PAGE FROM THE PAST
From the archives of Rural Cooperatives and its predecessor magazines
50 Years Ago...
From the January 1958 issue of News for Farmer Cooperatives
Cooperatives: tools for self-help
Many agriculture problems today are too big to be handled
singly by the individual farmer, notes USDA Farmer
Cooperative Service Administrator Joseph G. Knapp in the
lead article of a special issue on co-op and self-help efforts
nationwide. Knapp asks: Can an individual farmer provide
himself with the quality of feed, fertilizer, seed or other
supplies that he requires? Can an individual farmer find
satisfactory markets for his products, or have any influence in
the market in which he operates? The answer to these questions
is, of course, “no.” However, through organization, an
individual can obtain these and many other benefits for
himself.
The form of organization that is peculiarly adapted to the
needs of farmers is the farmer cooperative. Through a co-op,
an individual farmer can maintain his independence of action
as a farmer and still obtain the benefits of large organization.
The farmer-owned cooperative not only helps farmers
increase their efficiency, and thus their farm income, but its
use gives strength and character to the user as well as to the
whole rural community and nation.
30 Years Ago...
From the January 1978 issue of Farmer Cooperatives
Co-op’s olive pits yield energy
Cooperatives in California are drawing attention for
projects that save energy. For example, Lindsay Olive
Growers, Lindsay, Calif., is charting a new course through
converting its olive pits into a source of fuel.
At Lindsay’s headquarters, management struggles over
what to do with 27 tons of olive pits every working day.
Through the years, Lindsay has tested the pits as livestock
feed, fireplace logs, ground cover, soil conditioner, an
ingredient in blasting powder, a plastics filler, a bug-bait
carrier, olive oil and as a source for making methane gas.
However, none of the uses has been competitive with
materials already on the market.
On recommendation of Lindsay president Earl Fox, the
cooperative’s board of directors authorized proceeding with a
plan to use the pits as boiler fuel for the plant’s steam
generation.
J. R. Webster, Lindsay’s research director, recently
reported: “Last week we burned about 125 tons of olive pits.
And we only had 30 gallons of ashes to take to the county
disposal site.” Explains Fox: “As fuel becomes more expensive,
the savings from the pits will become more valuable.”
Lindsay adapted a unit capable of burning wood chips with
60 percent moisture so that the pits can be fed into the boiler
fuel unit in a moist condition. They can be converted into a
yield of nearly 4,000 Btu’s of heat per wet pound.
10 Years Ago...
From the January/February 1998 issue of Rural Cooperatives
How co-ops give power to the people
Electric co-ops are working to help members feel and act
like utility owners.
How is an electric or telecommunications cooperative
different from any other business that provides the same
service? Electric, telephone and most other types of
cooperatives were born out of necessity. There was a need.
The neighbors of that community did not have electricity.
There was no phone service. These services were long
available in larger cities, but not in the small towns and not on
the farm. No one was interested in serving these high-cost
rural areas.
The emotional reaction that came with electric power was
overwhelming. A farmer giving witness in a Tennessee church
in the early 1940s said, “Brothers and sisters, I want to tell
you this: The greatest thing on earth is to have the love of
God in your heart, and the next greatest thing is to have
electricity in your house.” Connection of the first telephone
lines erased loneliness and provided a connection to friends
and neighbors across the countryside.
Neighbors worked together to organize cooperatives and
sign up members. They held endless meetings to determine
where power lines would go. They worked with employees of
the Rural Electrification Administration (one of the
predecessor agencies of USDA Rural Development) to make
sure the project was feasible and could get the needed
financing.
Today, that same cooperative spirit continues. Nationwide,
there are 1,000 rural electric co-ops and 1,000 rural telephone
co-ops providing the same types of help, services and
leadership to rural communities. Members today are working
together to ensure that their communities have access to
quality education, healthcare, housing and business development.
The “co-op way” brings out the best in all of us.
