DISTRIBUTION OF by Warren K. Trotter FARMER COOPERATIVE SERVICE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE | HE Farmer Cooperative Service conducts research studies and serv- ice activities of assistance to farmers in connection with coopera- tives engaged in marketing farm products, purchasing farm supplies, and supplying business services. The work of the Service relates to problems of management, organization, policies, merchandising, product quality, costs, efficiency, financing, and membership. The Service publishes the results of such studies, confers and ad- vises with officials of farmer cooperatives; and works with educational agencies, cooperatives, and others in the dissemination of information relating to cooperative principles and practices. Joseph G. Knapp Administrator Farmer Cooperative Service U. S. Department of Agriculture FCS Bulletin 11 October 1958 This study was conducted under authority of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (RMA Title II). For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. - Price 40 cents Retur | N this p | O | lates; Date es or before the Mped below. Summar: Purpose Coopera | Conclusions___'__. ESAS TIGLICL | Sonne ca terre OTe ATA ay HE Farmer Cooperative Service conducts research studies and serv- ice activities of assistance to farmers in connection with coopera- tives engaged in marketing farm products, purchasing farm supplies, and supplying business services. The work of the Service relates to problems of management, organization, policies, merchandising, product quality, costs, efficiency, financing, and membership. The Service publishes the results of such studies, confers and ad- vises with officials of farmer cooperatives; and works with educational agencies, cooperatives, and others in the dissemination of information relating to cooperative principles and practices. Joseph G. Knapp Administrator Farmer Cooperative Service U. S. Department of Agriculture FCS Bulletin 11 October 1958 This study was conducted under authority of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (RMA Title IT). For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. - Price 40 cents 334 Uns 44 Soa cee B | i} Ag A ETO ef} $y - 1D Fy So AY brig . 3 } Summary Trends in fertilizer distribution “™ Delivery practices______- Rh derO i transpORtaiOneUsed. <2 sel ast oLs S75 yeh 5 ess 7 avis CONTENTS Purpose and method of study___- va Cooperative distribution systems 4 Early development_ - Imaportance otitertilizer:business 73 San 2 Pens ae Types of distribution systems. HrGis try COUGIGIONS ease ees ae. Regional use of fertilizer__________- ey Vee ees Cime AG id Mixtures and separate materials_____ Trends in use of mixed fertilizer___ Trends in use of separate materials __ Pianienvteien t.con ten tia sense eras Seasonal movement_____ __ ae Weerchancdising practices: of 95> feweu 5. Delivered and plant pricing________- (Pasiraroecredié Dlicln Oem | jk meek Migs tarts SIME Tks Aa Gil SbASOrPCisCOUlt pete ape. ree eee) ee te Patronage refunds___ fp, Mei Bag sizes__-___- ee, ee (ORE TSN TDEO ES GIMIOKS © ue tunes sarees Hye Re Se eat, Sheree ee Distariceszhe UledMee ee tye LA a a ag ney eee en es Bulkedelivervanduspreaginc, |= sree 9 ee anes hoe raat Conclusions? 2 s- FaGige SOs SAD cea RB Se PU is A DLONUL Rat yee cae : pgs E ee SUMMARY HIS report is based on a personal interview survey of 31 coopera- tives in 16 southern States, cover- ing their fertilizer business during fiscal years 1950-51 through 1955- 56. These associations, with their 2,795 affiliated local cooperatives and private agents, handled sub- stantially all the fertilizer distrib- uted cooperatively in these States. The States covered were grouped into three areas. Area I included Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Ten- nessee, Georgia, and Alabama. Area ITI included Mississippi, Ar- kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Lou- isiana. Area III consisted of Flor- ida only. Objectives of the study were: (1) To provide information on the status of cooperatives in the fer- tilizer industry of this region; (2) to evaluate their future potential; (3) to examine the implications of economic, technological, and trans- portation factors; and (4) to con- sider the feasibility of intrare- gional and interregional coordina- tion of cooperative fertilizer pro- orams. Major findings of this study follow: The Place of Cooperatives @ Fertilizer used in the States covered represents about half of to- tal United States consumption. The proportion declined shghtly in the period covered by the study due to some decline in fertilizer con- sumption in the South and an in- crease in consumption in other parts of the country. @ While total consumption in the South declined about 4 percent be- tween the fiscal year ended June 30, 1951, and that ended June 30, 1956, cooperative volume in this region increased 35 percent during that period. Cooperatives in Area III showed a 60 percent increase in volume compared to a 32 percent increase in each of the other areas. Cooperatives handling fertilizer in the South were generally in a strong economic position. @ Cooperatives supplied about 13 percent of all fertilizer used in the South for the 1955-56 fiscal year. This varied from approximately 10 percent in Area I to 24 percent in Area II. @ The share of the market sup- pled by cooperatives was 9 percent in fiscal 1950-51 and 13 percent in fiscal 1955-56. Trends in Distribution @ Mixed fertilizers made up 61 percent of cooperative volume for fiscal year 1955-56, and separate materials made up 39 percent. In industrywide tonnage, mixtures made up 74 percent and materials 26 percent. @ With both cooperative and in- dustrywide tonnage, mixtures ac- counted for a slightly increasing proportion of the total in the more recent years. @ Cooperatives had less seasonal- ity in their distribution pattern than the industry in general. Thirty-four percent of cooperative tonnage was fall volume compared to only 23 percent of industrywide tonnage in 1955-56. For the indus- try as a whole, there was a slight increase in seasonality of fertilizer distribution. @ All fertilizer distributed by co- operatives (including both mix- tures and separate materials) aver- aged about 29 units of plant nu- trients per ton. Plant nutrient content of all fertilizer increased at a faster rate than it did for mixed fertilizer alone, primarily because of the increased use of high-analy- sis nitrogen materials for direct ap- plication. Nitrogen content of all fertilizer averaged about 6 units in fiscal 1950-51 compared to 13 units in fiscal 1955-56. Mixed Fertilizer @ The number of different grades of mixed fertilizers handled by co- operatives nearly doubled during the period covered by this study— from 90 in fiscal 1950-51 to 165 in fiscal 1955-56. Each association handled an average of 19 grades in 1955-56 compared to only 13 in 1950-51. @ N-P-K grades made up 89 per- cent of cooperative mixed fertilizer tonnage and 92 percent of industry- wide tonnage. P-IX grades were second in importance, accounting for 10 percent of cooperative ton- nage and 5 percent of industrywide tonnage. @ Mixed fertilizer distributed by cooperatives contained an average of about 2 units more of plant nu- trients per ton than did industry- wide tonnage in the South—26.3 units compared to 24.4 units. The comparable industrywide national figure was 28.6 units in 1955-56. ® Plant food content of coopera- tive mixed fertilizer increased from 22.2 units to 26.3 units between fiscal 1950-51 and fiseal 1955-56. This compared with an industry- wide increase for the South of from 21.5 units to 24.4 units. Nationally, the increase was from 24.1 units to 28.6 units. Separate Materials @ Thecomposition of separate ma- terials distributed by cooperatives between 1950-51 and 1955-56 showed a marked shift. Phosphate materials declined sharply in im- portance while nitrogen materials increased in importance. @ High-analysis materials such as anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate, concentrated superphos- phate, calcium metaphosphate, and 60 percent potash increased in rela- tive importance for direct applica- tion. At the same time, lower- analysis materials such as sodium nitrate, ammonium sulphate, nor- mal superphosphate, and 50 percent potash showed a decline in impor- tance. @ Cooperatives distributed 44,000 tons of liquid and gaseous nitrogen during the 1955-56 season. ‘This volume was distributed by eight as- sociations through 110 retail out- lets and was a 10-fold increase over the 1950-51 season. Ninety-seven percent of this was anhydrous am- monia and the remainder was nitro- gen solution. Cooperatives in Area If had an important part of their fertilizer program in liquid distri- bution. Merchandising Practices @ Two-thirds of the associations surveyed priced fertilizer on a de- livered basis with one price for their entire territory. Nine asso- clations used an f. 0. b. plant basis for pricing; three, a zone delivered basis; and one, an f. o. b. basing point basis. @® Only 4 of 18 associations doing credit business charged extra for this service. Nine associations re- ported doing only cash business in fertilizer. @ About half the cooperatives covered in this study offered off- season discounts to encourage movement of fertilizer out of their plants ahead of the rush season. These programs varied from 8 to 6 months in length during the fall and winter months. The amount of the discount was reduced monthly as the regular season approached. @ Patronage refunds declared on fertilizer amounted to $5 million or 7.7 percent of total dollar volume in fiscal 1955-56. The percentage varied from 4.4 in Area I to 12.4 in Area II. The high figure for Area II was largely the result of one as- sociation’s outstanding record. Delivery Practices ® Highty-one percent of coopera- tive fertilizer tonnage was moved out of cooperative plants or ware- houses by trucks. This reflected a ‘ather widespread shift to trucks in the more recent years which oc- curred largely as a result of in- creases in rail freight rates. @ Cooperatively owned — trucks moved 46 percent of total tonnage’ in 1955-56. This was equally di- vided between the associations’ own trucks and other cooperatives’ trucks—mostly those of local retail associations. Another 29 percent of the volume was moved by con- tract or common carrier trucks, and farmer patrons transported 25 per- cent in their own trucks. @ The average distance fertilizer was delivered by truck was 54 IV miles. Delivery distances were shortest in Area ITI, averaging 27 miles, and longest in Area II, where they averaged 97 miles. @ Bulk sales made up only a small part of total volume in Area I and Area IT but accounted for an es- timated 50 percent in Area ITT. @® Bulk spreading services for fer- tilizer were quite generally available throughout the South. If such service was not provided coopera- tively, it was usually available from custom spreaders. Two- thirds of the associations surveyed indicated that this service was available at one or more of their outlets. The service was available at 286, or 10 percent, of the 2,795. retail outlets used by the coopera- tives studied. e Distribution of Fertilizer by Cooperatives in the South By Warren K. Trotter Farm Supplies Branch Purchasing Division OUTHERN farmers are tradi- tionally heavy users of ferti- lizer. In recent years they have consumed around 50 percent of all fertilizer used in the United States, spending over $549 million for it in 1956. To help reduce fertilizer costs and provide other needed services, farmers of this region have estab- lished their own systems for fer- tilizer procurement and distribu- tion. During the 1955-56 season, local retail cooperatives supphed over $85.5 million worth of ferti- hzer to farmers of the area. This was equal to 32.7 percent of the total fertilizer business of the 4,000 cooperatives engaged in retail dis- tribution of fertilizer in the Nation. Purpose and Method of Study HIE fertilizer industry is under- going many changes as_ illus- trated by the trend toward. high- analysis fertilizers, granulation, use of anhydrous ammonia and ni- trogen solutions, bulk delivery and spreading, bulk blending, multi- hopper spreaders, nitric phos- phates, and other changes. In re- cent years freight rates have advanced sharply and transporta- tion costs have accounted for an increasingly larger proportion of the farmer’s fertilizer dollar. Such developments have created a need for information to assist farmer cooperatives and other fer- tilizer manufacturers in evaluating the effect of these changes on their present operations and their future location and development of facili- ties. There is also interest in estab- lishment of joimt programs for manufacturing nitrogen and phos- 1 phate, as well as further integra- tion or coordination of the procure- ment function. More specifically, the objectives of this study were: 1. To ascertain the present status of cooperatives in the fertilizer in- dustry of the South; 2. To evaluate the potential for future cooperative manufacture and distribution of fertilizer in this region ; 3. To examine the implications of economic, technological, and transportation factors on the future development of cooperative manu- facturing and distributing facilities in the region; and 4. To consider the feasibility of, and the problems involved in, in- traregional and interregional coor- dination of cooperative fertilizer procurement, manufacture, and distribution. Information for this study was obtained by personal interviews with officials of 31 cooperatives in the southern States distributing fertilizer mixtures and_ separate materials. The cooperatives cov- ered were believed to account for substantially all the fertilizer dis- tributed this region. For purposes of this study the southern region was divided into three areas illustrated in figure 1. An attempt was made to delineate these areas on the basis of current fertilizer use practices. For example, grades and types of fer- tilizer used in Area III (Florida) varied considerably from those used in other southern States. Hence, data for this area were analyzed separately. Of the 31 associations, 12 were in Area I, 9 in Area II, and 10 in Area ITT. The study will be published in two parts. The present report cov- ers cooperative fertilizer distribu- tion in the South. The next report will deal with cooperative fertilizer manufacturing programs in this region, giving special emphasis to transportation problems and possi- bilities for further coordination and integration of operations. cooperatively in This second report will be pub- lished later. Adjustments have been made in the basic data to eliminate duplica- tion resulting from business tween cooperatives. be- Growers Fertilizer Cooperative, Lake Alfred, Fla., contracts with an outside firm for bulk handling and distribution of its fertilizer to farmer-members. trailers does the job. This fleet of trucks and Figure 1.—Headquarters locations of cooperatives studied, by areas AREA IT I: 1. Farmers Cooperative Association, Inc., Frederick, Md. 2. Chewsville Cooperative Association, Inc., Chewsville, Md. 3. Southern States Cooperative, Inc., Richmond, Va. 4. Farmers Cooperative Fertilizer Purchasers, Inc., Kenbridge, Va. 5. Southwest Virginia Cooperative, Inc., Bristol, Va.! 6. Farmers Cooperative Exchange, Inc., ‘Raleigh, N.C. 7. Farmers Federation Cooperative, Inc., Asheville, N. C. 8. Tennessee Farmers Cooperative, La Vergne, Tenn. 9. The Cotton Producers Association, Atlanta, Ga. 0. Tennessee Valley Cooperative, Decatur, Ala. 1. Farmers Marketing and Exchange Association, Montgomery, Ala. 2. Centrala Farmers Co-op, Inc., Selma, Ala. 13. Staple Cotton Cooperative Association, Greenwood, Miss. 14. Mississippi Chemical Corporation, Yazoo City, Miss. 15. Mississippi Federated Cooperatives (AAL), Jackson, Miss. 16. Magee Cooperative (AAL), Magee, Miss. 17. Louisiana Agricultural Cooperative, Inc., Baton Rouge, La. 18. Delta Fertilizer Company, Helena, Ark. 19. Arkansas Plant Food Company, North Little Rock, Ark. 20. Arkansas Farmers Association, North Little Rock, ‘Ark. 21. Southern Farm Supply Association, Amarillo, Tex. Area Ill: 22. Foremost Fertilizer Company, Leesburg, Fla. 23. Lake Region Packing Association, Tavares, Fla. 24. Plymouth Citrus Growers Association, Plymouth, Fla. ) 25. Fosgate Citrus Concentrate Cooperative, Orlando, Fla. 26. South Lake Apopka Citrus Growers Association, Oakland, Fla. 27. Haines City Citrus Growers Association, Haines City, Fla 28. Growers Fertilizer Cooperative, Lake Alfred, Fla. 29. Waverly Growers’ Cooperative, Waverly, Fla. 30. Superior Fertilizer and Chemical Company, Tampa, Fla. 31. Pinellas Growers Association, Clearwater, Fla. 1 Facilities of this cooperative were purchased by Southern States Cooperative, Inc., Rich- mond, Va., in 1957. Cooperative Distribuiion Systems HIS section deals with (1) early development of cooperative fer- tilizer distribution systems, (2) the importance of fertilizer business and (8) types of distribution sys- tems. Early Development Cooperatives first began han- dling fertilizer in the South shortly after World War I. Farmers Fed- eration Cooperative at Asheville, N. C., was the first, beginning its distribution of plant food in 1920. Following closely were the Louis- iana Agricultural Cooperative, Baton Rouge, and Mississippi Fed- erated Cooperatives, Jackson, in 1922, and Centrala Farmers Coop- erative, Inc., at Selma, Ala., in 1923. The periods of most rapid growth of cooperatives in the fertilizer business were the depression of the 1930’s and immediately after World War I. The periods when the 31 associations covered in this study began handling fertilizer were as follows: Number of Year cooperatives LOLGs 20 see eee ep et 1 LOZ TH ete? Ae Se eo ee 4 ILS bo oS nd 8 ies eae a ETE RE te 4 UREA a3 19 ge a eee 2 18 Aces %y LOS 6=40 590 ET Eee See + i Pa BAA) Sore RR eg Sea Bold 2 194 Gn Oe it ee a De eis ef LOD 166 sae Se 2 TOGA ae 2 ee eae ae) sek Sources of supplies for the early cooperatives were generally other business firms. At one time there was considerable discrimination on the part of supphers against coop- eratives. Therefore, it was not long before cooperatives began. manu- facturing their own mixed ferti- lizers. The first sources of supplies, 4 by types, for the 31 cooperatives covered in this study were as follows: : Number of First source of supply cooperatives Other cooperatives_________ 4 Other fertilizer companies__ 12 Own manufacturing plants_ 14 Tennessee Valley Authority. 1 Total importance of Fertilizer Business The volume of fertilizer business of cooperatives covered in this study amounted to more than $65 million in fiscal year 1956 (table 1).* This represented about 19 per- cent of total cooperative business in the South. The proportion ferti- lizer volume was of total coopera- tive business varied from about 18 percent in Area I to 28 percent in Area ITI. Sales of fertilizer were about $41 million, or 16 percent of total co- operative business, in 1951; hence volume in 1956 was up more than 50 percent. The largest propor- tional increase was in Area II where cooperative fertilizer volume jumped from $12 million, or 12 percent of total sales in 1951, to $26 million, or nearly 20 percent of the total in 1956. Types of Distribution Systems Included in the study were both regional and local cooperatives selling at wholesale and retail. The number of associations con- *All annual figures in this report are based on a fiscal year ending June 30. Where books were kept on year or some other fiscal year basis, data were adjusted to the basis of a fiscal year ending June 30. a ealendar @ Table 1.—Fertilizer business and its proportion of gross business of 31 cooperative associations in the South, fiscal year ended June 30, 1951 and 1956 1951 1956 Area Sunt ipa ae gl la ee eae ered Fee tes Gross Fertilizer | Proportion) Gross Fertilizer | Proportion business business of gross business business of gross Thousands Thousands Percent Thousands Thousands Percent Tee ean o143),.616 $23, 540 16. 4 | $178, 270 $32, 196 Fe | Leet sues ee, 101 948 12, 391 12. 2 132, 305 25, 799 19. 5 108 shy AS Ce 19, 102 5, 354 28. 0 26, 926 7, 492 21.8 SOUGheere2. 264, 666 41, 285 15. 6 30/7, 501 65, 487 19. 4 _ ducting specified proportions of their fertilizer business direct with farmers was as follows: Percent of volume sold Number of direct to farmers cooperatives Upmre ee ee We Ea es 52 C Reo pA eee Wines ek Re ee 4 eee Urs as eae tN te WR ge re 4 (SI ATS aE ah ae eee Ee wel eae it OPO Naee ert eee ee eae eens Eek 1 LOO ar en oe UA kee sh ees 14 ROCA ge ee eee ee aM These data indicated that 16 of the cooperatives sold 50 percent or more of their volume direct to farmers while 15 distributed the major portion of their volume at wholesale through retail outlets. All except 4 of the 31 associations operated mixing plants. The number of retail outlets used by the 31 cooperatives varied from 1 to 740 (table 2). Ten of the as- sociations were strictly local in character distributing all of their volume through one outlet. Most of those in Area III were of this type. The 31 cooperatives used a total of 2,795 retail outlets (table 3). Of this number, 1,752 were dealer agents. These were independent retail agencies which had been giv- ena franchise.to handle cooperative products. The second most com- mon outlet was local retail coopera- tives, numbering 736. The third most important type of outlet was the cooperatives’ own retail Table 2.—Number of retail outlets used by 31 cooperatives in three areas of the South, 1956 Number of retail outlets TCO; 40 Geen ok Rome Ce eek Mit Overeween ? veneer el Sele 468127 °—5 Number of cooperatives pot et Ht CD ND mt OR ee AD ee it bo cS er =) io) — Table 3.—Types and number of distributive outlets of 31 cooperatives dis- tributing fertilizer in the South, 1956 Type of outlet Area I Area II Area III South Number Number Number Number Own retail branches. 9c eee eae 105 2 1 138 Local retail cooperatives__..-_------ 384 341 11 736 Brancheurnits: oflocalssi2 3222 ee 36 17 0 53 Dealer avents sen hee) VOCw ree 798 950 4 1, 752 Barnrer apentsug 0 ase oe rae 52 10 5 67 OCCT isa tae a ot Seth, Bape noe cy are 9) 44 0 49 Ota ae Foie Mage 2 oe ae eee 1, 380 1, 384 31 2, 795 branches numbering 138. Local as- sociations which had only one place of business were included in this classification. Trends in Fertilizer Distribution HIS section focuses attention on major trends in fertilizer distri- bution and use and the place of co- operatives in the fertilizer industry as a whole. It covers (1) industry conditions, (2) regional use of fer- tilizer, (3) comparison of mixtures with separate materials, (4) trends in use of mixtures, (5) trends in use of separate materials, (6) plant nutrient content of all fertilizers, and (7) seasonal movement of mix- tures and materials. Industry Conditions Farmers establish their own fer- tilizer distribution systems for rea- sons of price, quality, or service. Either existing prices appear too high, quality is not satisfactory, or the service is inadequate. Once the cooperative is established, the busi- ness environment in which it must operate often changes. Farmers sometime overlook the often very important service cooperatives render by providing members with the kinds of services modern farm- Ing requires. | 6 Advantages to farmers can be based on either price, quality, or service. Price problems were re- ported to be extremely keen in both Areas I and II, but considerably less keen in Area IIT. In Areas I and II this problem was caused largely by the dealership situation. As one manager put it, “Anybody who can finance a truck load of fer- tilizer can become a dealer.” Man- ufacturers gave dealerships to many farmers and truckers who often handled fertilizer for the trucking charge. This situation caused problems for the cooperative inter- ested in preserving its distribution setup. | Area III, primarily the citrus area of Florida, had different in- dustry and cooperative structures. Here fertilizer manufacturers, in- cluding cooperatives, for the most | part sold direct to the farmer, by-— passing local dealers. This had been the established practice for many years. Consequently, there was not the extensive dealership development that had occurred in other areas of the South. Another factor in Area III tend- ing to reduce price competition was the extent to which integration had progressed. Most cooperatives in the citrus area offered a complete grove management and caretaking service including the harvesting and marketing of fruit. Fertilizer manufacture developed as a side- line to fruit packing or processing in several instances. Sometimes the grower was required to use the asso- ciation’s caretaking service in order to market his fruit through the co- operative. Thus, competition in this area was based on the associa- tion’s overall service rather than on fertilizer prices. (Juality and service, although important factors, were considered subordinate to price in Areas I and II. This was because quality and services offered were considered about the same for all distributors, cooperative or otherwise. Granula- tion was not an important competi- tive factor in any area of the South, although it was believed to be in- creasing in Importance. Regional Use of Fertilizer Regional use of fertilizer was considered from the standpoint of (1) industrywide trends, (2) the place of cooperatives, and (3) an- nual changes in volume. Industry Trends Nearly one-half of all fertilizer materials consumed in Continental United States during the year ended June 30, 1956, was used by farmers in the 16 southern States (figure 2). Because of the rapid increase in use of fertilizer in other Figure 2.—Commercial fertilizer use in the South as a percentage of that in the United States, year ended June 30, 1951-56 IOS IO 5D ENO SGU 54m 1955. 1956 GB Area I Area II Area III Table 4.—Cooperative fertilizer sales compared with total farmer expenditures for fertilizer in four regions of the United States, 1953-54 Farmer Cooperative | Proportion Region ; expenditures fertilizer sold by for fertilizer ! sales 2 cooperatives Millions Millions Percent INFOUSA ULATLEIG Be es races en ete. Drees S111. 8 $31. 2 4G Nortis Centrale) 2 kas oy ee eee s 458. 5 110, 2 24. 0 SYOLLG RATS? RCS coe Bab ewe nek SNe DAM Oh Me, ge boos 74. 0 13.23 WVBR GED fee tke. atic ee de eI Oe Ree Je 148. 3 1OSev) Tiss UIT ed yOUA TES tht te eet ees lL 2ia78 232.01 18. 2 1 For calendar year 1954. 2 For calendar year 1958, or fiscal year ended June 30, 1954. sections of the country the propor- years—from 54 percent in 1951 to tion used by southern farmers de- 49 percent in 1956. clined somewhat in more recent The States making up Area I Table 5.—Proportion of farmer expenditures for fertilizer represented by sales of cooperatives in the South, 1953-54 Farmer Cooperative | Proportion Area and State expendi- fertilizer supplied by tures for sales cooperatives fertilizer Area I Millions Millions Percent Ale Wey esr ee eee eid ake EOS LR IF $5257 $6. 8 | 12. 9 DD GlaWar Cette © gate OL nt es Re sr 12 23,. 1 CREOLE Lae un AU Sees yale ee es Layee neg as 69. 8 3. 4 4.9 KentuckyeaiaSies een ee ee ee 31. 6 3. 0 9. 5 WlaryianG eee 2 5. ae ee eee eee 16. 2 3. 1 19, 1 NorthiGarolinian 2c os to Say Senne. oe 86. 4 4. 6 Doo SOULE Ga LOL Tie Cae.) oe es ok ee ee eee 41.9 ES oval MEN Wass) {exe ae gy enn Bem ee Mia AN WE hs SS be gt 250 5. 8 22. 7 AS sean an Glee aes Meade ie ee opr MR alae nee aay TM OLE ee 39. 2 Fev 192.6 VCS AV tr LETT Soy be eee pe rece, cee 4,2 1. 4 30. 3 Total or average Area, | eee Te O1208 37.9 10. 2 Area II VASES H I YRCS Bos Raa Sekt SU Re I A 23. 0 5.9 2a20 TFOMIBAGN Oe U2 ee Nara CGP Ree ct 19. 4 2.7 13. 9 VISCUSI TH mie 2 fod JU os ten en Set eee ee 42.3 14. 4 34. 0 OR Ta nonin mee = ooo fy ES nk fe eee 8. 3 LO 12. 0 AWE ER Tc AOS eo Sora eas 30. 9 30 9.7 Totalor average Area Ll-oeg. 2. 123. 9 26. 6 Zit Area III Biorida scree eee ciated a ee Oe ater 58. 6 9. 6 16. 4 mouths Totaltor-average... oo fee 555. 2 ry (4, 0 13.33 used one-third of all the fertilizer consumed in the United States. This proportion declined from 88 percent in 1951 to 83 percent in 1956. Area IT also had a slight de- cline in its proportionate share of fertilizer while Area III increased its portion slightly. The volume of fertilizer used in the southern States was approxi-. mately 10.7 million tons for the year ending June 30, 1956. This figure reflected a decline of about J million tons since the 1951-52 sea- son when consumption was approx- imately 11.5 million tons. The Place of Cooperatives Cooperatives in the South han- dled about 13 percent of total farmer expenditures for fertilizer in 1954. This was below the 18 percent average for all cooperatives in the United States and the 28 per- cent for those in the North Atlantic States, but above the 11 percent for cooperatives in the West (table 4). Census figures indicate that United States farmers spent about $1.3 billion for fertilizer in 1954. Data supplied to Farmer Cooper- ative Service indicate that cooper- atives distributed during the calen- dar year 1953 or fiscal year ending June 30, 1954, a total of $232 mil- lion worth of fertilizer, or 18.2 per- cent of the National total. Within the South there was con- siderable variation in the coopera- tive share from area to area and State to State. Cooperatives in Area II handled about 21.5 per- cent of the dollar volume in com- parison with 10.2 percent in Area I and 16.4 percent in Area III (ta- ble 5 and figure 3). State to State Figure 3.—Cooperative sales of fertilizer as a percentage of farmer expendi- tures for fertilizer in the South, by areas, 1953-54 [__]Under 10% md10 - 19.9% WA 20 - 29.9% RS] 30 % and over Ox) as S205 erarererororere, 200020205 0.0.0.020e < 2, S - RESLK5 Area averages Area I - 10.2% Area II - 21.5% Area I - 16.4% South - 13.3% shares for cooperatives ranged from 2.1 percent in South Carolina to 34 percent in Mississippi. Data obtained in the present study indicated the cooperatives’ position in the fertilizer industry of the South improved in the more recent years. While total volume of fertilizer declined from 11.1 million tons in 1951 to 10.7 mil- lion tons in 1956, cooperatives in- creased their volume from 1 mil- lion tons to approximately 1.4 mil- lion tons (table 6). Percentage- wise, cooperative volume increased from 9.1 percent of the total in 1951 to 12.8 percent of the total in 1956, as shown in figure 4. Annual Changes in Volume Total fertilizer consumption in- creased 6.3 percent in the United States from 1951 through 1956, but consumption in the South declined about 4 percent (table 7 and figure 5). Areas I and II showed declines of 8 and 6 percent respectively while Area III increased consump- tion by more than one-third. Although total consumption of fertilizer in the South declined about 4 percent during the 6-year Table 6.—Proportion of total commercial fertilizer used in the South supplied by 31 cooperatives, 1951-56 Tons of fer- | Proportion Year ended June 30 Tons of fer- | tilizer sup- | supplied by tilizer used pled by cooperatives cooperatives Area I Thousands Thousands Percent I) SD ae Bere atk te ames ek ene Oe 7, 860 532 6. 8 RTS VANE 7 pga i oe AN Rn Se keke PEt Eos 8, 1438 584 te PUD Set alae eee eee J Oe kL eee 8, 051 618 Luk LO St Ea oe a acer se eon. Mee AS, | Nee eee 7, (32 623 Sik IRD Esta nek 2 2 ape e , aeke eoe e e eigaf See 7, 560 703 9.3 BO 5G eee a UE ae 9a eee ee ele Se en E216 702 9. 7 Area Il MAO 0 bis SB Are Sec nr hae OMe ee yO aa 2, 257 378 16.8 LOODS Roath 1 Ou a | ey Pe eee ae et a 2, 303 411 17.9 OD Sue Nae ee ee. ape ee 2, 139 397 18. 6 LOD Rie Bo ke et oo Ni oe eee eee 2, 130 400 18. 8 MO ie te ee A aR gee td ee 2, 089 449 21,5 POD Gta tence ese a ee ee 2, 119 501 23. 6 Area III OE ba ey eh Lt tk od oe eee 1, 002 105 10. 4 OS Ea 2 eg Bia RA RE Ra aOR A My NES Sy in ld 1, 090 105 9. 6 LOD Sse fo Se. ok ce Scie eee ee ee 1,155 113 9.8 NO Abe mite ee en PS Beek rie ate ieee Cee 1, 185 120 10.4) LU Diarra ge = ok ge CN tee ieee 1, 229 142 11.6 EUS IR Macs (2 Sai ape en ee i ce el ae 1, 339 168 12.5 South EOD Toe Sereda gh iam as eh cer et one ee ate TL 9 1,014 9.1 LOG 2 ed re oe eet ene ee es ere 11, 536 La00 10. 5 1A Ss sateie eS See OS Oo, SRR era cin 11, 345 1, 128 9.9 BOD 4 Sere eterna ent Se ae Meet ee 2 ee 11, 046 1, 143 1053 DDD cette eee ache ee Fe ee 10, 878 1, 294 L129 1 D6 S03 jo GN ee SS Oe eA ge Se 10, 674 1, 370 12.8 1] S| OL S 0 or @ Gees | OL ¢ 0 IN3D>add INiIDaddd 9S-1S6L “O€ unr papua AD2h *saaijosadoo> JF Aq paijddns yjnog ay; ul pasa abpnuuoj Jazijijiaj [OJO} Jo 25pju242g—p 24nbiJ @ oO Table 7.—Changes in industrywide volume and cooperative volume of fertilizer, 1951-56 Area SOU G Deere Se Sere ee Sh der Unitectisbatess mee. 2c ee, |. eae eae” tee Cooperative volume Industry wide volume Percent Percent —8. 2 —6. 1 +39. 6 —4.0 +6. 3 period, cooperative volume in this region increased 35 percent. The largest increase was in Area III where cooperative volume in 1956 was 60 percent greater than in 1951. Cooperatives in both Area I and IL increased their fertilizer sales by 32 percent during this period. Figure 6 and appendix table 1 show that cooperative fertilizer volume in the South increased each year from 1951 through 1956, whereas total volume dropped steadily. The largest increases in cooperative volume occurred in the last 2 years when competitive con- ditions in the fertilizer industry were extremely keen. Figure 5.—Percentage changes in industrywide and cooperative fertilizer volume in the South, 1956 compared with 1951 INDUSTRY United States COOPERATIVES BO tO +10 12 20 +30 +40 PERCENT +5046 0757.0 HLIM G2YVdWOD = M/D *3LON HLNOS It vidVv 13 SS6l “> 9561 Ed 7S6l “/> SS6l ES6L “/> 7S6l BEG ZS6L M/> ESOL IS6l M/o 756177 JAILVAAdOOD S31V1S GaLINN aS 8 LN3Duad _ NI IGIMAALSNGNI 4681 9S-1S6L ‘OF 2uns papua spak ’sajnjg pasius) ayy puD y4NoGg ayy Jo spaiD 22dyf Ul 42ZI/If424 [OIIIQUIWOD JO QWINJOA JAI{o4J2d00) puD apIMAdsnpul UI SaBU_YD ahojuIr4Jaqg—"O any Mixtures and Separate Materials The advantage of mixtures over separate materials is that several plant nutrients can be put into the soil in one application of a chem- ically balanced fertilizer. Sepa- rate materials, on the other hand, cost less per unit of plant food. The relative merits of mixtures versus separate materials has be- come a subject of increasing inter- est because of the growth in im- portance of bulk blending plants and multihopper spreaders in cer- tain areas of the country. These developments make it possible for the farmer to apply several sepa- rate materials in any combination in one application, thus getting the advantages of both mixtures and separate materials. This section examines trends in distribution or use of these two classes of fertilizer materials on an industrywide and a cooperative basis. Industrywide Trends Mixtures were relatively more important in the South than over the Nation as a whole—accounting for nearly three-fourths of total fertilizer volume used in this re- gion. Moreover, the relative im- portance of mixtures in the South appeared to be increasing to some extent, Ini =1951>s" mixtures’= ac- counted for about 71 percent of the total fertilizer volume used, com- pared to about 75 percent in 1956 (figure 7 and appendix tables 2 and 3). Over the United States mixtures made up about two-thirds of the volume of commercial fertilizer used. This proportion changed relatively little in the 6 years from 1951 to 1956. The percentage of total fertilizer volume which was 14 mixtures in 1951 was 66.6 percent compared to 66.7 percent in 1956. The relative importance of mix- tures and separate materials varied considerably in the three areas of the South covered in this study. In Areas III and I mixed fertilizer accounted for about 90 and 79 per- cent of the total, respectively, whereas in Area II mixtures ac- counted for only 49 percent of the total. Only in Area I did there appear to be a definite upward trend in the importance of mixed fertilizer compared to separate ma- terials. They increased from 75.4 percent of the total in 1951 to 79.1 percent of the total in 1956. Cooperative Trends Mixed fertilizer was somewhat less important compared with sep- arate materials among cooperatives than in the rest of the industry in the South. Mixtures made up ap- proximately 60 percent of cooper- ative volume compared with ap- proximately 75 percent for the in- dustry as a whole (figure 7 and appendix table 4). Separate ma- terials, on the other hand, were rel- atively more important among the cooperatives than in the industry generally. The relative importance of mix- tures and separate materials varied a great deal in the three areas in- cluded in this study. In Area IIT mixtures in 1956 accounted for ap- proximately 82 percent of total fer- tilizer volume compared with about 79 percent in Area I and 27 percent in Area IT. As already mentioned, the industrywide percentages for mixtures were 90 percent in Area ITI, 79 in Area I, and 49 percent in Area IT. Changes in the relative impor- tance of mixtures and separate ma- HIMOS I vauv I vaav I vadv OG ee Ce Se, Sie ire tl Gian iG ae eG. Set Gee GE Gm GOL JAILVaYAdOOD Sa1V1S GaLINN CS cms S60) ay S3UNLXIW pe SIVINAILVW JLVaVdds IN] 44d JGIMAALSNGNI 9G-LS6L “OF 249F papua 402K ‘aWNjOA sazijij4aj 2A1{D42d00) pud apIMAdjsnpul jONUUD jo Sabojuariad sb s/Dl4ajoW ajo4sDdas pub sasnjxip~y—'/ a4inbiJ * o 15 Farmers Cooperative Exchange, Inc., Raleigh, C., bags fertilizer at its Salisbury, N. C., plant for distribution to its members. terials, although rather slight, ap- peared relatively significant in Area I and Area III. In Area I mix- tures increased from 73.4 percent of total fertilizer volume in 1951 to 78.8 percent in 1956. In Area ITI, however, mixtures appeared to have declined somewhat in importance relative to separate materials. In this area mixtures declined from 85.7 percent of the total in 1951 to 81.9 percent of the total in 1956. Conversely, separate materials in- creased from 14.3 percent of the total in 1951 to 18.1 percent of the total in 1956. Trends in Use of Mixed Fertilizer This section considers changes between 1951 and 1956 in (1) num- ber of mixed fertilizer grades han- dled, (2) kinds of mixtures han- dled, and (3) plant nutrient con- tent of mixtures. Number of Mixed Grades During 1956, southern coopera- tives distributed 165 different grades of mixed fertilizer (table 8). 16 This number is based only on pri- mary plant nutrients. If secondary and trace elements or other special ingredients had been considered in classifying erades, the number would have been larger. Duplica- tions in grades between coopera- tives have also been eliminated. The number of grades handled had nearly doubled since the 1951 season when 90 were handled. The number of grades handled per asso- ciation in 1956 averaged about 19 (table 9). This compared with an average of 13 grades 6 years pre- viously. The trend in all areas seemed to be toward a larger variety of grades. A reasonable number of crades i is needed to fit varying soil and crop conditions. However, an excessive number of grades will in- crease costs to the patron because of the added number of mixtures to manufacture, handle, and_ store. Any increase in the number of grades, therefore, should be care- fully examined. Kinds of Mixtures Mixed fertilizer containing all three primary nutrient elements ac- counted for a large majority of the mixtures distributed by coopera- tives in the South (table 10). The proportion accounted for by com- plete fertilizers varied from 85.5 percent in Area I to 92.9 percent in Area IT. Mixed fertilizers containing only phosphorus and potassium were next in importance, accounting for one-tenth of the cooperative volume in the South, This kind of mixture was most important in Area I. This may have been due in part to the impetus given mixtures made from calcium metaphosphate and muriate of potash by the TVA fer- tilizer program. Table 8.—Number of grades of fertilizer mixtures distributed by cooperatives in three areas of the South, year ended June 30, 1951-56 ! Area 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 UE 5 AGB UVR a ea 47 58 54 59 71 86 ieee oe ho ON) O4 39 43 54 53 54 (M2) Bo Re ne a 30 30 53 61 53 62 SSCULG Lennie ei Sale 90 110 118 141 143 165 1 Grades classified on basis of primary plant nutrients only. Nitrogen-potash mixtures were second in importance in Area ITI. Experiments have indicated that the phosphorus content of citrus soils have been built up over a pe- riod of years and consequently the need for this element is not so great as the need for nitrogen and _ pot- ash. This is reflected in data in figure 8, which show the low aver- age phosphorus content of mixtures distributed by cooperatives in Area Ly Plant Nutrient Content Industrywide Trends.—Mixed fer- tilizer used in the South in 1956 contained on the average about 4 units of plant food? less than the average for the United States as a whole—24.4 units compared to 28.6 units (figure 8 and appendix *A unit of plant food is 20 pounds, or 1 percent of a ton. table 5). Apparently this is due, in part at least, to proximity to phosphate rock deposits. Because of this, normal superphosphate continues to be the lowest-cost source of phosphate in this area. The average plant food content of mixed fertilizer varied consider- ably in the three areas of the South. In Area III mixed fertilizer con- tained an average of only 20.9 units of plant food for the 1956 season compared to 24.5 units in Area I and 28.2 units in Area IT. Only in Area II did the plant food content of mixed fertilizer compare favor- ably with the United States aver- age. From 1951 to 1956 the average plant food content of mixed ferti- lizer used in the United States in- creased from 24.1 units to 28.6 units. The change in the South during this period was from 21.5 units to 24.4 units. The increase Table 9.—Average number of fertilizer grades handled by each cooperative distributor, year ended June 30, 1951-56 ' Area 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 tL med igh Aaa EAM, Aj 2 ea 15. 8 16. 8 15. 4 ith 19. 1 21.3 1 E Ae eae ak irae Se OP A Serene 8. 7 10. 8 L207 13. 3 16. 2 Lik 1B is beens Uh sa Pee ee eae gd 18. 5 19. 5 197, 21.3 14. 8 15. 4 rela RA nalts 4S ego ae 1229 14. 9 15. 2 16. 6 Li-3 18. 6 1 Grades classified on the basis of primary plant nutrients only. 17 Table 10.—Kinds of mixtures as percentages of cooperative and industrywide fertilizer tonnage in three areas of the South and the United States, year ended June 30, 1956 Cooperative Industry wide Kind of mixture United Area I | Area II |Area III} South South States NP Koo ees BS gs ee Ve. 300 . 9 88. 0 89. 2 91. 6 90. 9 JOS) SF Santen Pep oe ean On ee (1) Pal 0 (1) 0. 6 et) Pee Ke yank en agate pe ree 2 Ne 11. 0 .0 178 10. 0 S00 5. 8 NGS pte ee eS ey We Mele oe 0. 5 10. 2 0. 8 Dap Tat . 0 100. 0 100. 0 100. 0 100. 0 1 Less than .05 percent. in units of plant food was most marked in’ Area II. Area I also showed _ considerable increase whereas Area IIT showed very lt- tle change. Cooperative Trends.—Mixed fer- tilizer distributed by cooperatives in the South in 1956 contained on the average about 2 units more of plant food per ton than all mixed fertilizer consumed in this region— 26.3 units compared to 24.4 units * (figure 7 and appendix tables 5 and 6). This illustrates the emphasis co- operatives place on serving mem- bers efficiently. However, coopera- tives did not set the pace in all areas of the South. In Area I, for example, cooperatively mixed fer- tilizer contained an average of only 26.6 units of plant food in 1956 compared to 28.2 units for all mixed fertilizer used in this area. Cooperatives in Area IIT were placing emphasis on the use of ni- trogen and potash and de-empha- sizing the use of phosphate in * Plant food content of cooperatively distributed fertilizer is based on the pro- portions of total cooperative volume given in appendix table 14. 18 mixed fertilizer. This occurred to a greater extent among cooperatives than in the industry in general and is in agreement with latest State agricultural experiment station recommendations for the area. Trends in Use of Separate Materials Use of separate materials for di- rect application has increased in recent years. An examination of trends in use of these materials, both in the industry generally and among cooperatives, should be help- ful to management in developing sound plans for the future. Trends in separate materials use are exam- ined in this section under the fol- lowing headings: (1) Relative im- portance of separate materials, (2) nitrogen materials, (8) phosphate materials, (4) potash materials, and (5) liquid fertilizer materials. Relative Importance The industrywide percentage breakdown of separate materials for direct application is given in table 11. These data show that, over the Nation as a whole for the fiscal year 1956, nitrogen materials HLNOS I viuVv Ir vidv I viaVv Same SM gees eee Oa ene) Sree OG Nee Cees clan og OL comment yy) (OZ) Ysmiod FZ] Tee eeeel oeeeee eeeeeee sVeweebeeensceseererdereessesvsesee eee eeees se eeee eeeeee SALV1S GALINA JAILVAIdOOD a= Ome LS Gl JGIMAULSNGNI 9S-LS6L ‘OF 2477 papue ADA *J2Z1/1f{424 paxius Ul uot dad sjualsjnu junjd Aipuilsd Jo sj1uy—'g ound e e 19 Table 11.—Percentage distribution of separate materials consumed in three areas of the South, and the United States, year ended June 30, 1951-56 Area and type of material 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 Area I INTGTOREN 2 ee a se ee ee 45. 8 53. 2 58. 4 65. 9 69. 6 68. 5 Phosphates giss Soe oooh 45. 3 37. 0 alee 221.6 18.1 17. 6 Potash oe oe cee aati eee 5. 0 6. 9 6. 5 7.4 fees Lah Secondary and trace element_---_- Pytiaeng 2.9 3. 9 4.1 4. 5 6. 2 OTA eae ee, sae hen 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100. 0 100. 0 Area II a IN ItrO PONE ee cc Uae ees 41.0 43. 6 50. 8 56. 9 60. 4 58. 7 Phosphateste. 2200-2 cee 53. 6 50. 7 43. 0 36. 7 30. 0 35. 0 Potash ee oes Oe eee 4.9 5. 0 5. 7 6. 1 5. 7 6. 1 Secondary and trace element___ 5 bt .5 as 1 2 TO CAE ern caten Lert aarp veneers chirg 100. 0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100. 0 100. 0 Area III oe ee ‘ NitLo geri ae hae oe ee 43. 1 36. 8 52. 5 Dae 59. 6 54. 7 Phosphateses 2S 8 sy a Ze 33. 0 32. 4 20.2 23.6 20. 9 274. 0 Potastiad feo 2 te as eens eee 20. 3 13. 2 lvo 18.1 16. 4 eer Secondary and trace element___ -- 3. 6 17. 6 3. 0 2. 6 3. 1 3. 6 Mey rN hee Oe eS 100. 0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100. 0 100. 0 South Hee ag Ley nie Nitrogentea) tee een ee 43. 9 48. 9 55. 5 62. 1 65. 7 63. 9 inhosp hate 2 ans ae eee ene 48. 1 42. 1 35. 4 29. 0 24. 2 25. 0 Rotash: izete. oes et ee meres iss 5. 4 6. 4 6. 5 Tw3 7.3 7. 4 Secondary and trace element___-- 200 2.6 2. 6 ZAG 2.8 3.7 LOtARR ES oer eee eS 100. 0.) 100.0 |" 100.0) 10050.) 3160.0 100. 0 United States eS “a a Nitro Ones! 4 06s Gunso lena eae 36. 5 40. 6 44, 6 SPAlG 53. 1 49. 9 Phosphaters ec ce eae Noes L 50. 6 44.6 39. 7 34. 0 30. 8 33. 9 BOGaSb =. leet al ea ene ee cme eg 3. 5 4.2 4,4 Deu 5.-3 5. 4 Secondary and trace element____- 9. 4 USC 1 is 8. 2 10. 8 10. 8 PO bel: a eee oe ei ee 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100. 0 100. 0 accounted for half of all separate materials used for direct applica- tion and phosphate materials for about one-third. There has been a decline in rela- tive importance of phosphate ma- terials and an increase in impor- tance of nitrogen materials. This has occurred over the Nation as a whole as well as in the three differ- ent areas of the South. 20 A percentage breakdown of sep- arate materials distributed by co- operatives in the South is shown in table 12. Nitrogen materials ac- counted for over 63 percent of the total for the 1955-56 season, while phosphate made up 30 percent and potash about 7 percent. The different classes of materials varied considerably in importance in the three areas between 1951 and 1956. In Area IIT nitrogen ma- terials made up 81 percent of the total, compared to 70 percent in Area I, and 59 percent in Area IT. Phosphate materials made up 36 percent of the total in Area II, 17 percent in Area I, and only 7 per- cent in Area IIT. Potash materials were relatively more important in Area I, while secondary and trace element materials distributed were larger in Area III than elsewhere. Among cooperatives, as in indus- try asa whole, distribution of phos- phate materials declined and that of nitrogen materials increased in the period 1951-56. Phosphate ma- terials made up 67 percent of total cooperative volume in 1951 while nitrogen materials accounted for only 27 percent. By 1956, the situ- ation was reversed with phosphate materials accounting for only 30 percent and nitrogen materials making up 63 percent. The rela- tive position of potash materials remained at 6 to 7 percent of the total during this period. The cooperative breakdown for the South was very similar to that for the industry, except that sec- ondary and trace element materials were relatively more important in the industry generally than among Table 12.—Percentage distribution of separate materials distributed by cooperatives in three areas of the South, year ended June 30, 1951-56 ' Area and type of material 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 Area I BN ILTOD@H GS ot hae te NW eBay ee eM 57. 4 65. 9 66. 0 Ohal 70.5 ELLOS (Ee be: ate ior soe eee eRe 52. 6 30. 2 PEO.) 25. 0 22. 9 16. 9 Be GAS thant eaten 2 anes Pee peel tte Cnt a0) 5r5 Sac 9. 7 LOG Secondary and trace element_____ 5 .4 .oO on) .3 1s 9 AIG) oN Se PR pi one Sige aR CED LOGS OF 21002 07 18100; 0815 1007-0517 100. 0 100. 0 Area II BSE GPOD Gly eerie ee race! Ur sth ee eee Hs Se Oto 49. 8 Dial 61. 7 59. 0 IOSD N ALOR ea! oc tbe eee 71.6 59, 2 43. 8 37.4 33. 6 36. 1 ARO UDR eget. eases ee = eee ers 5. O 5. 5 6. 4 2. 9 4,7 4.9 Secondary and trace element- --_-- 1 (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) Pe Ota et eel actewa, bia Pah aerate 100. 0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100. 0 100. 0 Area III ee NG POPE re Seen ee AS eee 49. 9 86. 6 90. 1 97. 2 84. 5 81.3 Lad GVo1Gd up aY2 13) Al MSc Senn Ls rite et ys ee) 35. 4 10; 2 4,2 1d 6. 4 F274 IPG bas eee: 6 FS A Vio eee rae 14. 1 3. 1 2.'3 10 OE feel Secondary and trace element--_-___ . 6 1 3. 4 .8 14 4.5 Potala ie 27S eee 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100. 0 100. 0 South INatrorel ees a ok soe ES pets ee ia 44.8 56. 8 61. 0 63. 8 ay A! POS Datei ceed 2N meM as Peete 67. 1 49. 1 DOR Os mes 2s Maas. 29.51 ota cena emia EEO atk al Oe 5.°7 6. 0 6. 1 6. 6 6. 4 6. 5 Secondary and trace element -_--- 1 ca | AW aT sell AG, FROta aoe te te. rn eee es 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100. 0 100. 0 1 Based on the proportions of total cooperative volume appearing in appendix table 14, 2 Less than .05 percent. 468127°—58—__4 21 Employees of Cotton Producers Association, Adel, Ga., load fertilizer for distribution to association members. From the bagging machine, bags fall on a belt conveyer that carries them direct to a waiting truck. cooperatives. This may mean that cooperatives need to examine more closely farmers’ needs for second- ary and trace element materials. The importance of such materials South increased only shghtly in the 1951-56 period (table 13). Such materials distributed by coopera- tives totaled 342,000 tons in fiscal 1956. This was a nearly threefold increase over 1951. Thus, cooper- atives increased their share of the nitrogen materials market from about 8 percent in 1951 to approxi- mately 20 percent in 1956. No doubt the biggest factor in this in- is being recognized more and more in all parts of the country. Nitrogen Materials Total industry volume of nitro- gen materials distributed in the Table 13.—Cooperative and industrywide tonnage of nitrogen materials in the South and the United States, 1951-56 Coopera- Industry wide tonnage tive ton- nage in Year ended June 30 the South South United States Thousands Thousands Thousands RNG Rol Py wena: POM EME MRT OM OSL OU hk or 134 1, 408 2, 504 Eilp ache Regcm ee eh eee Seth rata SMI eset wre 209 1, 551 2, 843 LOS BO eae ee Soy ey hel oe ae 269 1, 651 3, 261 LOS AE) EN NUH apie eae ticle geil aaa 288 1, 754 3, 579 L055 mt ioe Ay Wate labs dh se eakren st | ee a 335 1, 817 3, 832 TORO Re eho Ween et ek eee ee ae 342 1, 698 3, 153 crease was the nitrogen manufac- turing and distribution program of Mississippi Chemical Corporation at Yazoo City, Miss. The most apparent differences in consumption of nitrogen materials in the South as compared to that of the United States generally were: (1) Sodium nitrate was rela- tively more important in the South; (2) natural organie ma- terials were less important in the South; and (3) nitrogen solution and aqua ammonia made up only 2.3 percent of nitrogen materials used in the South in 1956, while ac- counting for one-tenth of all such materials consumed in the country as a whole (table 14). About two-thirds of the gross co- operative tonnage of nitrogen ma- terials in 1956 was ammonium ni- trate. Anhydrous ammonia and sodium nitrate accounted for about 13 and 10 percent, respectively. Ammonium nitrate increased considerably in importance among cooperative distributors during the 6-year period covered by this study, apparently replacing some of the sodium nitrate volume. Anhy- drous ammonia also greatly in- creased in importance—from 3.8 percent of the nitrogen materials volume in 1951 to 12.7 percent in 1956. A marked difference existed in the relative position of different ni- trogen materials handled by coop- eratives and the industry generally in the South. For example, sodium nitrate made up only 10 percent of the cooperative volume in 1956, compared with 30 percent of total industry volume in the South. Conversely, ammonium nitrate made up only 29 percent of the 1956 industrywide total in the South compared with 66 percent of the cooperative total. This indicated that cooperatives of the area were setting the pace in distribution of higher-analysis nitrogen materials. Data in appendix table 7 indicate Employees of Farmers Cooperative Exchange, Inc., Raleigh, N. C., load bagged fertilizer at the Salisbury plant for distribution to retail outlets. 23 anhydrous ammonia was relatively other areas of the South. With the more important in Area II than in — exception of some solution nitrogen Table 14.—Percentage distribution of nitrogen materials for direct application, year ended June 30, 1951-56 Material 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 ae Cooperative—South ! Anhydrous ammonia-_--_-__-- 3. 8 9.8 tap 10. 9 9. 0 L2ed Ammonium nitrates.. os 8s 64. 2 63. 6 68. 2 66. 3 68. 9 66. 5 Ammonium nitrate limestone TILK Es So ee oe ee ee 4.9 3. 8 4.5 4.5 5. 8 4.9 Ammonium sulphate________ 2.8 251 2.0 2.1 1.8 mad Calcium cyanamide —_ > =~ .9 det 173 1.0 ie! oy) Caleinmrnitrate 5 2 eee .9 9 18S 20 1.4 PAG Nitrogen solutions and aqua AINNTON a ae ee roe eee oe 2 (2) Sal 0 ala See SOIL TH tra Lene: ne ee re SEEN 18. 6 153.0 12. 9 lL 10. 1 RDO D oe ee eee tak sat el ieee (2) (2) call (2) aaa} ei: Organic materials. 20-2. ah vad (2) : Bo .6 Ofierne Sat io ot aaa 0 (2) 0 0 (2) (7) OtaL2 es 98 eee ee 100. 0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100. 0 100. 0 Industry wide—South Anyhydrous ammonia_---_-_-- (3) (3) (3) (3) 7.4 9. 8 Ammonium nitrate._2 22 22. 24. O 21.8 26. 8 24. 7 29. 8 29. 4 Ammonium nitrate limestone WOK Gre oe, bee eyes 12. 4 13. 9 18. 4 20. 4 19. 4 Wane - Ammonium sulphate__-—_-_-_-__- 5. 8 5. 8 5. | 4.7 3. 6 4. 0 Calcium cyanamide! = 22____ 3. 0 Leo 3.3 204 2.5 20 Caleinimeniravel os se sees oe 9 9 oak oth Are a6 Nitrogen solutions and aqua BITING eee ae ee ek (3) 4] a5 540) 133 sales Sodium; Mitrates= 22. saan cee AL od 42.5 37.8 36. 3 30. 1 30. 5 Wrenn geen ee ea ee (3) (3) (3) (3) ab Lei Organic, materialise ooo) ao2s 1. Se 1. 4 1. 4 1.4 1.8 CO there Wilh Seder here gree ‘oe al OiG0 6. 2 8. 5 seh uel PEOUAIES Geet 5 eee enter es 100. 0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100. 0 100. 0 Industrywide— United States Anhydrous ammonia_~—-_---- 4.7 5. 9 6. 7 9. 8 9. 2 11.5 Ammonium nitrate___._.___- 25. 4 28. 1 20. 9 25. 8 29. 1 25. 9 Ammonium nitrate limestone TPR ee on te ode oe, er epee ont 9.1 t229 10. 9 9.3 Hae Ey Ammonium sulphate__—-__--- 14.1 14. 4 14. | 13. 1 11.6 92.9 Calcium cyanamide... so 2. 6 5 2. 5 1.9 1.8 1.8 Galeiunrmitrates meee Se ae 2. 2 ih Ales) 1. 4 1.5 1,5 Nitrogen solutions and aqua AMINO ger. a eae eS hae ie sar 2. 2 4,7 (ERE 10. 1 SodHiun Nitrate. ooo eee 2163 24. 0 19. 9 18. 3 16. 1 15. 0 gig wet st PA erieCley Mane og Nomen Sete (3) (3) (3) (3) 1. 6 200 Organic materials__________- 12:7 12, 1 11.0 A lee, 12. 0 13. 0 CGHCT Sees aa) ae eee Hy Seca 2/6 peas in 2.4 a es) EP OLE mapas uh eas Sr ee arene 100. 0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100. 0 100. 0 1 Based on the proportions of total cooperative volume appearing in appendix table 14. 2 Less than .05 percent. 3 Not classified; included in ‘‘Other’’. 4 Aqua ammonia only; nitrogen solution included in ‘‘Other.”’ 24 Workers transfer fertilizer manufactured by Mississippi Federated Cooperatives (AAL), to a fertilizer spreader for application to vetch before it is turned under. in Area I, very little liquid ferti- lizer was distributed by coopera- tives in the other two areas. Table 15 shows the proportion of. nitrogen plant nutrients from sep- arate material sources supplied by the various kinds of materials. This table indicates that anhydrous ammonia supplied from 28 to 30 percent of nutrient nitrogen in co- operative and industrywide ton- nage of nitrogen materials but made up only 10 to 18 percent of gross tonnage of these materials (table 14). Over the nation as a whole anhy- drous ammonia was the most im- portant separate nitrogen material Table 15.—Percentage breakdown of the tonnage at nitrogen plant nutrients supplied by separate materials, year ended June 30, 1956 Separate material Cr Os ab INONIAG (22 ok es oe MATEO PUI 11 ULE LO es oe a ee eee ee ee Ammonium nitrate limestone_________-__- PAIMINOnIUMIeU phates es or tk Ae Salcinm cyanainidescis ey oo tate Sie Salcrmigitratelau 2. wie. wee ae eae es eee Nitrogen solutions and aqua ammonia-_ -_- [Cy ELTA SUES aN gs oe gee en a) RM OMA ths ps AME LICL (En e-O aber Page Sai Med Led eg Joti ein ee 1 Less than .05 percent. Coope- Industry wide ratives South South | United States ERE geen nts Orme 28. 6 Te 30. 5 wade, ES oa 60. 9 3a.'3 28. 0 BE ce (Pier 2.8 12:74 57 Puebla ipo supra a. 0. 4 2.8 6. 6 eS Piet Ske etd ane) 1.8 jn Re Set ye oa al a 0. 3 0. 7 BEES Sy dear ne ra ed 4 3. 0 125% BT gh Fe 4,4 16. 6 7.8 ASS Ai yl ahs Uae cy 2 .8 1.8 3. 4 Mea a a ga aol ne: Pa Bee gb Me bah) (1) at 2 Fe be gables yt dogs Skane 100. 0 100. 0 100. 0 25 in terms of nitrogen plant food supplied. Among cooperatives in the South, however, ammonium ni- trate was by far the most important nitrogen source. Phosphate Materials Cooperative volume of phosphate materials in the southern States was approximately 161,000 tons in 1956 (table 16). erably below the 1951 tonnage of 268,000 tons, but showed an in- crease over the 152,000 tons dis- tributed im 1954. Although cooperative volume de- clined in the more recent years, the drop was not as great percentage- wise as the decline in total industry volume in the South. Cooperative volume for 1956 was 56 percent of 1951 volume, while industrywide volume in the South was only 44 percent of the earler year. Coop- eratives actually increased their share of the phosphate materials market from 19 percent in 1951 to 24 percent in 1956. Total United States volume of phosphate materials decreased by approximately 1 million tons from 1951 to 1956. Most of this decrease occurred in the southern States This was consid- — largely because of a decline in ton- nage of normal superphosphate and basic slag. These two items were _off approximately 500,000 and 230,- 000 tons, respectively, in 1956 as compared to 1951. The main phosphate material handled by cooperatives was basic slag which accounted for 63 per- cent of the total phosphate tonnage in 1956 (table 17). Normal super- phosphate was second in impor- tance, accounting for. about one- fourth of the total. Concentrated superphosphate made up about 8 percent of the total. No well-defined trend appeared in the kinds of phosphate materials distributed by cooperatives. The relative importance of the three major items—basic slag, normal su- perphosphate, and _ concentrated superphosphate—varied from year to year but followed no definite pattern. However, calcium meta- phosphate, although of minor im- portance,- appeared to be gaining among cooperative patrons during the period 1951-56. Fused tri-cal- cium phosphate also showed signs of becoming an important phos- phate material with cooperatives, but its position dropped sharply when TVA quit producing it. Table 16.—Cooperative and industrywide tonnage of phosphate materials in the South and the United States, 1951-56 Year ended June 30 Coopera- | Industrywide tonnage tive ton- nage in the South South United States Thousands Thousands Thousands CU eee 5 1, 541 D5 Sete es 229 1, 334 34305 pened) | Led 1,.053 3, 097 Pi. Sen 152 789 2,552 ‘tee 156 670 Ze22k BA a. 161 682 2, 464 ~ Industry wide Table 17.—Percentage distribution of phosphate materials tonnage for direct application, year ended June 30, 1951-56 Material Cooperative—South 2 Ammonium phosphate_____-__ Ammoniated superphosphate_ Lee Te | EAC ase aes eet PEL aca Calcium metaphosphate_____ Di-ammonium phosphate _ ___ Fused tri-calecium phosphate_ EhoOspuave;rOCk nes Salata Colloidal phosphate_________ Superphosphate (18-22 per- SLED OL ay. pe es A Superphosphate (23-53 per- SOSS Diy i es Ah nt AOE Ae a South Ammonium phosphate___-__-__ Ammoniated superphosphate_ BisiGrslaeee Ae Ae e Oae Calcium metaphosphate___-_- Di-ammonium phosphate_- __- Fused tri-calcium phosphate_ ieHOSPUALeTOGK) amr one Colloidal phosphate__.-_.__- Superphosphate (18-22 per- COU Vee ee aes ee ee Oe Superphosphate (23-50 per- COTE Ve eee ee est eee Industry wide— United States Ammonium phosphate._----- Ammoniated superphosphate_ SECTS <0) Eide Sa estan ge 6 ASN yg Calcium metaphosphate_ __-- Di-ammonium phosphate _ _ ~~ Fused tri-calcium phosphate_ Phosphate rocks. 2s) owes Colloidal phosphate. ------ Superphosphate (18-22 per- Beli ae ne he Sen le eee Superphosphate (23-50 per- eI Gree ee ia tas 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 —— a | EE LO _____"______* 0.3 0. 6 O22 0.1 (2) 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Boule eros eee spl aOs m4 68s or Ld 62. 8 ry, eS 1.0 at 2.9 4, 4 0 0 0 0 0 mT 0 pel aye 5.3 Ce ee) A! eee | sl (2) (2) (?) 2 onl @) 2) (?) 974 SW PAIR Soot ped iemes PRE Han ware cal 23. 6 10267 haloes 7a 7) [1239-45 1078 aii, @) c (2) 0. 7 0. 5 (?) 0 (2) (2) 0 0 100. 0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 4.6 5.3 Feo Sade 1086 10.8 8 a2 wt (2) (2) (2) Dre B iro Aes 20 cle eA, Ol 7282 () ORT .5 .9 .9 1.0 Jy vik tS) (3) (3) (2) (3) 0. 6 SD 1. 0 1. 6 229 2.4 (3) 79D 9.5 ut 8.3 6. 3 8. 9 1o1 iE? 16 1.9 te 1. 6 52sOMy et Oy Oli, 45-5ide 46: 011244, 9 40. 5 AGS 5. 0 6. 2 5. 6 8. 4 8.7 2 SD Ww a3 eh 7S no al (2) v7 a5 wy 100. 0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 5. 5 6. 9 Sod aii a Omit Tha 0 14. 0 ao Ve oP es 5 a) T1237 Fig eo Ory Tegel fie reall) eG 27 6 iL fk 2.6 iy: () ©) (3) (3) (3) 0. 6 Gs a5 6 .9 Aa (3) D8e6 ee B38 cl ensG Ole o406 1 242 37.0 ta? 1.2 123 1. 4 1. 0 0. 7 AFSL? TAOS 3527 le oO KOs seoU. 24. 4 6.9 6. 8 8. 0 Ouse th. 4 1351 4 V4 .4 ms) Os “6 mA #6 5 BS .9 ai 100. 0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0] 100.0] 100.0 1 Based on the proportions of total table 14. 2 Less than .05 percent. 3 Not separately classified, included in ‘‘Other’’. cooperative volume appearing in appendix 27. This fan-type spreader truck is widely used by farm supply co-ops to deliver and spread bulk fertilizer on farmers’ fields. Here the truck operator is lowering the hood to spreading position. The hood prevents fertilizer from blowing away while being spread. Basic slag was much more im- portant as a phosphate material with cooperatives than with the industry generally. It accounted for 63 percent of 1956 cooperative tonnage compared to only 26 per- cent of total southern tonnage and 7 percent of total United States tonnage. Normal superphosphate made up about 40 percent of all phosphate materials in the South in 1956 but only 24 percent of cooperative vol- ume. This material was relatively more important in the South than in the United States generally, ac- counting for only 24 percent of all phosphate tonnage in the country as a whole. Phosphate rock was much more important nationwide than in the South, as it accounted Year ended June 30 for 37 percent of the United States total compared to only 9 percent in the South. All of the basic slag used in the United States is con- sumed in the South. Normal superphosphate declined in relative importance after 1951, in both the South and the country as a whole, while the more concen- trated superphosphates, ammonium phosphates, and calcium metaphos- phate increased in importance rela- tive to other phosphate materials. This trend may be expected to con- tinue as farmers and distributors learn the advantages of higher- analysis materials. Total tons of P.O; consumed in the South and the proportion sup- plied by separate materials are shown in the tabulation at the bot- tom of this page. These figures indicate that total P.O; use declined by about 10 per- cent and the proportion supplied in the form of separate materials declined 50 percent. Tons of P.O; supplied in materials, how- ever, did not decline as rapidly as gross tonnage of materials, thus in- dicating an increase in the average P.O; concentration. Appendix table 8 shows percent- age distribution of phosphate ma- terials by cooperatives in the three areas of the South, 1951-56. Table 18 shows the proportions of available P.O; from separate ma- terial sources supplied by the var- ious kinds of phosphate materials. Tonnage Proportion Total P20; supplied by supplied by tonnage materials materials (thousands) (thousands) (percent) ete xs & 1, 044 269 25.8 Aa; 1, 056 227 21.5 ig: % aa DOW) 188 ASo0 snd Suckers 963 142 14.8 Aree era 943 131 13. 9 tral 947 133 14. 1 Table 18.—Percentage breakdown of available P2 Os suppplied by separate materials, year ended June 30, 1956 Cooper- Industry wide atives Separate material bas Cee, hee. South | South | United States PeQOMIUL Ls DHOSD NS bGs wes aha ct a Se a,c Sime okt ge eee ge ees Libave 23. 9 32. 0 Armmoniated superphosphate... = 225025 8 ow eee 0 (1) 0. 2 EDIE ( RS) GU sca a Neve y Uae 1G sie IMs TY Cole Bia 8 I Da ORs 30.0 10. 6 3. 0 WALI MED eLADUOSPHA LOL oan ee oa eer oe eee DOS! 7.8 nA 4 Ry ieeioOniulIm DDOSpLate=. casey oo ee ee a ee JA 1.4 1.4 used iri-calcium ph&sphates 22 2. soe oS Re pel (2) (2) POS Ce OK 278, eto to Mies es ae cere ES ae (1) 1,2 5a Colloidal phosphate_ ~ _ _--- et and ee ee ee sfall 0. 4 a2 Superpuosphnate 18-22 percents. 0.4.25 4.-. J en ea ee 26. 6 35. 4 22,1 Superphosphate 23-50 percent___-------------------- 21. 5 18. 8 29. 4 Ome Ter bere Gee cn ot) Bt, edits! Sey enya (4) Bo . 6 (TYR es Onn 2 Sale Ae ee Sa GRR SOS biay 2 Roepe Yee oe (1) 2, .6 OU ae ee eee we oe ee ey el ey ee aa 100. 0 100. 0 100. 0 1 Less than .05 percent. 2 Not separately classified. This table indicates basic slag was much less important in terms of the plant nutrients supplied than it was as a proportion of gross phosphate materials tonnage (table 17). However, it was still the most im- portant separate mi{erial source of phosphate distributd by coopera- tives. Industrywid’ data indicate normal superphosphate (18 to 22 percent) was the most important phosphorus source for the South while ammonium phosphate was in first place on a nationwide basis. Potash Materials Although a rather minor ferti- lizer item with cooperatives, potash materials for direct application showed a steady increase after 1951 (table 19). Tonnage in 1956 was half again as great as that for the Table 19.—Cooperative and industrywide tonnage of potash materials in the South and the United States, 1951-56 Coopera- | Industrywide tonnage tive e9 Year ended June 30 tonnage in the South South United States Thousands Thousands Thousands eer ares 100!) A te See ee eee 24 1 2 ESOL 25 Ace La IO tae OR DN Ree ek, yA Ee Se es 28 204 314 ERE 1 CTS SSO eee ea goa erp peen ed 29 195 346 EET Ale cs ile’ Se I OI eile Up crepe a gOS aN ee yn ge a 31 207 378 ey sree ne eek se ee a ee 34 203 385 POR eine let St ie eo es Cees 35 203 388 29 earlier year. Industrywide ton- period. Thus, cooperatives in- nage for the South, however, in- creased their share of the market creased only 17 percent during this from 14 percent in 1951 to 18 per- Table 20.—Percentage distribution of potash materials for direct application, year ended June 30, 1951-56 Material 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 Cooperative—South ! Lime-potash mixtures _ _ _---- 0 4.0 4,3 5. 8 5. 8 a A Manis ersaltS ee eee (2) 1a 0 0 0 0 Potassium chloride (48-52 percent) sce eee, ee 22. 2 59.8 | 35.0 Lhes 8. 1 3. 4 Potassium chloride (58-62 percent 4. {42a ee ee 59. 8 25. 7 56. 0 (20 76. 9 84. 1 Sulphate of potash magne- SLUT Dil tthe Ft NES 72 (2) ae | iit a4 onG Potassium@enitratve: 2 oe 15 te2 . 6 1. 6 £6 4. 0 Potash phosphate ash----_--_-- o7 ee ss 1.3 1 0 Potassium sodium nitrate____ (2) 0 0 0 0 1 Sulphate of potash. _ 224 6. 6 20) Dod 6. 9 1.3 4.1 Other yee oo hoon on ae eee 0 (2) 0 0 0 0 Total |e eet ee ee 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 100. 0 Industry wide—South Lime-potash mixtures_ —----- (3) (3) 12S ville ff 9. 9 1152 Manure salts. 2c oe eke ae 4.4 2a 1.9 ee. 1.0 25 Potassium chloride. (48-52 DELGeDU) 2 ea oe eee eee 53,3 44,2 38. 4 20. 9 19. 5 5. 6 Potassium chloride (58-62 Percent) Mea... eee nee LoS 0. Zao 46.7} 50.3 62. 2 Sulphate of potash magne- STUNT). oe. ties cere ld tt ae PAE 1. 8 8 2.3 TS0 LES Potassium nitrate.c 24. ae 4.0 2. 9 4,3 0 0 (3) Potash phosphate ash-__-_-__-_ 293 1.0 (2) (2) fas (3) Potassium sodium nitrate____ ie. me) .9 Dad LM! 10. 3 Sulphate of potash_----_----- 6. 5 7.3 7.9 8. 6 7.8 (fe Oth eras hse ee 8. 0 14. 6 3. 4 3. 0 2. 0 246 Potalin (eee oe eee 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 ; 100.0 100. 0 Industry wide— United States Lime-potash mixtures _ --_---- (3) (3) (20 6. 8 6. 4 6. 0 Manureisalicy Se ap Ue oe oD 1.8 1.3 as) . 6 Me Potassium chloride (48-52 DERCCN Lees Fe ake eae A5. 9 A <39, O-)ewa l= 13. 8 9. 4 3. 4 Potassium chloride (58-62 Hercent) Vee ee hoe ee 29.8 | 37.4 46. 9 65. 0 69. 7 15.8 Sulphate of potash magne- STL] Tish ile Pee yatta FES Tope Tess 1. 6 1. 6 PAA 1. 6 17 Potassium nitrate soeueees. 4 3. 0 1.9 2. 5 vel (2) (3) Potash phosphate ash_------ Mo eC (2) (2) sa (3) Potassium sodium nitrate____ oA) .8 . 6 Seal 4.3 5.3 Sulphate-oef potash-.-..- = +2. 6. 6 6. 3 6. 1 6. 4 6. 2 Dae CO) thier pete: ere tena eg, ee Ws 6. 4 10. 0 2.1 1.9 ilar 1,4 (otal: tute oe eer eee ee 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100. 0 100. 0 1 Based on the proportions of total cooperative volume appearing in appendix table 14. 2 Less than .05 percent. 3 Not separately classified, included in ‘‘Other.”’ 30 cent in 1956.. Neither cooperative nor industrywide tonnage for the South increased as rapidly, how- ever, as the 61 percent increase in total United States tonnage of pot- ash materials. Recent trends in potash distri- bution and use have been marked by the decline in importance of 48 to 52. percent potassium chloride and the increasing importance of 58 to 62 percent potassium chloride (table 20). The same general pat- tern is reflected in cooperative and industrywide data for the South and in industrywide data for the United States. Appendix table 9 shows percent- age distribution of potash mater- ials by cooperatives in the three areas of the South, 1951-56. Table 21 shows a_ percentage breakdown of the tonnage of nu- trient potash supplied by separate materials. Potassium chloride (58 to 62 percent) supplied over four- fifths of the nutrient potash ton- 92). nage for both cooperatives and in- dustry generally. Liquid Fertilizer Materials Cooperatives in the South dis- tributed nearly 43,000 tons of anhy- drous ammonia and 1,200 tons of nitrogen solution in 1956 (table This reflects a nearly tenfold increase in anhydrous ammonia volume since 1951. Practically all the anhydrous ammonia was dis- tributed in Area IT with a large part of it in the Delta areas of Mis- sissippil, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Eight of the 31 associations cov- ered by this study handled anhy- drous ammonia while only one han- dled nitrogen solution (table 23). Numbers of retail distribution points used by these nine associa- tions are shown in the tabulation at the top of page 33. Storage capacity for liquids totaled 12,500 tons, with approxi- mately 97 percent for anhydrous ammonia. Area II had the largest Table 21.—Percentage breakdown of tonnage of nutrient potash supplied by separate materials, year ended June 30, 1956 Separate material Pame-povish mixtures.i.o4 2.22502 oes 2 oh CSU H EE) RN Sa sa aC a nce en a Tag Potassium chloride (48—52 percent) ______- Potassium chloride (58-62 percent) ___--_- Potassium magnesium sulphate____-___-_- SeASauiiM MN Lrales rte) ee Povassiuim-phosphate ash..22 0. 2 ee Hovassium-sodium nitrate. _.-.-2.2-.-.-- Perieen est plates a0 OL ere s.r e IYER, Tal fc a Aa ol ae is 1 Not separately classified. 2 Less than .05 percent. Cooper-| Industrywide atives South South | United States (FS Rae eee Oe HO Le . 6 eee he een te 0 a2 Soll bo faite Se el FE 3.0 5. O eee Pike, Bop Rhee me 89. 6 80. 2 Sie Smeets ee Ce ip: 39 .8 A Te re oe (1) (1) EY ia Loar ee) Ss 0 (4) (4) ables sage Aen (2) B83 i, Gy LEU URE Lae Aaa 3.7. a 5.8 Toe ie Phe eS. 0 125 tes ay hae peas ee 100. 0 100. 0 100. 0 31 Table 22.—Tonnage of liquid fertilizers distributed by cooperatives in the South, 1951-56 * Year ended June 30 Area I Area II Total South 2 Anhydrous ammonia OD Tay Soe es Ue a yank ee eee eee eae 0 4, 609 4, 609 19052 228 2 OE Se ee ge tans See 0 18, 562 18, 562 1953 eS Se ee Pe a ne ee 13 17, 875 17, 888 O54 ee Tere Seas Gear ee Renee A ete ee 23 30, 137 30, 160 LOSS sees SE ea Oe eee) 111 28, 829 28, 940 LOB Ges Baler ei One te een ate ates Y 241 42, 394 42, 635 Nitrogen solution Bld Soe oe Foe et Oe ee eens aes ee el 0 209 209 1952s te aie SS is, Oa ae ee 75 0 1D 19532 oo apt eo Sean hee 168 95 263 1954S ea ee ee AO aie eed eee 0 0 0 195528 ea Eee Se ee eee ae here 290 0 290 1956.2 bee Et ave Se oe eee 1, 162 OF 1, 162 1 Data covers those percentages appendix table 14. of total separate materials volume as given in 2 Cooperatives in Area III made no distribution of either anhydrous ammonia or nitrogen solution. share of storage capacity with ap- proximately 11,500 tons. The re- mainder was in Area I. All stor- age in Area II was for anhydrous ammonia, whereas approximately 40 percent of that in Area I was for nitrogen solution. The outlook for liquids varied by areas and type of material. Use of both anhydrous ammonia and nitrogen solution was expected to continue to increase in Areas I and II. Solution nitrogen appeared to have the edge over anhydrous in Area I and was expected to gain in relative importance in that area. Anhydrous ammonia was expected to continue to be popular in Area II, but some cooperative officials be- leved it had about reached the peak of its use in this area. Anhydrous ammonia was not looked upon with much favor in Area III. Loss of free ammonia Table 23.—Number and percentage of cooperatives handling liquid fertilizer in the South, 1956: Cooperatives distributing Percent- Cooper- as age Area atives handling Anhydrous| Nitrogen Liquid liquid ammonia | solution mix fertilizers [ieee fee eee ae 12 2 1 0 20 T Loree oS ee eee ae eit 9 6 0 0 67 | RSA aaa oh Rinse aie 10 0 0 0 0 OUGTESS. Fak wee ee ee 31 8 1 0 29 1 The term liquid fertilizer as used in this report applies to anhydrous ammonia, nitrogen solution, and liquid mixes. 32 Area Retail distribution points in sandy soil was the main reason given. ‘There was considerable in- terest in nitrogen solution in Area III, however, and several large dis- tributors were testing ammonium nitrate and urea solutions on citrus. The reason given for lack of solu- tion use was that there has been lit- tle information available on its use for citrus. None of the cooperatives covered in this study had a definite pro- gram or plans for manufacturing and distributing liquid mixed ferti- lizer.* Two associations indicated they had been studying the situa- tion and would possibly start a pro- gram for liquid mixes within the next 5 years. Most managers, how- ever, believed the outlook for liquid mixes in their area rather poor and did not foresee any place for them in their program during the next 5 years. Reasons given were: (1) Liquid mixes were not competitive with dry mixes; and (2) applica- tion costs were higher. *Since the completion of field work on this study, a new cooperative has been formed at Boynton Beach, Fla., to manufacture and distribute complete liquid mixed fertilizer. It has con- structed a plant and plans to manu- facture 10,000 to 12,000 tons of liquid fertilizer annually. Plant costs were approximately $73,000, which is consid- erably below costs of a comparable dry mix plant. for— Anhydrous Nitrogen ammonia solution Number Number pertains Any Rae 8 pale: wig gen aay 95 0 ene ee eee 0 0 Satelit SERS 102 8 Cooperatives may want to con- tinue studying possibilities of liquid mixes as well as anhydrous ammonia and nitrogen solutions. Although the economics of liquid mixes do not appear too favorable at present, future technological de- velopments and price changes may place liquid mixes in a more favor- able position. Cooperatives should be ready to incorporate them into their fertilizer programs if and when they become advantageous to the farmer. Plant Nutrient Content To obtain the nutrient content of all fertilizers, the plant nutrient content of materials was added to that of mixtures. Appendix table 10 shows this data on an industry- wide basis. Total tonnage of plant nutrients was converted to a units- per-ton basis for the presentation that follows. Industrywide Trends Fach ton of commercial fertilizer (mixtures plus separate materials) used in the South in 1956 contained an average of 25.3 units of plant food (figure 9 and appendix table 11). This was slightly more than the 24.4 average for mixed ferti- lizer alone. Average units per ton in the United States for all ferti- 33 AN HLNOS I vauv I vauv I Vauv Gia ee cowry: LG Cdl FS ares Oot ian LOietedey apc ae | eee EUS EEE ON SOz%d ajqnjipay V7 Vy) yy YY) w. yy : (O02) Yyspjog f=] B f y = Sy See el etece se verececese S25 estes ece soecs cece te sferecetetes SalV1S G4LINN CS cS seek Od. |‘ L | NOL Yad SLINA JGIMAYLSNGNI ~ 9S-LS6L O€ 2une papua spat *sazijij4aJ JOI2J2WIWIOD Jj] UI UO Jad Sjuatsjnu yu_jd Alpulid Jo sjiu—"6 ainB1y 34 lizer was 27.2 units in 1956 com- pared to 28.6 for mixed only (ap- pendix tables 11 and 5). Separate materials had the most marked in- fluence in Area II, bringing the average plant food content of fer- tilizer used in that area up to 31.7 units (appendix table 11). This compares with 28.2 units in mixed fertilizer only, thus indicating the importance of high-analysis sep- arate materials in that area (ap- pendix table 5). Figure 8 reflects the importance of nitrogen for direct application in Area IT. While mixed fertilizer used in this area contained only 6.6 units of nitrogen per ton in 1956, mixtures and materials together averaged 15.5 units. Appendix table 12 shows units of primary plant nutrients per ton in all fertilizers distributed by coop- eratives in the South, 1951-56. Ap- pendix table 13 indicates the pro- portion of nitrogen supphed by mixtures in the South declined from 47.5 percent in 1951 to 41.6 percent in 1956. On the other hand, mixures supplied an increasing proportion of P.O;—from 74.2 per- cent in 1951 to 85.9 percent in 1956. The average ratio of fertilizer used in Area IT was approximately 3-2-1 as compared to nearly a 1-1-1 ratio in the other two areas. This further reflects the importance of nitrogen in fertilization programs of farmers in Area II. Cooperative Trends Mixtures and materials distrib- uted by cooperatives in the South contained an average of 28.7 units of plant food per ton in 1956 (ap- pendix table 12). This was an in- crease of 7 units over the average for 1951 of 21.3 units. The most marked increase in units of plant food per ton occurred in Area II. Mixtures and ma- terials distributed by cooperatives in this area in 1956 contained 30.9 units of plant food compared to 20 units in 1951. Most of this increase was due.to the sharp increase in im- portance of nitrogen materials in the cooperative fertilizer programs of this area—the units of nitrogen increasing from 6.7 to 20.4. Units of nitrogen also increased sharply in the other two areas, resulting in a 119 percent increase in units of nitrogen per ton over the South as a whole. There was also considerable in- crease in units of potash per ton. Units of phosphate, on the other hand, decreased during the period. Seasonal Movement Table 24 reflects the seasonal na- ture of the fertilizer industry. In 1956, of all fertilizer consumed in the United States, 73 percent was used during the spring period from January 1 to June 30. In the South, an even higher percentage of fertilizer was used during this period. The 1956 seasonal pattern varied considerably from one area of the South to another. In Area I, 82 percent of all fertilizer was applied in the spring compared to about 73 percent for Area II and only 58 percent for Area III. The more nearly equal distribution of ferti- lizer between fall and spring vol- ume in Area IIT was a reflection of the type of agriculture and the long growing season. Not only was the major part of fertilizer applied in the spring; the proportion appeared to be increas- ing to some extent. For the United States as a whole, spring volume showed a gradual increase from 70 la percent of the total in 1951 to 73 35 percent in 1956. A similar increase was shown for the South—from ap- proximately 74 percent in 1951 to 77 percent in 1956. Only in Area III did there appear to be a decline tions. in importance of spring applica- The slight increase in seasonality probably can be explained by the fact that fertilizer supplies became Table 24.—Fall and spring volumes of fertilizer mixtures and separate materials Year ended June 30 | Mixtures tonnage | tonnage | tonnage Fall (July 1 to Dec. 31) United States Thousands | Mate- rials Thousands 668 573 Total fall} Thousands 1, 796 1, 679 1, 644 1, 301 1, 453 1, 284 750 650 646 549 596 582 | 381 433 459 461 488 560 2, 926 2, 762 2, 749 2,311 2, 536 2, 427 6, 086 6, 187 6, 577 5, 789 5,. 954 5, 887 compared, 1951-56 Propor- tion of | Mixtures annual | tonnage tonnage Percent | Thousands 29. 841" 4-800 20.6 | 5, 188 20. 4 5, 102 16.8 | 5, 144 19.2 | 4,844 17. 8 4,715 oor 2 905 Zone 950 3022 903 25. 8 915 28. 5 823 2109 834 38. 0 572 39. 7 589 39. 8 644 39. 0 656 SOY 671 41.8 696 26.3 | 6,277 93.0 Gage 7 24.2 | 6, 698 20.9 | 6,715 PISS 6, 338 PO RN AO 29.7 | 10, 424 PEN GLH wee DOF) 28. 6 | 11, 898 250 seo 14 26.7 | 11, 552 27.0 | 11, 090 Mate- rials tonnage Thousands 1, 264 1, 276 1, 255 1, 287 1, 263 1, 216 Spring (Jan. 1 to June 30) Total |Propor- spring! | tion of tonnage | annual tonnage Thousands | Percent 6, 064 Adee 6, 464 79. 4 6, 407 79. 6 6, 431 83. 2 6, 107 80. 8 5, 932 82. 2 1, 507 66. 8 1, 653 71.8 1, 493 69. 8 1, 581 74, 2 1, 493 (ilies 1, 537 72, 5 622 62. 0 657 60. 3 695 60. 2 723 61. 0 742 60. 3 779 58. 2 8, 192 73. 7 8, 774 76. 1 8, 596 75. 8 8, 735 79. 1 8, 342 LOT, 8, 248 77.3 14, 427 70. 3 15, 866 71.9 16, 458 71.4 16, 573 74. 1 16, 330 73. 3 15, 907 73. 0 a 1 Mixtures and materials do not always add to total because of rounding. 36 more plentiful during the 1951-56 period. When supplhes are plenti- ful, farmers are more inclined to postpone purchasing fertilizer un- til they are ready to use it. Data on seasonal movement of fertilizer by cooperatives was ob- tained for only the 1955-56 fiscal year. A summary of monthly data is shown in table 25 and is graph- ically portrayed in figure 10. About two-thirds of the total co- operative tonnage was distributed during the spring months and about one-third in the fall months. This compares with industrywide figures of 77 percent in the spring and 23 percent in the fall (table 21). Thus, cooperatives on the av- erage have a better seasonal distri- bution pattern than does the indus- try in general. Getting ready for the rush season, the Lumberton, N. C., plant of Farmers Cooper- ative Exchange, Inc., Raleigh, C., has bins so full of fertilizer that bags have been put in place to help hold it. The distribution of mixtures ap- peared more highly seasonal than the distribution of separate mate- Table 25.—Monthly volume of fertilizer mixtures and separate materials for cooperatives in the South through June 1956 as a percentage of yearly volume, July 1955 Area I Area II Area III All Areas ~ aes Oe SO are ileal o o o ® Month wn PD _ oD a) 2S we D = 5 iD o) Es 5 o Es) ai; o S = o S 25 = i ty a med = H at He = 4 ty = © ee = © a 5 © Be te © aS sas = pun ta 3 fae 4 = as Aa = we ee ae ll eee se eee pele eh’ ec ule adler |) excited July see oo fala to ad ieee Nee Ot Oe OI £Ol 2c Or St LL LAD s 8 FeWined eee. Oeil lel eUlht eee eel Ome 4c ont eo ibe. Dl) mmoles cL hess 4.2 Sept: hue G85) 6} 2 Gao Ge Sit Os0)] oo. O58 o-Ole 5: Gloag. ole eb O)* 66.61 9622 OCte nee ae Hee ae hier Sie 67 bel 2) iO 48.2) LL 6c 8. 8h 8-6 sO Sks INOVae ae Sete e SLOP ONS, ON mee ol Locate: Olkas sp 24 Alt 4 AO jeeeOo Deceit Ono) eA Sie eins eae O ee OL Oe Ona bee te O.eD| 140-20. vic4h to. 1 Haver see Sells. Liircoe sl! 8a 2\ a43 37. 5| 40. 6| 49. 1] 42. 1] 28. 7} 40. 9} 38.9 Haver eel ees 6 7] © Salo al 4G Ol uptoln 6. 2: 1008 7. Ol 724) 07. Ol oan Heys 5 te Tei melLOeSi a So4lero. ol) .O.0h 0.4500. 91 Ge 5) TL. O07, Sh SL2ie- 729 IM ay aa be Le LG Ore OF 24. 6)e (6. 2/2ES al tee fel 669 6. Gl 1626) 15e8iR 1653 ADiE es 3 ISeO) sto | 16. 5re30. Gal 2 Sle 16. 4737.11. 6: 4h.°72.0) (18.2.0) 1 7 1bs3 Mayen =. 15,6) 14.2) 15653/216:; 1} Sol 29°90)" TS, 5s 629), 16. 5). 16: 2) 9°6).13.4 Jone te AAG DeOlLolt we, Olt Ghee alos Gt 4s 4 On SE be B ii 6. Si. 0L0 Spring__| 71. 9| 66. 9} 70. 8} 81. 8} 56. 8) 62. 5} 59. 4) 50. 9) 57. 9) 71. 3} 59. 1) 66. 1 io) N rials. Approximately 71 percent of the cooperative tonnage of mix- tures was distributed during the spring season compared to only 59 percent of separate materials ton- nage (table 22). March, April, and May were high-volume months for both mix- Figure 10.—Monthly volume of fertilizer mixtures and separate materials dis- tributed by cooperatives as percentage of total yearly volume, year ended June 30, 1956 PERCENT 30 AREA I Oeil. —~ ome Mixtures == em Separate materials eceee All fertilizer tures and materials, while July and August were low-volume months for both. The seasonal nature of the fer- tilizer business contributes to in- creased costs of fertilizer to the farmer. It requires excessive stor- age space at the plant and results in expensive manufacturing equip- ment remaining idle a good part of the year. Cooperatives in most areas of the country have taken the lead in promoting greater use of fertilizer during the fall and win- ter seasons by giving off-season dis- counts (page 40). Success with these programs will save farmers considerable sums. Merchandising Practices | eas section briefly examines a few of the more important mer- chandising practices used by coop- eratives in selling fertilizer. The practices covered deal mostly with pricing and are as follows: (1) De- livered and plant pricing, (2) cash and credit pricing, (38) off-season discounts, (4) patronage refund policies, and (5) bag sizes. Delivered and Plant Pricing About two-thirds of the 31 coop- eratives surveyed followed the prac- tice of pricing fertilizer mixtures and materials on a delivered basis with one price for their entire ter- ritory (table 26). Three coopera- tives priced on a delivered basis but had established a system of zones with one price prevailing in each zone. ‘The zones in two instances were established on the basis of dis- tance from the cooperatives’ manu- facturing plants. In the other case involving a multiplant operation, a zone was established around each plant. Within each of these zones a uniform price prevailed. Nine cooperatives priced their fertilizer on an f. 0. b. plant basis and one used an f. 0. b. basing point basis. There is considerable controversy as to which of these common bases for pricing 1s most in agreement with cooperative principles. The argument for a uniform delivered price is that distant patrons, by 1n- creasing the volume through the Table 26.—Delivered and plant pricing methods used by 31 cooperatives in three areas of the South, 1956 Basis for pricing Area [ fimitormdelivered: price. 2 yo taut Zone delivered prices... --- i222 . POCO Sat thLiCe. were Se Re art. POD OAS Now ont prices homens Number of cooperatives Area II Area III South 8 Vi igs 20 1 2 0 3 2 1 6 9 1 0 0 1 ies 110 repT eo | 1 One association in Area IJ and one in Area III used both the uniform delivered price and the f. o. b. plant price. 39 plant, per mit more efficient opera- tion. It is claimed, also, that dis- tant patrons contribute capital on the same basis as patrons located near the plant. Thus, nearby pa- trons benefit from the patronage and capital contribution of patrons farther away. The argument against a uniform pricing policy is that it penalizes patrons close to the plant by forcing them to bear part of the expense of delivering ma- terials to more distant patrons. The system of pricing a coopera- tive chooses must be adapted to the particular situation in which it operates. Size of the territory cov- ered, nature of competition in dif- ferent parts of the territory, and need for additional volume to at- tain efficient operations are all im- portant considerations in choosing a pricing policy. Pricing policies of cooperatives which were primarily regional com- pared to those which were essen- tially local in character are shown in the tabulation below. Cash and Credit Pricing Only four of 18 associations do- ing credit business charged extra for this service (table 27). Nine associations reported doing cash business only. Such information was not obtained from four associa- tions. Credit is becoming an increas- ingly important problem of farm supply cooperatives. A recent study by Farmer Cooperative Serv- ice showed that costs of extending credit by diversified farm supply cooperatives amounted to approx- imately 2 percent of total credit business.2 Results of this study suggest that credit should be recog- nized as an added service and price set for it. Off-Season Discounts Because of the highly seasonal nature of the fertilizer business, a number of cooperatives as well as private fertilizer distributors have attempted to spread out the season by offering off-season or early movement discounts. ‘These discounts are designed to increase fall use of fertilizer, or encourage storage of fertilizers on the farm or at retail points. Successful off-sea- son discount programs would help to relieve congestion at plants dur- ing the rush season, permit more * Bailey, John M. Credit Control in Selected Retail Farm Supply Co-ops, Gen. Rpt. 35, Farmer Cooperative Service, U. S. Dept. of Agr., June 1957. Bases for pricing Uniform delivered price yonerdeliveréd price.) Pie ls es Paes. pian Ut DIiCe tae ea ee ane ne PeeGs DseDasing POllt: price = 252 e meee een Number of cooperatives Regional Local 17 16 1 One local and one regional association used both the uniform delivered price and the f. o. b. plant price. 40 Table 27.—Cash and credit pricing terms used by 31 cooperative fertilizer distributors in the South, 1956 Pricing terms Charge extra for credit No charge for credit Cash only Not determined efficient use of storage space, and spread the work load more evenly throughout the year, thus reducing idle plant time. Numbers of associations offering off-season discounts for purchases of fertilizer are shown in the ac- companying tabulation. These data indicate that about half the cooperatives covered in this study had an active early movement program. Some three-fourths of those in Areas I and II but none in Area III had early movement pro- grams. Probably the type of agri- culture and the longer growing season, which permitted a more even use of fertilizer throughout the year, accounted for the absence of such programs in Area IIT. Estimates of the effectiveness of early movement programs varied from those that were considered in- effective to those that were esti- mated to increase the off-season movement as much as 50 percent. Managers of cooperatives having ineffective programs believed such Number of cooperatives Area I | Area II |Area III All areas Pes kee 3 (0) 1 4 5 eee 3 ‘% 4 14 Eat’ OY: 4 0 5 9 EO Sei 2 2 0 4 on ae 12 8) 10 31 programs to be handicapped by (1) lack of farm storage space, (2) not enough discount to interest farm- ers, (3) fear of price decline, (4) desire not to tie up operating capi- tal, and (5) adverse weather con- ditions. Lack of farm storage space and size of discount were Total num- Number Percent ber of offering offering cooperatives discounts discounts a acne ee 12 9 15 ap aieh ghe nh hud Ae 9 7 78 pe aa ak ae ele 10 0 0 RIEL. So Sor 3l 16 52 most frequently mentioned as fac- tors limiting the effectiveness of these programs. truck adjusts opening to control rate of application in spreading mixed fertilizer on a farmer’s field. Operator of a_ spreader 4] Programs varied from 3 to 6 months i in length. The longer pro- grams commonly started in July and ended in December or January. Shorter programs usually started in December or January and ended in February or March. Discounts were lowered each month as the regular season approached. For example, the July early movement discount in several instances was $5 $6 a ton but was decreased approximately $1 each month through December. For the shorter programs, discounts each month usually were as follows Discount Month per ton December or January---~ $1.50 to $2.00 1.00 to 1.50 0.50 to 1.00 January or February_-_---. February or March “2222 One cooperative, following the practices of large private fertilizer distributors, offer ed fertilizer to re- tail outlets on a consignment basis. Such fertilizer was not to be paid for until after it. was sold. The manager estimated this method of selling increased off-season volume by better than 50 percent. Another regional cooperative op- erated a quota system. Local out- lets were not eligible to receive off- season discounts until they reached an established quota. The man- ager considered this system very ef- ¢ fective in increasing off-season movement. A certain amount of friendly rivalry between retail out- lets helped in building fertilizer volume. Patronage Refunds Refunds to patrons on fertilizer purchases totaled over $5 million 7.7 percent of total fertilizer purchases during the fiscal year ended June 80, 1956 (table 28). Cooperatives in Area II returned the highest rate in patronage re- funds—12.4 percent of purchases. The record for this area was greatly influenced by the outstand- ing performance of Mississippi Chemical Corporation, Yazoo City, in the manufacture of anhydrous ammonia and ammonium nitrate. The most common method of dis- tributing current net savings was part in cash and part in revolving fund certificates or other types of equities. About half the coopera- tives used this method. Others made cash refunds or allowed credit on future purchases, and some refunded savings in revolving fund certificates almost exclusively. Certificates representing earlier year’s savings were then retired in cash. In a number of instances a small part of current savings was Table 28. _—Patronage refunds on fertilizer by 31 cooperatives inathe South, fiscal year ended June 30, 1956 ' Area Percent of Amount dollar volume SME Ray ah Saige SI oe 4.4 aS upeite Cried ee 3, 200, 896 12. 4 eee eres ae sey | 410, 360 Lets) AM ete poe kettles 5, 038, 813 4d ' Data adjusted to eliminate duplication due to business between cooperatives. 42 retained in an allocated or unallo- cated reserve. About half the associations com- puted refunds on a commodity basis, while the other half lumped all farm supply items together. Some cooperatives declared sep- arate refunds on mixtures and sep- arate materials. Where savings vary a great deal on individual fertilizer items this practice may be advisable, but it adds consid- erably to the bookkeeping job. Bag Sizes Although considerable fertilizer is still packed in 100-pound bags, 80-pound bags are becoming in- creasingly popular and three co- operatives reported much success with 50-pound bags. Farmers were reported to like the 50-pound bags because hoppers on farm imple- ments could comfortably hold 50 pounds, but they were not large enough for 80 or 100 pounds. In addition, 50-pound bags were much easier to handle in dumping fer- tilizer into hoppers which were sometimes head-high. The trend to smaller-size bags will probably continue and other cooperatives may want to examine farmer acceptance of 50-pound bags. Bag and bagging costs, how- ever, were estimated about 20 per- cent higher for 50-pound bags than for 100-pound bags. Delivery Practices HE increase in freight rates for fertilizer in recent years has tended to shift a large part of the outbound movement from rail to trucks. Asa result more and more cooperatives are acquiring their own truck fleets to move fertilizer from point of manufacture to con- The dump trailer truck on the right may be used to haul incoming raw materials to the fertilizer plant or to service spreader trucks in the field. Each trailer compartment can be dumped separately. 43 Table 29.—Mode of transportation used by cooperatives in shipping fertilizer from their plants to local outlets or farmers and percentage of tons moved by each, 1956 Mode of transportation sumption areas. Following are dis- cussions of practices of coopera- tives in this study on kinds of trans- portation used, truck ownership, distances hauled, and bulk delivery and spreading. Kinds of Transportation Used Trucks were used to haul 81 per- cent of all fertilizer tonnage from cooperative plants or warehouses to local retail outlets or farmers (table 29 and figure 11). Only 19 percent of the tonnage was moved by rail. These figures reflected what had been a rather widespread shift to trucks for outbound move- ment in more recent years. There was general agreement among man- agers that this shift to trucks had been brought about by increases in rail freight rates. Cooperatives in Area III used trucks for 98 percent of their out- bound tonnage. This compared Area I Percent Area II Area III South Percent Percent Percent 82 23 18 2 19 0 0 0 (0) 100 100 100 100 with 77 percent in Area I and 82 percent in Area II. There was no outbound movement by water in any area of the South. Ownership of Trucks Cooperatively owned trucks were used to move 46 percent of out- bound fertilizer tonnage (table 30 and figure 11). This was equally divided between the associations’ own trucks and other cooperative trucks—mostly those of affiliated local associations. Contract and common carrier trucks were used for 29 percent of the tonnage, while farmers themselves hauled 25 per- cent in their own trucks. The pattern of truck ownership varied considerably among the three areas. Contract and common carrier trucks predominated in Area I, moving 44 percent of the volume. In Area II, other coop- eratives’ trucks and _ farmers’ Table 30.—Ownership of trucks used in moving fertilizers from cooperative plants to retail outlets or farmers, and percentage of volume moved, 1956 Truck ownership a Cooperatives’ own trueks_. 1.52 222552_2- Other cooperatives, trucks_ Contract or common earrier Farmers’ trucks Area I | Area II {Area III} South é \ Percent Percent Percent Percent Lia 15 5 ev 19 37 1 Das ahh 44 18 8 29 Sed ote 18 30 37 25 OSA 100 100 100 100 44 ” trucks predominated, while in Area III the associations’ own trucks and farmers’ trucks were most impor- tant. The importance of associa- tion-owned trucks in delivering fertilizer in Area III was in line with the large number of services provided by cooperatives in this area. These included harvesting, hauling, packing or processing, shipping and, sometimes, complete grove caretaking. Figure 11.—Mode of transportation and ownership of trucks used by 31 co- operatives to move fertilizer from plant to retail outlet or farm, 1955-56 Mode of transportation: (ncne by water ) OF TONS Yf MOVED Yyr 30: Wfyyz— Area I Ownership of trucks: Area I Farmers’ trucks Area 0 © © 2 SSO weteteteteteteteceres V////A Contract or common carrier se "IIA ALDALZLA! Area Il Area I South ERR Other cooperative trucks Gs Own trucks 45 Distances Hauled For the average association, half of all truck deliveries of fertilizer were made within a radius of 54 miles of the plant or warehouse, and all truck deliveries were made within a radius of 154 miles (table 31). The average distance deliveries were made by truck in Area III was only 27 miles compared to 44 miles in Area I and 97 miles in Area II. Maximum distances aver- aged 90 miles in Area IIT, 132 miles in Area I, and 254 miles in Area Lae Cooperatives can often save on transportation costs by more closely examining relative costs of truck and rail movement. For longer hauls cooperatives included in this study generally agreed that rail movement was more advantageous. However, with the rise in rail freight rates, the distance at which rail movement becomes more ad- vantageous has increased. In a situation lke this, the best use of rail and truck transportation is difficult to achieve, and there may be considerable use of trucks for distances at which rail movements would be more economical and vice versa. Cooperatives should ex- amine their traffic situation closely before investing heavily in motor transport facilities. Increasing transportation costs also are likely to restrict the area that can be economically served from a given plant. In fact, one manager believed that in the future fertilizer plants would be smaller and serve smaller areas because of the pressure of transportation costs. However, because of in- creased mechanization and facility costs, economies of scale are becom- ing more important and exert a Table 31.—Average and maximum distances fertilizer was delivered by truck from cooperatives’ plants or warehouses, 1956 Distance delivered by truck Average distance Osteo 2501 as eS ie Pe A ee, ee BOsGOlOUL TI LCS ape cake 2 ar Ce ee a ee eo DABCOR OAL CG ks ae cle Bla eRe ae wae LOstoOa COs lest: sar Lares tne ees Overcl OQ niles: 2. 325 ae ee Total—all cooperatives___________- IX Vera ce Ines ae ete. Bee es Maximum distance OFEO cA SLU o 2 Sea er re tO hy ae TGS LORLOO gn eae a nae ee ag 1 151 tOIS 00 miles has oe ph a Ov eri s00 les ec rytae re ae Be Es Poe LOtalwall cooperstives2a= ene. Aserage miles: ¢o¥Ps 2 Scr e es ae 46 Cooperatives Area Area Area South I II III Number Number Number Number eae ‘ 0 10 spel 6 if 2 9 hes 3 3 1 v ad 0 4 0 4 ate 0 1 0 1 x5. she 9 10 31 As! 44 97 PE 54 Sai z 0 =) 8 eee. 6 33 3 12 oo 2 o 2 9 ahr. 1 1 0 2 aw 13 9 10 31 hae 132. 254 90 154 pressure in the opposite direction. Thus, the area that can be economi- cally served from a given plant de- pends on the relationship between possible economies which can be achieved through larger volume, and the increased cost of serving a larger territory. A cooperative should examine this relationship closely before deciding on the size and location of manufacturing facilities. Bulk Delivery and Spreading Farmers could obtain bulk fer- tilizer if they so desired from most of the cooperatives covered by this study. However, the proportion of total dry tonnage sold in bulk was relatively small—probably not ex- ceeding 10 percent in Areas I and II. In Area IIT, however, the pro- portion was much higher, probably in excess of 50 percent. One co- operative in this area reported as much as 90 percent of its volume was sold in bulk. Spreading services for dry ferti- lizer also were quite generally available throughout the South, but, with the exception of Area ITT, such services were used on a rather small part of the total tonnage. Custom spreading services with broadcast application were com- monly used on pastures but were not generally accepted for row crops. However, broadcast appli- cation on row crops was believed to be increasing. Broadcast appli- cation by truck or tractor-drawn spreaders was common practice on citrus in Area IIT and accounted for the high proportion of bulk sales in this area. Numbers of cooperatives provid- ing bulk spreading services for dry fertilizer and of retail points where such services were offered are shown in the accompanying tabulation. Number of cooperatives Number of points offering service Pilates. (a ge aA nS 9 231 Ber at 5 Sg ee 3 31 Oo oh Sala 5 Cee 10 24 pe Se apa Pe 22 286 Conclusions | Pee major conclusions that may be drawn from this study are as follows: 1. Cooperatives are an important segment of the fertilizer industry of the South and in general are in a strong economic position. Un- der the conditions that have char- acterized the fertilizer industry of this region, they have been able to increase their share of the total market. Even with a decline in overall consumption, cooperatives increased their volume and at the same. time returned to patrons in patronage refunds an average of nearly 8 percent of dollar sales. Cooperatives in the South still supplied a relatively small part of the total market, however—only 13 percent compared to 28 percent in the Northeast, 24 percent in the North Central Region and 18 per- cent nationally. This suggests that with effective integrated pro- grams, cooperatives of the South might be in a stronger position to further develop services for farm- ers. In so doing, they should keep in mind the advantages of coord1- 47 nating efforts with other similar associations. The opportunities for such coordination will be cov- ered more fully in Part II of this study, which will be published later. 2. Although cooperatives were setting the pace in distribution of high-analysis mintures within the South, they were below the na- tional average. This suggests the need to give greater emphasis to upgrading mixtures so as to reduce freight and handling costs—an especially important consideration with ever increasing transportation costs. More cooperatives may need to install granulating facilities in~ order to bring the advantage of higher-analysis mixtures to their farmer patrons. However, in pro- grams to upgrade mixtures cooper- atives should watch closely any in- crease in costs of raw materials lest they offset the benefit gained from lower transportation and handling costs. This is especially true in the South where phosphate sources are relatively close at hand. 3. Cooperatives were also setting the pace in distribution of high- analysis nitrogen materials. For example, ammonium nitrate con- taining 3314 percent nitrogen made up 66 percent of cooperative nitro- gen volume compared to 29 percent of industrywide volume. Also, nitrate of soda containing only 16 percent nitrogen accounted for 30 percent of industry volume com- pared to only 10 percent of coop- erative volume. Cooperative phosphate materials programs appeared unsettled. The decline in importance of concen- trated superphosphate from 15.1 percent of phosphate volume in fis- eal 1951-52 to 7.7 percent in fiscal 1955-56 apparently was due to re- duced distribution of this material 48 in the TVA sponsored Distributor Demonstration Program. Cooperatives should continue to stress distribution of high-analysis nitrogen materials and should re- examine their phosphate materials programs to bring them more in line with the objective of lower plant-food costs for the farmer. 4. Liquid fertilizer distribution made up an important part of co- operative fertilizer programs im Area II, However, cooperatives in other areas of the South appeared to be trailing the rest of the in- dustry in distribution of liquids and should reexamine the place of these materials in their programs to serve farmers. 5. Cooperatives in the South had adapted their operations to w- creased freight costs by shifting a large part of their outbound move- ment to trucks. To make this shift they had to acquire their own motortruck facilities im many instances. 6. Increases in transportation costs have somewhat restricted the area that can be economically served from a given plant. Some cooperative managers think that fertilizer plants will be smaller and serve smaller areas in the future because of the pressure of trans- portation costs. However, changes in technology and increases in mechanization have made overhead costs a more important considera- tion. Thus, the area that can be economically served from a given plant depends upon the relation- ship between possible economies gained from larger volume and the increased cost of serving a larger territory. A cooperative should examine this relationship closely before making a decision on the size and location of manufacturing fa- cilities. Appendix Appendix Table 1.—Year to year changes in industrywide and cooperative fertilizer volume in three areas of the South and the United States, years ended June 30, 1951-56 Yearly comparisons Industrywide: 1952 c/w 1953 c/w 1954 c/w 1955 c/w 1956 c/w Cooperative: 1952 c/w 1953 e/w 1954 c/w 1955 c/w 1956 c/w Area I | Area IT cn Percent Percent F. ‘Baie | —1.1 eae 9.9 eas ee nee —2.2) -19] 43.8 —4.6 a deo 8.09 +99) +87). +02 ai0ead —3.4 e706 Ope aiet One iege 0.0 = 2. Oberle) elo D —0.1} $11.5 | +17.9 1 e¢/w=compared with. First year mentioned is base of comparison. United South ct ate Percent Percent +3. 8 +79 —1.7 +45 — 2.6 —2.9 —1.5 —(). 4 —1.9 —2.2 +8. 5 +2. 5 +1.3 +13. 2 +5. 9 Appendix Table 2.—Volume of mixtures and separate materials distributed by 31 cooperatives in three areas of the South, 1951-56 Year ended Mixtures June 30 Tons Value Areal Thousands | Thousands (Soy eles eeu 390 | $17, 025 1952 J a ee 426 18, 598 a5 5 ee eee ek eS 437 19, 452 HOSdoea a hes 451 18, 974 INO Wee eg ee wt ees 535 21, 811 MEO es ee 553 20, 380 Area II etealiac§ Roe ee Ee 109 4, 702 ep eee eee 120 5 211 Fogo er eee Gt. 123 5, 529 Ont aeeee eta 121 5, 494 ‘Glee. |e 117 5, 792 EE Gh a: aoe Se eee Tr 7, 349 Area Ill hee ee ee 90) 4, 583 OLE ais Maoeee 87 4 452 Bop aiiie fi 94 4 935 [WO eayites« Spa Ee ion: 99 5, O72 ROG hte eR 117 5, 680 LS Ae eee eee 13 6, 053 South Dy aes See aL 589 | 26, 310 Bl a) eee ik et 633 28, 261 CGE SOP meee 654 | 29, 916 MO yA eedh tiga ek al 671 29, 540 Ty weks Be eee a, e's 769 33, 283 ROD Ot a ees 827 36, 782 Separate materials Total fertilizer Tons Value Tons Thousands Thousands Thousands 141 $6, 515 ool 158 213 584 181 8, 396 618 by 9, 423 623 168 10, 317 703 149 8, 816 702 269 7, 689 378 291 10, 863 Att 274 12, 346 397 279 1. OGL 400 332 17, 084 449 364 18, 450 501 15 rel 105 18 1, 008 105 19 19342 1S ZA 1, 434 120 PAS 1, 466 142 30 1, 439 167 425 14, 975 1, 014 467 19, 084 1, 100 474 22, 084 151238 472 24,418 1, 148 525 28, 867 1, 294 543 28, 705 1, 370 Value Thousands $23, 540 20. O1e: 27, 848 28, 397 BD 4198 32, 196 12, 391 16, 074 17, 875 65, 487 49 Appendix Table 3.—Total use of commercial fertilizer mixtures and separate materials and proportion of total in three areas of the South, 1951-56 ( Tons used Proportion of total Year ended June 30 Mixtures | Separate | Mixtures | Separate materials materials Area I Thousands Thousands Percent Percent LOD Lacs ee st eet open gk 7 ee eee 5, 928 1, 982 15. 4 24. 6 ES) 5 Re As on engi ome Gee ier a ee PT ed ls 6, 294 1, 850 Fors 3) Fgh Fi fo ee etn ach MS I ek ee ae ee ee 6, 260 1,791 CRS Dawe LO BAT Ae Se Bie hae 8 tes Ee ee ee Cee 6, O85 1, 648 150k vA Tes) LODO Soe ee VO a ee eee ee SMe WAAL 1, 589 79. 0 2150 TOS O-reice! prime otek) Sag ae Rs eae ee ee 5, 708 1, 509 79. 1 20. 9 Area II 1 OP ree Cie ire F085 ho Se Or ee ee ee 1, 067 1, 189 AT<3 nn OD 2 ee es ih Ae eee 1, 098 1, 205 WES TE Olek ite pee LOL ee ae eI Ce RCS eee Sk 1, 056 1, 083 49, 4 50. 6 LORS Oe Sh Pa Oe ke cs ee 1, 067 1, 062 50-1 49. 9 EO Capen eine oe aes ese PA eS 1, 034 1, 054 49. 5 5055 HOt) Gente Weteer, tee eh: tt RIAL oS 2 1, 036 1, 084 48. 9 py ell Area III PO 5] see ea eS ca ks ag We as 917 85 91.5 Sad TOD 2 ee te et or ee Sel ele | See ee 974 116 89. 3 1030 He) ic See ta xe en Aa Le oe SP Of 1, 052 103 91.1 8. 9 TO Aare treet perce cee Sas Se Nan O72 143 90, 4 9. 6 TO ye ne LAE ene reget en tk Se A eS 1, 106 123 90. 0 10. 0 LODO eeteee ae ye Rte 1 ey a oo ee) P20 138 89. 7 10. 3 South LO ae Cee ee ee SE te AE eet ia lee 913 3, 206 lees 28. 8 TG Zoe tree oat Be cae Ge BAe 8, 365 Sold Ta PMS SS Ae ee BUS 2) a a NO ye pee Sees 8, 368 2, 976 Lone 26. 2 1S ee SP oS? Sec, EM eee MN Oa uno eRe Te $, 220 24020 T4.4 25. 6 VAG i t3 eae re ee ET ag gene eee Co rae, Sralatel Ze On 74. 6 e2hs 4 DD One remain OS Se eta ea 7, 944 Phe digs) (aes 25. 6 United States 105 lee ee eee, hie ee ee He 13, 640 6, 868 66. 5 3000 POD DE ek eee . 51 ee Sr 14, 808 7, 244 6752 32.8 ; DO Mes oe Le Noe nd RN lm en Oe 15, 454 Copel Gio apa! 168 bes ao a A Et AR) OD ec ae 15.9256 7, 104 68. 2 5178 ES Hee) J MA eS 7 a ie Pirate 2) eee a ae 15, 068 t, 216 67. 6 32. 4 AAS FGS ORE, Zt rive Mer RG Mee ering QTL Tt Sey OI Shenae 14, 529 43205 66. 7 Bees G 50 » Appendix Table 4.—Distribution and proportion of total of commercial fertilizer mixtures and separate materials by 31 cooperatives in three areas of the South, 1951-56 Tons distributed Proportion of total Year ended June 30 Mixtures | Separate | Mixtures | Separate materials materials Area I Thousands Thousands Percent Percent VST ho DES Blears AE ig See esters. ater 390 142 Tone 26. 6 Sy Lee ae Se ei ee) ea 427 158 tanw ZIG he See arene eS ELEY See Orc ate Baek gr 437 181 70. 8 29. 2 ha Seen ear ee epee LAs oh 's he 450 ie C2R5 Dbhant eyes Seine Ske ew pie Be Sot ae ee en te DOO 168 TOAL Zao) NG Gee in po pate cee ys OS te Se te ys! 149 78.8 PANE Area Il Ey een ag Sh A Bs eh ee 110 269 29. O LO Ee eee Mie Pe Sete a oy 2) Sine 120 291 29. 2 Us ely eee Te eer PER ML fhe ene fa) 123 274 30. 9 69. 1 DS) yee ee Rew Oke 8S ARS ys Se a! 279 30% 69. 7 INS US Gr sbi RMBs Sia 2 Mee i fade SA oR ee EL? oor 26. 0 74. 0 EG psec © Pees Mee yt oy ne rae ello Wee Ore ist 364 dibs Benak Area Ill OE Een de Rel Nok re ee ey 2 90 15 Soe jy ae TO ESYAAS IS el Ni al tea Saal earls © oan ern See 87 18 83. 0 LSG ey err: Lema ser ra ene. a 94 19 83. 1 16. 9 Lig GIG Ei bth CEN coh Rare ee eal es Wee ee ae Cee ae 99 20 82. 9 i Wipes RC pee eee tee or rise eh Bure jack Sy 118 25 82. 6 £744 RS) (omens ga ee ARBs ong ESE ye ERS 137 30 81.9 18s South TAUB dts ea ae SR ae, en iN a ceo ee ea 589 425 5S. 41.9 Hy eames RES ae es ho WL, Se as oh 634 467 5 26 42. 4 i HORS BEA lh cotelger Inert Rape §54 474 58. 0 42. 0 eh eeereees We eer. Oe SORT ds oe 8 671 472 58. 7 Avie LEGS 2a oy Ee ee Io See ce MN ta 2 769 52D 59. 4 40. 6 eee Cee tee iN seis te Hal, eee 2 eee fe eT 828 543 60. 4 39. 6 51 Appendix Table 5.—Units of primary plant nutrients per ton in mixed fertilizer used in three areas of the South and the United States, 1951-56 Year ended June 30 Nitrogen Available P.O; K,O Total pri- mary plant nutrients Units per ton 6 7 ee ye Go Go OO ANoOnNTWh ARH Smee smear emia A aa ~I00 01 09 OO “IO O10 © SUS NH OMNoO Units per ton 10. — — P S T100N OO OIWwWNNNe Sica Bene een woOnIrcNH NOOO OO — ht ee SSOSONO an Platometcs NOTH bob Units per ton OO at SY So OOOO Boe OR co NIT OO ONT ON NOWOR SO 10 ok) Hea ord WEN | CPM ATW Units per ton mks bo bo bo =o es EROTIC ow SoBe 0 Ort 00 NE ROG MON aH bo A H Cro © Or bo > 0000 00 52 c » Appendix Table 6.—Units of primary plant nutrients per ton in mixed fertilizer distributed by cooperatives in three areas of the South, 1951-56 ' Year ended June 30 Teen aa ra Nitrogen Available P.O; K;,0 Total primary plant nutrients Area I Units per ton 3.3 09 99 29 9 O9 ~J SST IN all pects SSmwioS 00 90 90 90 SISO H DD 1S Or —<~ — FP pe Fe Oo 08 Ee ES | Units per ton b ie) Sy dee ge Pe ee pe OTe 10. 3 10.5 10. 5 LOS 6 1059 blest Units per ton co 00 00 90 90 MI =a SOOOMH WIM MIS He OVC Orr Units per ton bo pee, > ee oa) see ~1.00 & bo ta ee WAROON 1 Based on the proportions of total cooperative mixed fertilizer volume appearing in appendix table 14. 53 Appendix Table 7.—Percentage distribution of nitrogen materials for direct application distributed by cooperatives in three areas of the South, 1951-56 ' Material Area I ANY CrOuUs ANIM OD ake 2 ae ee eo AMMONIUM Nitrates.) Soe) See was eye eee Ammonium nitrate limestone mixture___ ATAMONIUINMS TIAL Cie sae eee ae @alelum-cyanaimid es game eeee sano see Waletamanitra te ee = ae oes ee ce tane IN EDFOS EH SOM LIONS. ye ene ee ee ee OCI UOC A Le. ay we oe ee oe Gn ee Oreaniccmaterials’ S 26cm 20) ts eee ee COT er ene Se oa ah 2 Pas ee NN ere Area Il ADNVOTOUSAInMONIA2- set are eee PON LUI erate ee ee ae Ammonium nitrate limestone mixture_ __ MUO TON stp Nabe 2 Wee wees Lui Ree Ges Wale cyANaMICGs eee: eae aR en Caller Matra Le ce oe i omen esos Me INaPLOO OMMSOMILIONS 2) .21. Suet e agen oe SOCIMMENTITA Leman elle eee hese CPO eee kaka eek glee tem et 2 fee |. Sree Eyes Area III PAI VOLOUSFOT NOD edu mum ete cae SS ANTI OLA WL OLAL@ wee he eee we Pts wee Ammonium nitrate limestone mixture_ __ PO MONMUIMIsU Dnater saa oes le toe ee Galciym. CyaAnanide > Sets wee AS Galenimanitratcsm so. sia e ete oe Ba Lr CA ene ere ee eee e oes oe oe 0S AIC RTA, LOLTALGO iW e ele Silks, Leg RON ee CUTLER ES 8 SS UM TS ee a SE ee Year ended June 30 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 0 (Oe (2) (2) Ot 0. 2 ClfaniG4a 6160 -om my le oe Ale 69. 6 Vases! 4.6 6. 2 8. 4 8. 0 9. 6 eal oa] ‘ey? [eel es pill 1.6 oe) 20 iss Dek 1.9 .6 1.6 L4 .8 26 oy (2) aa wel 0 aS igs Z2eOe G26 2S Mele let bat eee Om 16.8 (7) (2) rl tare (2) (7) pi ez =k (2) eh (2) wel: 0 0 0 0 (7) (?) 100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 | 100. 0 1a Ol 1 18.4 ei Ae Ley SL SSO mea |. 19. 9 57.55) 63.9 1.6825") 64295)-69.71 69. 1 ede 3 3 hl, 1.9 4.8 Ze 5. 6 3.9 an 2.9 Zig. ‘pe ae (2) HD 5) .8 ay 120 ML ont (2) 0 0 ae 0 5 vl: 0 0 0 LO fe al Oe ee LU Sie 5. 8 0 0 0 0 ies .9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (?) 0 0 (2) 0 100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 | 100. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0) PAO 24S eo 9.6 | 13.9 19. 9 0 Dae .8 ore 9 ZO 3 bP0-2) 132 ao) 14 . 6 0 0 0 0 url a 1222 See ie uate Wesmeary | awe elt 46.1 0 0 0) 0 0 0 Diuce OOS Oo wa De (ago some ee 20.2 0 .4 .6 ao ah! «2, Dae 1.8 135 1. 6 6. 3 10. 3 0 0 0 0 (?) 100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 | 100. 0 1 Based on the proportions of total cooperative volume appearing in appendix table 14. 2 Less than .05 percent. 54 Appendix Table 8.—Percentage distribution of phosphate materials for direct application distributed by cooperatives in three areas of the South, 1951-56 ! Material > Area I Ammonium phosphate__- Ammoniated superphosphate_-__________ [ENSTOS SW Se Mite st Tosca Sa oh) edie = i ee Calcium metaphosphate _ Di-ammonium phosphate Fused tri-calcium phosphate_._.-_--__-- Phosphate rockgs5.22252 Colloidal phosphate ___-_-_ Superphosphate (18-22 percent) Superphosphate (23-50 percent) BOUeMeAl yaa tek ee Area II Ammonium phosphate Ammoniated superphosphate__________- USES CEOS Be Ke aligs ali See en Calcium metaphosphate _ Di-ammonium phosphate Fused tri-calcium phosphate______-____- Phosphate rock Superphosphate (18-22 p Superphosphate (23-50 p Bonemeal Area III Colloidal phosphate _____ ercent) ercent) Ammonium: phosphate 22 22 Ammoniated superphosphate_________ >_ ect Ce log ek suse pied Cee eee he Ce Ae Ee Calcium metaphosphate - Di-ammonium phosphate Fused tri-calcium phosphate_______-_-_- PGs PHA TOCk se Se er A Moulotmalphospnateless oi 2402 ee ee Superphosphate (18-22 percent) Superphosphate (23-50 p Dy sonemea1 RAD See es PASAT ge OR oeIN ie ale OMe ee ea ercent)_._____- Year ended June 30 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 Lane eA OTGr i OF an e20 107 0 0 0 0 0 0 FeOmeIQes wi S 1 | e068 cles et 5.4 AIS Pe A al Sey Meer he aoe 4 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 doa ya eee eT RAGE 2S) melee 0 0 0 om mH a 0 0 0 0 0 0 BS toe, 25) 824 198 Ale shag 30 ely 5408) 5502/1 41.7 0708. ey 2866 (2) tt @ 2,9: ie 21.9 ui 0 0 0 0 0 0 100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 | 100. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 72.5 1.68.6 | 67-1 1°60. 7 1267. blr 74.0 (2) POPES IDLE ay rAe aol ime 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Spee Al a 0 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 265 129.3 80) 8 | 37,6 126.7 | - 20.9 RGuliehes tay iS) emledthe noon Gut, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2) 0 0 0 100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 [100.0 | 100. 0 0 0 0 0 Lp: ‘pd 0 0 0 0 0 0 LAA eT Omi 88s oti 702) lb 78. 01am 6 0 0 0 0 0 10. 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B4gAs Ol Ae 5a vle104y i ol O01 9¢ 20.00 (OCH MA WSRe GG. | sO. 4ele 200 kb 128 0 0 0 0 PRU ae ON 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a3 ia 0 0 0 100. 0 100. 0 |100..0 |100. 0 |100. 0 | 100. 0 1 Based on the proportions of total cooperative volume appearing in appendix table 14. 2 Less than .05 percent. 55 Appendix Table 9.—Percentage distribution of potash materials distributed by cooperatives in three areas of the South, 1951-56 ' Year ended June 30 Material ( 1951} 1952 ) 1953°1° 1954.) 1955 7°1956 Area I Lime+potash mixtures: ee 222 oe 0 929 NSU Te AL FO a ela) 8. 2 Manure salts----.- Be ele Eee ae eae | 2.8 0 0 0 0 Potassium chloride (48-52 percent) ______ Scie | ADA. Peal 0 0 3. 8 Potassium chloride (58-62 percent)______| 48.6 | 19.7 | 75.5 | 70.4 | 73.2 76. O Sulphate of potash-magnesium____------ 0 (2) (2) (?) (2) (?) POLBSSIU MO nilra (esas aoe tee eee ee 0 Ls ae 3. 0 0 Onl Rotash=phosphate 9st. fo ee Sone 25. 6 2.8 ad 4 (?) 0 Podiummnitrate-potash 2202025 258 ioe 0 0 0 0 0 0 pulphave-of potash (aii oe eee LSA LT SS 8. 5°| 14.2.) 14.8 8.9 SS) GET Cie ie RE ae ere Ne ee 0 (2) 0 0) 0 0 56) FM eS abe Sant ae oa Tl oe AE 100. 0 |100. 0 {100.0 |100. 0 {100.0 | 100. 0 Area II cit | ide Aah es DimMe=potash, Maixturesees 2 oe eee ee 0 0 0 0 0 0 IMbeENUTess thes ee Te a eee eet 0 0 0 0 0 0 Potassium chloride (48-52 percent) ____-- 31. 4 |. 69.9 | 65, 5 23850-51625 io. tl Potassium chloride (58-62 percent) ____-- 68.25) 3051 1:44, 5427456 183s 96. 7 Sulphate of potash-magnesium______-__- .4 0 0 .2 an, 2 POCASCIUT THtr ALO: ae em Lh Rr ee 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pocasvepnosphaterdsh. "Stet wes J las 0 0 0 2. 2 .3 0 POM nitrate-potash 0" weak. 2 ee 0 0 0 0 0 0 pina teroispOuisht oe ee hte ae 0 0 0 0 0 0 BUS) gis pet 2h A ae ES ped a deh 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 pbs Bey eee NE ps ee Oe a 100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 100.0 {100.0 | 100. 0 Area III pat ae isime=potashsmixtures22\).22 22.2 365 oe 0 0 0 0 0 0 Manure Salta tee Sao Ne eee ee 0 0 0 0 0 0 Potassium chloride (48-52 percent) _____- .3 6. 0 0 0 0 1.0 Potassium chloride (58-62 percent) ____-- 0 0 0 64.6 | 10.5 28. 6 Sulphate of potash-magnesium____-_---- 0 0 6. 9 Sun tines PLap PTO CE SSIUIIy Tabor okt eae ae ee ecg, Cae ee 99.0-| 94.0 | 98.1 | 30.8.) 81.1 54. 8 Pocash=pnosphate ash =s aes gee yee oe 0 0 0 1.5 .2 0 Sociumenierate-potash.*... 25 ae at ee age ae 0 0 0 1.6 Sulplaue of potash ere oc ee 0 0 0 0 1.0 3. 0 Oiler ia nss int hoe oe ete ee ee See 0 0 0 0 0 0 TTS Eel] UNE Gehan RR ie 100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 | 100. oC 1 Based on the proportions of total cooperative volume appearing in appendix table 14. 2 Less than .05 percent. 56 Appendix Table 10.—Tonnage of primary plant nutrients in all commercial @ fertilizer used in three areas of the South and the United States, 1951-56 Total pri- Year ended June 30 Nitrogen | Available | Potash |mary plant tonnage POs ton- | tonnage nutrient nage tonnage Area I Thousands Thousands Thousands Thousands OTS eee Ts foe he pe a the 395 750 499 1, 645 AVR os Cal Sete” fa ae aii ge Oh ae IN 446 756 LY 1,774 LENS He ak ata aM he eth 3 an, 470 Geo 085 1, 791 GOL ES Lyc amN RE vi oe A eg a cna: | re nD A485 685 600 1, 769 ULE Ee ach IS, NOUR ap ef ee A 498 668 621 LTRs IU Oe Se) 9s cS Se eee ea ee wee 484 649 617 1, 750 Area II TSU IS bles nat at NUR eS A le ay ee eo A SO 219 224 107 ayo ‘spd ae Pe ba ae, ald ea ee tS AE cre a 241 226 iid 584 EGRET), ao hak Mes Fie vp Pcie tase ae ne 255 203 119 aT Fe ELIT, SOR a 9 ae AN pn ce ak RP 294 193 125 612 UES ied 2 Site soe Oa a Se Gi 308 198 La 626 SU ales Se BO MOS a RS cae Ons ae me a 328 218 132 673 Area III 1A Me aliens ca on 54 69 78 200 ad Seen eae ead Seal atta ee een Sa Ny Ni 74 78 209 linet USS ap, "gear NS Saeneane ee aia ney a a 67 LE 89 232 1G Soar We Tae Me SEES ey end ae wy aro gre 73 85 83 240 AGT G ape 2 IG iar nee Ae nee ae Sets Aa 81 rei 95 254 eel) Opmeeter a: heme ae ke gh oie! 86 85 105 276 South RCE) leery oasis Nt eet Le 668 1, 044 684 2, 396 el yc) Me te i Pee il ee Bl yes 745 1, 055 767 2, 568 ol pene aie a2 ee ee ey ok Eee 791 1,014 793 2, 599 SEES age! Sak ES Sy Se eg ee me 852 963 807 2, 622 it SESE cept ce a Re i a Si 887 943 837 2, 667 rey eine ay Pra ae ea UES oe Me se 898 947 853 2, 698 United States ale Ng 5 Bhpe ana © ae Ce ORS ral re2, O86 TAoad 4,595 Pe ese per hee a ee SS by NY 1, 366 2, 180 1, 545 5, 092 SS = AAR ing ele Aegina cate: OUR TE) Ie 1, 584 2, 201 1, 704 5, 539 Brera eees Meee eee a wt NG a Fe 1, 790 2, 222 Tega 5, 779 Semi Re SI de ae ee a ae, ea 1, 897 2, 264 1, 834 5, 995 ig SOONG eR Ae Sie Re Ne Se i tey 4s) 2, 228 1, 836 5, 939 57 Appendix Table 11.—Units of primary plant nutrients per ton in all commercial fertilizer used in three areas in the South and the United States, 1951-56 é Available Total pri- Year ended June 30 Nitrogen P.O; K,O mary plant nutrients Area I Units per ton | Units per ton | Units per ton | Units per ton POS 1 Se xe toe Se Saget Ae ii Reg ee 5, 9. 6 6. 4 207934 Saye ee i Te Cee ema ho AES Sep rae Bed 9.3 CeO 218 LOSS PRR oe So a6 ie 2s See edon 2 eae ee 5. 8 9. 1 (ee: 22.2 IRS ee gi peer Ae eee, 4s Meare A aS Oh 8. 8 7.8 22.9 UNS NG WA tear ag Nec pls ied Sk tow BED. Sauer ban Seabee Pee 6. 6 8. 8 8.2 2320 OR Ger sore. te Se eg See es BU Gard: 9. O 8. 6 2452, Area Il CO elie omen Sate Or Rote ae Coley ORG 9.9 4.8 24, 4 iy, leek © Pet, Leah e dhs Seria a an ee aes 10. 5 9. 8 Deel 25. 4 NOD Spe aie jo ps SORE oo OV, Sere ke 11.9 9. 5 SG PA EAY NS oy Anais Sy ee bane vibe oF Oe eer ak AEM ae 13. 8 9. 1 5. 8 287. ERG) Ey ey pean Rego ya eke) ON Tae 14, 7 9. 4 acs 30. 0 BODO eee ee sees ee kes Sra Alot ee a oe Les 10. 0 6.2 oleae Area III I Ob Lp 00 care eho, Pe aN or ie eye a 83 6. 9 7.8 20. O LO Ty OMS Ts steak het gh yt a a ae 6. 8 tad 19, 2 LOG ra Pate, Shel Ree ed le" shea, Baal Sh ta) 6. 6 ia PAVED RY 33e: cis Shaves ne SY sy Oe as ER CN rT CSA 6.2 Whee 7. 0 20: 3 [SES iss ai et Sida Jee, on cee ae Ma ea 6. 6 6. 3 7.8 20. 6 hE See Sato Roh ne oe ae ee eet 6. 4 6. 4 7.8 20. 6 South LOE 1 eee... re ean on Rh x aah MORON tag at 6. 0 9. 4 6.2 PAU Fi Seas ina ae, Rand 8.) So Ree STG a 6. 4 9. 2 6. 6 Piped NO sagt afer GY lal pe ey el hans 2 7.0 8.9 cau 22. 9 iO aie co oe ae ne eee ee ee 1s ies) 123 2a. € IO yee sre ae ee oo ee ae OA, Te 8. 2 8. 7 fo ¢ 24.5 OU Gime ae neve ekg) a 12 rc oe, ee te 8. 4 8.9 8. 0 2003 United States Ryd be Bh ata ¢ Malescirr ei bageats eRe Ws Sean Rel, th ye 10. 2 Gi 22.4 RS Vaal aie a eae Pad BR ha eS 6. 2 9. 9 7.0 Batu ORG auc tee ceta aire Fd ee ee eee 6.9 9. 8 1.4 24. 0 LO Bearer Ss DMS lra SP ae CT AG ca 8. 0 9. 9 7.9 25.8 RS a2 eS Dos SO Cees eh eae ES 8.5 10. 2 8. 2 26. 9 LOS Gea F: overs tae Wa ee > a Meg 8. 6 L082 8. 4 Lid suse 58 D ~ Appendix Table 12.—Units of primary plant nutrients per ton in all fertilizers distributed by cooperatives in three areas in the South, 1951-56 ' : Total pri- Year ended June 30 Nitrogen Te ae K,0 mary plant ag nutrients Area I Units per ton | Units per ton | Units per ton | Units per ton ec) cy Weert = eee ee tee AO ER ae Te Se 0. 3 D2 ¢ Dl eee ace Seem LE re re a 6. 8 Dos ete, 2S VOR Gy eee le eae 5D) aris IRE ae pcan ena Oi 8. 1 10. 6 7.4 2Gik DMO GS hc iis Milk een ath vans Ok a a 8. 0 10. 2 8. 4 26. 6 ey) eae ee ape a ee te ee Weave 10. 2 OF Dial Dea eee aera re Slag 1 be rn) ge 7.4 TORS 10. 0 PH earl Area II POR Re Ho ao Ga, cM ly pe ee la ee gi Ol 8.9 4.4 20. 0 PUD) oe e Wee cer VRE A oy a tale A 8. 1 4.8 24.6 LC) yf peeeeee et wie Pe et ee es RE cS 14. 3 AU ee 26. 5 EO PSP ie 2p | Aa AR cece ae 2 Se re deyact 6. 6 4,8 29. 0 DR aT Wen a Be aseas) ata en meet Me pai ee Se 18. 7 6. 4 4.3 29. 4 I) yO Se eee PONE ee, Tb i alae ON 20. 4 6. 1 4,4 30. 9 Area III Ey ieee Se eee Aer at Ste SPR et OT Ovel 624 1972 ey 2 eee eerie ey Wh mete AE STRS gest 10. 9 4.1 5.3 20. 3 Oe enn eae ae neh Se Me aye | Pe 2 oon Gaz 20. 5 RUNG SIR Sa aap AR cack anced a eee ce 1085 ae oe G75 TADS TROT GS is NT Ry ga i ta ag! Nee a LUs3 Sa2 Tomek 20. 6 NERS DAN a ee. th OR eg ee teh Phes 320 6. 0 2x South ROS AO toa So Re ae Ga ead Oe! eA ihe: 9.7 5. 8 Palin’ TS A he EA ale ese RE A ec eas mea 8.9 9.8 6.2 24.9 Dey ee eres Page CR OT coe oe y's 10. 6 9. O 6.5 26e41 OSE Eb iin hac RON Sg OO RRS 78 Ra caine Sher Be 11.8 8. 6 7-0 21. 4 PSD) ye ea ed Shear Nf i ee 12. 0 8. 5 Waa: 21.8 UAGUaY Gs ae "2 OS oo eee ees Mg eas Seg hoe. 8. 4 TAO 28. 7 1 Based on those proportions of total cooperative volume appearing in appendix table 14. 59 Appendix Table 13.—Percentage of primary plant nutrients in all commercial fertilizer supplied in the form of mixtures the United States, 1951-56 Year ended June 30 in three areas of the Nitrogen | Available Potash P,O; 54, 7 79. 5 91.8 52. 4 84. 7 90. 7 51.4 86. 7 91. 7 00.5 90. 5 91:1 49, 2 92. 0 91.0 48. 8 92. 5 90. 7 25. 5 50. 3 7276 24. 0 52. 5 72.5 PNAS 57. 2 7k9 lak 61.8 70. 5 2170 61.9 TaD 20. 8 61. 8 70. 6 84. 4 94. 1 92. 6 83. 9 94. 5 93. 2 83. 2 96. 0 93. 8 80. 7 96. 8 95. 6 78. 9 96. 8 96. 0 79. 8 96. 0 96. 5 AT. 5 74. 2 88. 9 45. 6 78. 5 88. 2 Apa Slaeo 89. 0 43. 1 84. 2 88. 4 42. 1 86. 1 88. 7 41.6 85. 9 88. 3 46. 5 72.9 91,1 45. | Ase 89. 9 44,0 18.5 89. 5 41. 6 80. 3 88. 6 40. 6 (956 88. 7 40. 9 79. 4 88. 6 South and Total primary plant nutrients OW ON CO © rm CO OV OTR CIO w & NO CO NINO O19 iat COC EL OU Appendix Table 14.—Volume of mixtures and separate materials on which a breakdown was available as a percentage of total cooperative fertilizer volume in the South, year ended June 30, 1951-56 Area 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 | 1956 Mixtures: Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent fh OP eae a Fe EG, ZOEK 90. 5 90. 9 94. 6 95. 9 93. 3 | laeaeets aan eae Se 99. 1 99. 2 99. 2 100. 0 100. O open Tiles er i api al PARTS 12. 9 9.5 14.9 15. 9 Lj 18. 6 SOMGD ee Ae ee fel 81. 0 81.5 84. 0 84. 5 77.9 Separate materials: Li Meee tee the et er 93. 9 94. 3 94. 9 96. 9 96. 9 95. 2 1 Rs a Te ie Tea "ay Bee Re pee apt O222D WhEal eae 100. O 99. 9 99. 8 ta WR Recent Oe Daag an deen 14. 3 ER eae BAG Le Dau Vidleat SSCL Ghee ee er ee cu 90. 2 90. 8 OTe 95. 9 95. 8 98. 4 60 U, S, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1958 (T™™ FCS MOVIE AVAILABLE D Farmer Cooperatives Today is a 20-minute sound and color movie, produced by the Farmer Cooperative Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture. It shows how farmers started cooperatives and how they use both locals and regionals to market products, purchase supplies, and get other services. A few scenes from an earlier film, Farmers Working Together, are included, but there is entirely new narration and an abundance of new scenes. If you live in Texas and wish to borrow this film, request it from Visual Aids Department, Extension Service, Texas A. and M. College, College Station. In other States, request the film from the Director of Information, of the Farm Credit district serving your State. Here are the addresses and the States served : Farm Credit District of Springfield, Mass., serves: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Farm Credit District of Baltimore, Md., serves: Delaware, Dis- trict of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico. Farm Credit District of Columbia, S. C., serves: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Farm Credit District of Louisville, Ky., serves: Indiana, Ken- tucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. Farm Credit District of New Orleans, La., serves: Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Farm Credit District of St. Louis, Mo., serves: Arkansas, [linois, and Missouri. Farm Credit District of St. Paul, Minn., serves: Michigan, Minne- sota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Farm Credit District of Omaha, Nebr., serves: Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Farm Credit District of Wichita, Kans., serves: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Farm Credit District of Berkeley, Calif., serves: Arizona, Cali- fornia, Nevada, and Utah. i) Farm Credit District of Spokane, Wash., serves: Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. nia Farmer Cooperatives in the United States, FCS Bulletin 1. Methods of Financing Farmer Cooperatives, General Report 32. H. H. Hulbert, Nelda Griffin and K. B. Gardner. Farmers Buy Supplies Cooperatively, Bulletin Reprint 3. /. Warren Mather. Controlling Open Account Credit in Feed Cooperatives, FCS Cir- cular 24. Charlie B. Robbins and Lacey F. Rickey. Credit Control in Selected Retail Farm Supply Co-ops, General Re- port 85. J. MW. Bailey. Inventory Management by Selected Retail Farm Supply Co-ops, General Report 38. J. d/. Bailay. Bulk Distribution of Fertilizer and Lime in the Northeast, General Report 24. W.K. Trotter. Problems of Western Cooperatives in Obtaining and Distributing Fertilizer, General Report 11. M. A. Abrahamsen and C. L. Serog gs. Farmers’ Cooperative Fertilizer Manufacturing Plants (Facilities and Operations), Circular C-145. #. G. Grab, W. M. Hurst, and CO SL aS C09 Js: Sooperative Manufacture and Distribution of Fertilizer by Small Regional Dry-Mix Plants, Circular C-126. John H. Lister. Keonomic Aspects of Transportation Affecting a Cooperative Fer- tilizer Program in the North Central States, Miscellaneous Report 149. 0. L. Scroggs. Fertilizer Distribution : Methods and Costs, Service Report 19. J/. A. A brahamsen. A copy of each of these publications may be obtained upon request while a supply is available from— Information Division FARMER COOPERATIVE SERVICE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON 25, D. C.