
32, 305
95, 681
75, 251
32,864
12,980
6, 617
13, 267

1949

North Carolina—Farmers Cooperative Exchange___ $283,865
Auditing________ _____________ __________
9,058
Insurance. ___ .. ___________ _
42,645
Finance and credit_________________________ 390,101
Machinery repair. ___ ____________________
42,122
Trucking______________________ _______ ___ 31,606
Other_____________ _________ ___________ 68, 333
Ohio—Farm Bureau Cooperative Association______ 528,867
Trucking__________________ ______________ 316,171
Store plans and specifications________________ 212,696
Oregon—Oregon Grange Wholesale..........................
43,187
Cold storage.......... ................. ................................. 43,187
Finance and credit______________________ ..
Pennsylvania—Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooper­
ative Association: Trucking. _________________ 277,271
Texas—Consumers Cooperatives Associated: Ma­
chinery and appliance repair_______ ___________
Washington—Pacific Supply Cooperative................
736,452
Automobile repair______________________ ___ 50,812
Trucking...............................................
685,640
Wisconsin—
Wisconsin Cooperative Farm Supply Co.: Truck­
ing_________ _______ ________________ 95, 259
Cooperative Services ______________________
3,390
Machinery repair_______________________
3,390
Recreation_______________ _______ ___ (2)
Central Cooperative Wholesale_______________ 260,491
Appliance repair_______________ _____ _
9,403
Advertising___ _____ _____ ____________ 14,335
21,899
Store lay-out _ _________ ____________ _
Trucking______________________________ 214,854

$88, 599
4, 423
15,896
39, 341
25, 494
11, 232
22, 213
515,021
316, 476
198, 545
6,959
6,959
266,151
522
615,021
53, 201
561,820
(2)1,658
1,209
449
268,622
10,774
16,807
36,323
204, 718

SERVICE FEDERATIONS
State, association, and kind of service
Total.
California—Cooperative Finance Corp.5 (Oakland): Finance and credit________
Iowa—Business Service Association 7 (Des Moines)------------------------------------Auditing-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tax service_______________________________________________________
Maryland—Federated Cooperatives of Maryland (Frederick)------------------------Accounting, business analysis and advice_____________________________
Management service...................................................... -.............. ...................
Minnesota—
Northland Cooperative Mortuary 8 (Cloquet): Funeral service........................
Mesabe Range Cooperative Park Association 9 (Hibbing): Recreation........ .
Cooperative Auditing Service i° (Minneapolis)-------------------------------------Auditing______________________________________ _____ _________
Bookkeeping and accounting--------------------------------------- -------------Business analysis_______________________________ ______________
Business advice________________________________________________
Tax service___________________________________________________
Midland Credit Corp. (Minneapolis): Finance and credit________________
Farmers Union Cooperative Credit Association (St. Paul): Finance and
credit__________________________________________________________
Montana—Farmers Union Carriers7 (Froid): Transport------------------------------Nebraska—
Farmers Union Non-Stock Cooperative Transport Association of Dodge7
(Howells): Transport_____________________________________________
Farmers Nonstock Cooperative Transport Association (Milford): Transport-.
South Dakota—Equity Audit Co.8 (Aberdeen): Auditing and tax service______
Wisconsin—
Valley Cooperative Services « (Appleton): Funeral service_______________
Central Finance (Superior): Finance and credit------------- --------- ------------1Unless otherwise indicated, data for service federations are for calendar
year; for fiscal years of wholesales, see table 7.
2No data.
* Amount of loans made.
4 Estimated.
8 Data are for fiscal years ending Oct. 31.




Member
associations
1950

Amount of business
(gross income)

1949

1950

1949

908 1,048 $2,152, 926 $1,866,873
3 700
5
31, 500
8
25, 770
28, 583
23,820
206
28,583
(5)
1,950
26, 696
3
24,605
24,176
4
2, 520
20
27,380
24,299
20
1,941
52
52
2,453
121, 223
119,891
92,837
86,389
12, 365
19,124
517 447
1,571
8,467 } 8,818
5, 560
5, 983
32
33 1, 311, 926 3 1,136, 620
210 3 413, iso
2 12
3 313, 344
15
31,060
15
30,883

I

2

4
39
5
2

2

4
40
5
2

13, 213
27, 531
42, 628
19,065

3 9 0 ,0 6 8

11,112

17, 613
50,073
14, 337
392,105

Net earnings
1950

1949

Patronage
refunds
1950

1949

$52,936 $42, 266 $30,465 $29,014
144
6 63
« 163 309
6

2,280 3, 506 2,280 3, 506
2, 533 2,031 1,752 1, 318
8925 8 625
4, 231 4,854 3,808 4,369
5,693 7,818 1,475 1,475
16, 388 14, 211 16,388 14, 211
2, 574 3,201 2, 574 3, 201
23
2,742
10,811 2,603
3,062 3,209
162
2,107
1, 666 1,108

6 Loss.
7 Data are'for fiscal years ending Sept. 30.
8 Data are for fiscal years ending Mar. 31, 1950, and 1951.
8 Data are for fiscal years ending Aug. 31.
10 Data are for fiscal years ending Nov. 30.
11 Data are for fiscal years ending July 31.

791
(2)929
468

p)934

12

Production by Central Cooperatives
Productive Facilities of Wholesales
National Cooperatives, Inc., sold its flour mill
at Auburn, Ind., in August 1950, because of
“unsatisfactory operation.”
Purchase of a fertilizer plant in New Albany,
Ind., was announced by Indiana Farm Bureau
Cooperative Association in November. The plant
has a capacity of 35,000 to 40,000 tons of super­
phosphate and mixed fertilizers.
Farmers Petroleum Cooperative (Michigan)
purchased 18 oil wells in that State, producing
about 250 barrels daily.
In December 1950, Midland Cooperative Whole­
sale sold its interest in the Miller’s Creek Coal
Cooperative because “part ownership of the mine
provided no advantage to Midland’s coal busi­
ness.” Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Asso­
ciation thus became sole owner of the coal com­
pany. Midland drilled 7 oil wells, all of which
proved to be producers; 4 were in Oklahoma and
3 in Wyoming. The Wyoming property was sold
later in the year, because the oil could not be
utilized at the wholesale’s Cushing (Okla.) refinery.
The refinery produced 30.1 percent of the refined
petroleum products distributed by Midland in
1950; 39.2 percent came from other cooperative
sources. A fire at the refinery in March caused
some $4,000 worth of damage.
Farmers Union Central Exchange (Minnesota)
participated on a 50-50 ownership basis in the
drilling of 3 wells during 1950. Two of these were
“producers,” bringingin about 330 barrels of crude
oil per day; the other proved to be a dry hole.
At the end of 1950 the wholesale was sole owner of
5 producing wells and half owner of 8 others. The
general manager’s report to the membership noted
that “At the present time we do not have control
of a sufficient quantity of crude oil to serve the
needs of the refinery, therefore we must purchase
our requirements from producers in the area of the
refinery.”
Minnesota Farm Bureau Service Co. completed
at Moorehead, Minn., a $250,000 fertilizer plant
with an annual capacity of 18,000 tons. It
already had a $750,000 plant with its own river
terminal at St. Paul.
Farm Bureau Service Co. (Missouri) leased



facilities for the manufacture of fertilizer, begin­
ning early in 1951.
In the same State Consumers Cooperative
Association began operation of a
million
plant for dewaxing lubricating oils early in 1950
and by the end of the association’s fiscal year
(Aug. 31, 1950) it was producing 1% million
gallons of oil a month.
This association drilled 54 oil wells during 194950, of which 42 were producers. Eighteen uneco­
nomical wells were plugged, and 167 wells in
Illinois, Kansas, and Oklahoma were sold, leaving
911 wells in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and
Texas. The wholesale controlled almost as many
barrels of crude oil as in the previous year. The
refinery output, however, rose sharply. For this
reason, the crude oil from CCA wells formed a
smaller proportion of the total needed—47.1 per­
cent, as compared with 58.3 percent in 1948-49.
Only 28.1 percent was actually owned. The rest
came from wells in which the wholesale had a part
ownership and was operator of a lease. CCA had
161,495 acres of undeveloped land under lease in
7 States.
Increases in output compared with 1948-49
were reported for its paint factory, printing plant,
and lumber mill. The association was able to bid
in 9 million feet of standing Government-owned
timber for its lumber mill.
Cannery output was reduced because of unsold
stocks on hand. The rising prices of tin cans and
declining prices paid to corn growers combined to
produce a situation in which the cans cost more
than the contents. Also, “six increases in freight
rates since World War II have severely restricted
the area in which products of the Scottsbluff
cannery can move at competitive prices.” How­
ever, the amount of canned goods distributed at
wholesale increased almost 46 percent.
Farm Bureau Cooperative Association (Ohio)
announced plans for the erection of a $2 million
catalytic cracking plant at its Louisville, Ky.,
refinery. The plant was expected to have a daily
capacity of 3,000 barrels of crude oil, resulting in
a 50-percent increase in refinery capacity.
Consumers Cooperatives Associated (Texas)
instituted a “repressuring” program on 12 of its
38 producing wells, and installed a large com­
pressor plant and power plant.
Plant improvements—including a debutanizer

13

and a flash tower—resulted in increasing the
capacity of the refinery owned by Utah Coopera­
tive Association from 700 to over 1;200 barrels
a day.
Pacific Supply Cooperative built a modern
seed-cleaning plant at Madras, Oreg. During
the year the plant processed 2,500,000 pounds of
Ladino clover seed, or about a third of all such
seed produced in the United States in the period.
The wholesale leased for crude-oil exploration
123,740 acres in California, Wyoming, and the
Province of Alberta, Canada.
Among the district wholesales, Range Cooper­
ative Federation discontinued its sausage factory
at Virginia, Minn., because the “ cost of raw
materials went up too high.” The organization
acquired a milk-bottling plant at International
Falls, Minn, (it already owned one such plant in
Virginia).
Productive Facilities of Federations
A $3K million modernization and expansion
program was announced early in 1950 by National
Cooperative Refinery Association. The new pro­
gram included a polymerization plant, cracking
unit, and a 30-mile, 8-inch pipeline. It was ex­
pected that this would increase its capacity from
18,000 to 22,500 barrels a day.
Northwest Cooperative Mills installed new
equipment in its St. Paul seed plant and made a
T able

10.— V a lu e

$30,000 addition to its fertilizer plant, thus in­
creasing its capacity by 7,000 tons.
Cooperative Printing Association moved into a
new building in 1950.
Goods Produced
In 1950, for the first time since the Bureau began
collecting this information (1943), the total vol­
ume (in terms of money) of goods produced in plants
owned by central cooperative organizations showed
a slight decrease. Substantial increases in the
output of coal, lumber, printing, and machinery,
and smaller gains in several other lines were in­
sufficient to offset the sharp declines in crude-oil
production, refined petroleum products, and feed,
seed, and fertilizer. As a result, the total produc­
tion fell 1.0 percent (table 10).
The decrease was due to the productive federa­
tions (table 11). The productive departments of
the wholesales increased their output 5.2 percent,
whereas those of the federations fell 12.3 percent.
The largest factor in the latter case was the nearly
$13 million decline in output of the Premier
Petroleum Co., which was shut down part of the
year.
Operating Results
Three of the reporting productive federations
sustained losses on the year’s operations, totaling

o f m a n u fa ctu res o f co operative w h olesales a n d fe d e ra tio n s, 1 9 4 8 -5 0

1950
Commodity group
All products________________________
Food products--------------------------------Crude oil__________________________
Refined petroleum products___________
Lubricating oil_____________________
Grease____________________________
Paint_________________________ ___
Lumber and shingles________________
Printing and printing products________
Coal______________________________
Chemicals (cosmetics, household sup­
plies, insecticides, serum)____________
Poultry and poultry products_________
Feed, seed, and fertilizer_____________
Vegetable oils and meal______________
Machinery and equipment___________
Other-------------------------------------------




Total

Depart­
ments or Produc­
tive
subsidiaries federa­
Per­ of whole­ tions
Amount cent
sales
$199,439,110
3,035, 797
12,447, 054
102,410, 926
5,155,284
398,852
307, 620
1,243,333
658, 974
494,345
740,549
535,817
56,368,099
2,432, 528
12, 980, 751
229,181

1949

1948

1947

1946

1945

1943

100.0$118,715,137 $80,723,973 $201,418,044 $168,757,068 $128,420,867 $95, 583,814 $60, 577, 789 $29,431,499
3,035,797
2, 970,814 3,816,287
9,118,827 3,328,227 13,487,738 10,953,136
73,083,667 29,327,259 103,587, 626 70,281,530
284
4,640, 775 8, 754,656
.2.2 5,155,
398,852
395,320
361,357
307,620
232, 657
228,209
.6.3 1,243,333
1,189,881 2,375,381
323,053 335,921
207, 221
419,341
.2
261,347
494,345
315,356
.4
740, 549
739,435
506,116
535, 817
.3
527, 925
434, 725
28.3 22,795,311 33, 572, 788 60,663,200 58,666, 297
2,432, 528 2,872,112 3,890,618
1.2
6.5 1,929,027 11,051,724 9,496,541 7,539,029
.1 48,000 181,181 145,452 215,030
1.5
6.3
51.5
2.5

2, 725,804
4,323,115
47,481,861
6,284,424
323, 716
272,345
1,973, 207
443, 692
109,570
452,591
486,486
57,557,781
5,692, 856
293,419

4, 285, 504
2, 693,007
36,392,061
4,891,432
191, 210
119,074
309,059
321,491

930, 742
298, 749
42,673,541
2,353,630
124,314

2,120, 517
1,438,027
25,852, 711
4,369,325
183,023
71,380
693, 598
249,239
59,610
182, 714
321,306
22, 503,054
2,473,036
60,249

1,958,036

31,340
61,358,479
, 743,901

223, 864
1,351, 782
360, 502
326, 959
246, 247
16, 781,157
49,232

14
about half a million dollars; in 1949 only one
federation had a loss, but it amounted to more
than $2 million (table 11). Total net earnings of
the whole group reporting for both 1949 and 1950
rose 25.4 percent. Amounts returned as refunds
on purchases, however, were slightly more than
half as great as in 1949.

Resources and Financial Condition of Federations
The 14 reporting federations had combined
assets of $44,757,119. Net worth ranged from
18.8 to 98.0 percent of total assets (17.8 to 97.1
percent in 1949); for the whole group it was 44.7
percent (36.8 percent in 1949).

T a b l e 11.— P ro d u c tiv e a ctivitie s o f cen tral co o pera tives , 194 9 a n d 1 9 5 0 1
PRODUCTIVE DEPARTMENTS OF WHOLESALES
State, association, and goods produced

Value of goods produced
1950

1949

State, association, and goods produced

Value of goods produced
1950

$118, 715,137 $109,424,352 Missouri—Consumers Cooperative AssociationTotal__________________
2,022,346
1,697,300 Continued.
Interregional wholesales.
115,647,276 106, 748,327
Regional wholesales___
Grease............................ ................................... $398,852
1,045,515
978,725
District wholesales____
Paint_____________ ___________________
307,620
Lumber_______________________________ 1,243,333
89,135
California—Associated Cooperatives: Lumber—
Printing_______________________________
119,673
1,653,800
Illinois—National Cooperatives---------------------- 1,873,496
Feed__________________________________ 2,591,271
280,259
300,225
Flour...___ ___________________________
Fertilizer______________________________ 1,492,830
Milking machines and coolers_____________ 1,335,052 1,138,269 Nebraska—Farmers Union State Exchange_____
536, 660
235,272
Hot-water heaters______________________
Lubricating oil_________ _______________
238,219
536,660
Indiana—Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative
Feed, seed, poultry, eggs_________________
(2)
Association--------------------------------------------- 20,185,936 15,350,133 New Jersey—Eastern Cooperatives, Inc...............
355,298
125,444
119,930
Meat products-------- --------------------- ------Duplicating and offset printing......................
9,327
1,587,923
Crude oil__________________ ___________ 1,698,017
Coffee roasting.................... .......... .................
345,971
Refined petroleum products______________ 14.357,251
9,910,687 Ohio—
3,275,836
Fertilizer___________________ __________ 3,563,657
Farm Bureau Cooperative Association............ 10,274,354
46.123
Printing..... ................... ...............................
45,203
Refined petroleum products____ ______ 7,227, 603
163, 285
192,993
Chicks______________ ____ ____________
Fertilizer___________________________ 2,871,402
Serum and virus_______ ____ ___________
233,079
216,641
Chicks____________________________
175,349
Michigan—
Ohio Farmers Grain and Supply Association514,497
1,874,834
Farm Bureau Services__________
2,418,868
Feed___________________ ______ ____
289,
716
2,393,342
Fertilizer__________________
1,844,695
Fertilizer___________________________
224, 781
25,526
Insecticides-----------------------30,139 Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Co­
Northland Cooperative Federation.
78,579
operative Association_____ _____ __________ 4,059, 706
(2)
14,454
Butter____________________
3,827,164
Feed and seed_________________ _____ _
()
64,125
Cheese-------- --------------- ----Insecticides.......................................................
35,359
(2)
Minnesota—
Chicks________________________________
197,183
6,761,485
7,157,085 Texas—Consumers Cooperatives Associated....... 6,026,029
Midland Cooperative Wholesale...
897.856
Crude oil_________________
718,533
Crude oil________ ___________ ____ ____
311, 574
Refined petroleum products...
5,433,350
5,706,210
Refined petroleum products______________ 3,536,152
Lubricating oil____________
596,980
535,491
Feed_________________________________
326,878
12,622
17, 528
Insecticides_______________
Fertilizer______________________________ 1,803,425
12,376,471 12,326,051
Farmers Union Central ExchangeOther_________________________________
48,000
11,160, 713 10,823,617 Utah—Utah Cooperative Association: Refined
Refined petroleum products...
860,002
Lubricating oil____________
816, 534 petroleum products_______________________ 3502,000
355,756
Tractors__________________
685,900
Range Cooperative Federation__
966,936
978, 725 Washington—Pacific Supply Cooperative______ 2,842, 560
49,175
Feed, seed, and grain____________________ 1,222,833
Meat products_____________
204,726
124,371
Fertilizer__________________ ___________ 1,185, 764
Cheese_____________________________
185, 740
190,391
Butter_____________________________
Insecticides______________________ _____
433,963
656,825
534,433 Wisconsin—
Milk and cream (processed)......................
Missouri—Consumers Cooperative Association... 46,960,650 38,391,087
Cuna Supply Cooperative: Printing.............
148,850
375,014
247.857
Canned goods____ ______________ _____
Central Cooperative Wholesale____________ 1,832, 762
13,100
13,114
Coffee (roasted)______________ ____ _
Soft drinks____________________ _____ _
426,928
6,094,150
Bakery goods__________________ ____
319,069
Crude oil_____________________ ________ 6,390,703
Bananas (ripened)___________________
84,517
Refined petroleum products______________ 30,866, 598 23,901,473
Feed______________________________ 1,002,248
Lubricating oil.............................................. . 3,161,642 3,288,750
2

See footnotes at end of table.




1949
$395,320
232,657
1,100,746
102,319
2,359,828
654,887
574, 286
(})
574, 286
352,416
15, 279
337,137
12,424,074
7, 776,400
4,464, 580
183,094
659,825
436,732
223,093
3,826, 426
3,632,333
42,255
151,838
6,820,458
436,328
4,016,428
524, 735
1,842,967
217,734
4, 967,642
3,628, 552
906, 218
432,872
43,500
1, 717,141
366,129
340,960
70,401
939,651

15

T a b le 11.— P ro d u c tiv e a ctivitie s o f cen tral cooperatives, 194 9 a n d 1 9 5 0 1— Continued
P R O D U C T IV E F E D E R A T IO N S

State, association, and product
Total................ .........................................
Indiana—Cooperative Plant Foods4
(Schererville): Fertilizer______ ___
Iowa—North Iowa Cooperative Processing Association 5 (Manley)__________ 1
Feed______________........................ f
Soybean oil ______ __ ______
Kansas—National Cooperative Refinery
Association 4 (McPherson).................... 1
Crude oil.___ _______ ________ _ i
Refined fuels_________ ___________ J
Kentucky—Millers Creek Coal Cooperative (Paintsville): Coal __ . _
Maryland—
Cooperative Fertilizer Service 4 (Bal­
timore): Fertilizer_______ __
Fertilizer Manufacturing Coopera­
tive4 (Baltimore): Fertilizer_____
MinnesotaCooperative Printing Association 7
(Minneapolis): Printing_____ __
Northwest Cooperative Mills 4 (St.
Paul)___________________ _____ 1
Feed and seed.___________ ___ 1
Soybean meal and oil__________
Fertilizer____ _______________ J1
OhioNational Farm Machinery Cooper­
ative 4 (Bellevue): Farm equipmentCooperative Mills4 (Cincinnati):
Feed
Farm Bureau Chemical Cooperative
(Glendale): Fertilizer _ _ _ _
Oklahoma—Producers Cooperative Oil
Mill 4 (Oklahoma City)
_ ___ 1
Feed, cottonseed cake, and hulls __ 1
Cottonseed oil. _ _ _
_ __
Cotton linters_
_ __ 1
Texas—Premier Petroleum Co. (Long­
view) _ _ __ __ _____ __ ]
Crude oiL
__ _ _ _ _ _ i
J
Refined fuels
Washington—Grange Cooperative Print­
ing Association 8 (Seattle): Printing___
Wisconsin—Cooperative Publishing As­
sociation (Superior)___
_ ___ |
Printing __
_ __ __ 1
Publications __ __ ________ __
Office forms _____ _ __ _____ J

Member
associations
1950
301
4
42

1949

1, 590,354 1, 581, Oil
1, 622,315
944,164
l 497,138
678,151
f 22,055,486 22, 209, 732
5 i 3,328,227 4,004, 813
l 18, 727, 259 18, 204,919
2
494,345
(2)

i 1,486, 569
42 \ 989,431

(2)
(2)

,
4
12
4
2
63
3
6
149

3

2, 690, 695
(2)
1,295,868 1,333,042

1949

1950

f
4 )I
l

69, 631
6,477,207
3, 620, 830
1, 228, 273
1,628,104

)

Patronage refunds

1949

1950

1949

1, 590, 354 1, 563,448

82, 536

24, 993

82, 536

24,993

1, 633, 315

107,029

194, 960

90,581

165,716

> 4,156,466

1
[ 19,202,009 19, 678,859
494,345

(2)
(2)

672, 664 2,006,095
e 85,045

3, 200, 946
1, 703, 669 1, 749, 059

166,437
25,827

69, 631
(2)
(2)
5, 725, 731 |
3, 058,459 | 6,477,207 5, 725, 731
1, 234, 754
1,432,518 J

6858

12 11,051,724 7,437,100
4 19, 960,082 21,787,168
982,898
2
923,355
f 1,762,367 1,883,071
791,512
59 1 874,069
| 707,117
959,207
l 181,181
132,352
J 10,600,000 23,496,826
3
466, 668
1 10, 600,000 23,030,158
89,300
7
97, 706
f
168,584
172,047
126 1 75,087
77,230
1l 23,431
70,066
72,899
21.918

1 U nless otherw ise indicated, data for productive federations are for cal­
endar year; for fiscal years of wholesales, see table 7.]
2 N o data.
3 Approxim ate; 9 m onths ending Sept. 30 (fiscal year changed).
4 D ata are for fiscal years ending June 30.

Employment and Earnings
In the local cooperatives reporting on employ­
ment and payroll, annual earnings averaged
$2,726 per employee (table 12). “Other distribu­
tive” associations (i. e., consumers' creamery asso­
ciations, lumber yards, bakeries, etc.) had the
highest average, $3,582. The urban associations
paid considerably higher wages than the farmers'
cooperatives, probably because they were, for the




1950

4

2

(2)

1949

1950

Net earnings

273 $80, 723, 973 $88,320,241 $82,308,361 $99,639, 991 $1,546,190 $1,168,411 $1,821, 627 $3,218,188

5
2
3

Value of own produc­ Total amount of busi­
tion
ness

(2)
(2)

27,848

(2)

573, 279 1,870,167
127, 662
25,827

(2)

(2)
(2)

29,048

(2)

114,119

50,838

114,119

50,838

11,051, 724 19,486, 285 8428,409
20,809, 998 22,799,376 687, 918
982, 898 20, 686
923,355

215, 556
820, 705
30,319

687, 918
16, 661

215, 556
820, 705
26,778

2,028,022

4, 566

97,687

4,104

■ 1,762,367
)

> 10,600,000 23, 731, 651

117,391

60,000 6 2, 218,773

97,706

89,300

2,089

3, 532

2,089

3, 532

168, 584

172,047

3,806

7, 772

3,268

6, 751

D ata are for fiscal years ending A ug. 31.
es Loss.

7 D ata are for fiscal years ending Apr. 30, 1950 and 1951.
3 D ata are for fiscal years ending Oct. 31.

most part, in the larger cities and were paying
the union wage scale. The differential in most
cases was several hundred dollars—$446 for the
stores, $377 for the service cooperatives, $218 for
the gasoline stations, and $12 for the “other
distributive.''
Average annual earnings in the central organi­
zations ranged from $3,208 in the interregional
wholesales to $4,550 in the service federations.
For the group of 61 organizations reporting, the
average was $3,255, or $203 above 1949.

16

T able 12.— E m p lo y m e n t a n d ea rn in g s in local a n d cen tral co o pera tives , 1 95 0
Type of association
Local associations _______________
Stores.. ____ _______________
Gasoline stations _ ________
Other distributive____________
Service...___________________
Central associations.............................
Wholesales:
Interregional............................
Regional. _________________
District_________________
Service federations_____________
Productive federations.............. .

Average annual earn­
Coop­
ings per employee,
era­ Total
tives employ­ Total pay- 1950 1
ees,
roll,
1950
report­
ing,
1950
Aver­ 1949
Range
1950
age
432
228
82
13
109
61
2
25
11
8
15

Average annual earnings per employee 1
1948

1947

1946

$2, 726
4,155 $11,204,518
2,612
2,563 6,517,217
2,500
372 1,058, 913
3,582
515 1,844,535
2,615
705 1,783,853
8,924 29,049,785 $1,770-$7,860 3,255 $3,152 $2,860 $2,466 $2,252
436,232 3,175- 3,388 3,208 3,107 2, 270 1,900 2,478
136
6,647 21,353, 784 2,110- 6,851 3, 213 3,055 2,851 2,508 2, 294
480, 591 1, 770- 3,885 3, 247 3,037 2,683 2,422 2,049
148
40
182,367 2, 987- 7,860 4, 550 6,150 4,491 3,123 2, 710
1, 953 6,596,811 2,140- 5,439 3,378 3,455 2, 967 2,341 2,313

1945

1944

$2,160 $2,064
2,124
1,963
2, 459
2,364

2,037 $2,024
1,808 1,502
1, 997 1,893
2,259

*Based on associations reporting both number of employees and payroll.




1943

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 19S2