A2i—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, August t, 1911
Dairylea
Clyde Rutherford
President
Dairylea Cooperative
Pearl River, N.Y.
This thing we call “bloc voting”
is nothing more or less than the
land of representative voting that
takes place in government,
churches, school boards, cor
porations, and other business and
social institutions all over the
nation. It is a mystery to me why a
bill to curtail representative voting
is being championed by a farm
organization which makes policy
decisions by board of directors
action as a matter of routine.
I’m sure that this sponsoring
organization will say that it goes to
the grass roots for all ot its
policies. Well, so do the dairy
cooperatives. We are structured
into locals, districts, very often
subdistncts. We have delegates
elected by members. We have
resolution committees who receive
members’ proposals. We hold
annual meetings at which
delegates vote on all major policy
matters. And so on.
From this structure, we have
established policies relative to
milk promotion, marketing orders,
pricing, and other industry issues.
As these matters require
decisions, the Board of Directors is
empowered to act on them. And if,
as board members, they don’t
represent the will of a majority of
members, then the members can
throw the rascals out at the next
election.
The Pennsylvania legislature in
1961 passed P.L. 1541, No. 657
which required that m voting on
state marketing programs, co-ops
must inform members ahead of
tune about what position is being
taken. Members have the right to
vote differently from their co-op
and their vote would then be
FARMSTED® I Buildings - Engineered For Farmer Erection 50* x 75' x 14'
SPECIALLY PRICED TILL AUGUST 31, 1981
TO QUALIFIED BUYERS
SUTLER MF6. CO.
Attn P.E. Hess
Box 337, Oxford. PA 19363 .
Dealer Inquiries Available in- Pennsylvania Counties •
Armstrong, Indiana, Erie, Crawford, Warren, Elk, ■ KNOXVILLE
Cameron, McKean, Clinton, Lycoming, Sullivan, I CONSTRUCTION
Wyoming, Luzerne, Columbia New Jersey Counties - | Knoxville, Pa. 16928
Sussex, Morris, Passaic, Atlantic, Cape May 1 j PH 814-326-4188
No Dealer Fees. !
Name
Addn
County
City
Phone
(Include area code)
deducted from the total vote of the
co-op.
This is a tedious and cum
bersome attempt to circumvent
the representative votuig that
should be accepted as the proper
function of a cooperative.
Nevertheless, it was voted into
law. Now, this weakened version of
representative voting is to be
eliminated altogether and
replaced by a law which forbids
representative voting by co-ops.
And so we come full circle to
where the divide and conquer
experts can again skillfully play on
a minority of farmers and thereby
exert control in this case,
control over the State’s marketing
programs.
Without the ability to use
representative voting, it is easily
predictable that we could wind up
before every referendum in a war
ot propaganda which could be won
by the most aggressive yet
irresponsible minority group. It is
far easier to rally support tor a
catchy slogan than it is for a well
thought out, unsensational but
constructive program.
Representative voting bloc
voting if you prefer to call it that —
protects producers from rule by
militant but often misguided
minorities. It relieves producers of
the almost impossible task of
operating a farm and at the same
tune following in intimate detail
the complications ot commodity
economics. It guarantees that
voting on issues will be by a sub
stantial part ot the affected
commodity group, and it is totally
in harmony with the democratic
processes which prevail in this
country.
1 urge the Legislature, before
striking a blow against
representative voting, to
remember the statement by
Supreme Court Justice Oliver
Wendell Holmes m 1915. In a case
CBUTLERy
Zip —
State
My naiut is Barbara Woods. My
husband, children and 1 operate a
dairy farm in Franklin County.
We’re milking 6U head of Holstems.
My husband and 1 belong to
Pennsylvania Farmers
Association and Pennsylvania
Farmers Union. We are past
members of Eastern Milk
Producers Co-op and belong to
several other agricultural
cooperatives. I am a member ot
the Franklin County Board of the
Penn State Extension.
I know where my county stands
on marketing programs. We’re not
against marketing programs, but
we don’t want them force ted.
Every producer should have the
right to vote or not vote. Should 1
choose not to vote, 1 blame only
myselt tor whatever happens. And
I can do something about it by use
of my vote on the next referendum
When a cooperative is allowed to
block vote tor its membership, my
control power is virtually lost.
That vote is cast by a board of
involving a question ot voting
rights, he said: “Where the rule of
conduct applies to more than a tew
people, it is impracticable that
everyone should have a direct
voice in the adoption. The Con
sitution does not require all public
acts to be done in town meeting or
an assembly of the whole. Then:
rights are protected in the only
way that they can be in a complex
society, by their power, immediate
or remote, over those who make
the rule. There must be a limit to
individual agreement in such
matters it government is to go
0n...”
I urge the Legislature not to
approve House Bill 767.
| A. E. ENGEL. INC. C&M SALES INC. ORVILLE MACK
I PO. Box 216 flDtl P.0.80x 47
I Marlton, NJ. 08053 Honesdale, Pa 18431 Nazareth Pa 18064
| PH.609-983-4404 PH 717-253-1612 PH 215-759-1331
Ag speaks out on pros and cons of '
Franklin Dairy Producer
with Doi
FARMSTED I Buildings
Galvafyme Wails and Galvalume Roof Sheets*
* 20 Year Warranty
B.T
CONSTRUCTION
P 0. Box 535
Biglerville, Pa 17307
PH 717-677-6121
directors, who are in turn elected
by a delegate body. 1 am two steps
and many numbers removed to try
to change that vote. 1 can affect
only indirectly one watered down
vote.
it cooperatives truly teel that
their vote is representative ot their
producers—they have nothing to
tear. The producer will vote ac
cording to the way the co-op would
have voted.
As elected officials, all of you
know the difficulty in getting
people to vote. Let’s not take that
right away trom anyone,
especially not the producers. It’s
their money and operation you are
toying with. Lets make farm
organizations and cooperatives do
their homework and get the
producer to vote.
Today, more than ever, with
escalating fuel and production
costs and decreasing milk sup
ports, a two-thirds approval is
needed for passage ot a marketing
program. A simple majority is
awfully hard to swallow when it
affects one’s income, but a two
thirds is hard to argue against. A
two-thirds passage doesn’t make it
more appetizing. But one doesn’t
lose, feeling that an awtul lot ot
farmers felt as strongly about it as
you did. The smaller the producer,
the more critical these deductions
may be in lus operation. His vote is
just as important to his operation
as a large producer's vote and
should be counted as such.
Marketing programs should not
be considered lightly. Anthing that
attects my income atfects my
operation and I’m sure that’s true
ot all producers. A marketing
program can cost production trom
several hundred dollars mto the
LEROY E. MYERS,
INC.
Route #l, Box 163
Clear Spring, Md 21722
PH 301-582-1552
oor
Iwa
D. E. SMITH, INC. POGOINC. FOUR COUNTIES HASCHEN TRI-
Mifflintown, Pa, 17059 1841 Jerry’s Road CONTRACTOR AGRICULTURAL AGRI
PH.7I7-436-2151 Street,Md 21154 R.D.,80x249 ) SYSTEMS R.O
PH 301-692-5350 Coalport Pa. 16627 i P.O. Box 505 Swedesb
PH-814-672-5751 | Chestertown, Md. 21620 PH:6C
$ PH: 301-778-5800
BRIDGEWATER O. A. NEWTON NICKI
BUILDING SYSTEMS & SON CO Bli]
JvJC. Bndtevilte. Delaware 19933 301 N.I
PH: 302-337-8211 arf
PH.717-727-286* ■:
thousands. My dollar investment is
very important.
The accountability ot a
marketing program should be
riJeasurable. If, within three years,
the marketing program is not
showing returns for its investment,
a referendum should be called. I’m
sure Pepsi doesn’t run promotion
or advertising programs three
years before pulling it it it isn’t
productive. If things are going well
with the program, it will be con
tinued. 1 feel a three year recall
will strengthen the marketing
program by making it more ac
countable to the producer.
In closing, 1 strongly feel that all
ot the changes offered to the
Agriculture Act are extremely
beneficial to the producers. It
cooperatives are truly represen
tative of their producers and if
farm organizations are truly rep
resentative of their membership
passage of House Bill 767 will
only stand to strengthen their
position because it is truly the
position ot the producer.
However, if that position is not
truly reflective ot the producers
position and House Bill 767 is
defeated, you have given away the
producers right to vote and his
right to fair representation.
Either way you vote on House
Bill 767, the cooperatives win. The
co-op will block that way or the
producer will vote the way the co
op would have. However, it they do
not represent them producers, and
they very well may not, your op-,
posing vote will cost producers
their vote.
Please support House Bill 767.
You have nothing to lose i’he
producer does.
★ VARIOUS SIZES HBj
★ THESE BUILDINGS El
(Butler will furnid
Drawings)
Inter-State
My name is Darnel L. Mar
am a dairy farmer from Man!
Lancaster County and
president of Inter-State
Producers’ Cooperative,
Industrial Highway, Southam;
Inter-State represents over
Pennsylvania dairy farms
over 3,300 dairymen in the M
Atlantic Region.
li
As 1 understand the issue fe
us, the proposal is to elmunat
procedure whereby coopera
can collectively represent
members through the so-c,
“bloc vote” procedure,
proposal would only pemul
dividual voting and would i
any cooperative the represent*
right which is given all corpt
Boards and Legislatures.
Dairy cooperatives consider
privilege of “bloc voting” as a 1
tool to support the federal
state marketing programs w
assist the industry
cooperatives in producing
marketing an adequate suppl
pure and wholesome milk al
tunes.
The application ot "bloc vot
' is an extension ot the democi
process of representative vo
from the fanners to their ele
Board members. As stated ear
this is the essence of
cooperative institutions
government bodies. There u
sound or logical reasoning w
would lead one to deny
procedure to-cooperative deci
making.
Over the years, d£
cooperatives have supported "1
Voting” tor the following reaso
Bloc voting enables coopera
members to take unified actio
LEASE I
See Yoi
Agri Built
For Deta
'HI AND WIDTH AVAILABLE
IGINEERED FOR SELF ERECTIOI
action and Foundation
IN STEEL TRI-STATE MARI
LDERS DIST. INC.
f road Street Route 256
k Pa. 16127 Deale, Md. 20751
?-458-7243 RH. 301-867-1447
IDEAL
FOR
GRAIN
OR
MACHINER
STORAGE