6/21/76

INTRODUCTION

BECOMES INVOLVED IN COOPERATIVES
Scope and Content Note: Ambition since high school to work in dairy plant. After graduation in 1929, unable to get lob in creamery since most plants hiring married men only. Began farming in 1935; kept attending meetings of Witwen Creamery, later Honey Creek Valley Dairy Cooperative. Elected to board of directors in 1947.

CHURCH OPPOSITION IN SWITCHING TO GRADE A MILK
Scope and Content Note: Increased demand for whole milk during war years prompted Sprecher and others to favor conversion to Grade A operation. Evangelical church opposed because Grade A milk meant work on Sunday.

LEND-LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND WISCONSIN COOPERATIVE CREAMERIES ASSOCIATION (WCCA)
Scope and Content Note: In mid-1940s WCCA, consisting of about eighteen member creameries, made agreement with government to provide dried milk in exchange for construction of plant under lend-lease program. Plant with capacity of 300,000 pounds built at Union Center (Juneau county), a compromise location which was a mistake.

DRIED MILK PRODUCTION AT UNION CENTER
Scope and Content Note: Plant ultimately produced one million pounds per day. Disagree- ment over whether dried milk a “war-time baby” only or research would prove it a good product for human consumption. Powder now a major product from milk.

PROLIFERATION OF GRADE A MILK MARKET
Scope and Content Note: Several Grade A milk plants, but most farmers resisted “having those inspectors come around from Chicago and smell your farm out.” Honey Creek converted to Grade A in early 1950s; truckers first picked up in cans; bulk handling began and that proved to be “the riot.” Haulers needed to modernize; farmers had to be reindoctrinated that bulk cooling made it possible to mix morning and evening milk.

IMPACT OF GRADE A ON SMALL DAIRY PLANTS
Scope and Content Note: Patrons lost; financial difficulties. Recalls one plant appealing to WCCA directors; decided to do consolidation feasibility study of the eighteen plants.

RESISTANCE TO CONSOLIDATION PLANS OF WCCA
Scope and Content Note: Resistance from small-town bankers, businessmen, women shoppers. Biggest counterargument: higher farmer income will increase farmers' trade potential in local community. Arranged for many banks to be depositories for cooperative's funds. Key question was whether patrons should join new organization piecemeal or all together.

INTAKE BUILT FOR UNION CENTER TO CONVERT PLANT TO BUTTER

LOCATION OF PLANTS THAT CONSOLIDATED INTO WCCA
Scope and Content Note: Sumpter, Baraboo, Wisconsin Dells, La Valle, Wonewoc, Mauston, Ontario, Clifton, Mount Tabor, Hillsboro, Oakdale. Intensive competition between these cooperatives for patrons.

ADMINISTRATIVE PROBLEMS IN ABSORBING PLANTS
Scope and Content Note: Some broke, some rich, all had equity in Union Center. Decided every plant to come in at ratio of $1.25 worth of assets to $1.00 worth of liabilities; pooled assets over that amount.

TRADITION OF FARMERS HAULING OWN MILK TO COMMUNITY COOPERATIVE CREAMERIES
Scope and Content Note: “Was holy with these farmers” to haul own milk; WCCA finally stopped subsidizing this by deciding no one would haul own milk.

ASSISTANCE FROM UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
Scope and Content Note: Help from such professors as L. C. Thomsen.

OTHER FARMERS WHO JOINED SPRECHER IN PROMOTING CONSOLIDATION OF SMALL PLANTS
Scope and Content Note: Haggerty from La Valle; Good from Wonewoc; Barnes at New Lisbon.

SUPPORT OF FARMERS FOR CONSOLIDATION
Scope and Content Note: Farmer-patrons of small plants often more support than leaders. Higher farm price for milk despite many having to make costly farm improvements. Younger farmers in debt more likely to cooperate.

PROBLEM OF STRUCTURING BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Scope and Content Note: Dissolved board; neutral committee set up new districting system and selected directors.

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN DEAN TELLS SPRECHER TO THINK BIGGER
Scope and Content Note: College of Agriculture Dean Rudolph Froker met with Sprecher in 1958 or 1959 and told him that WCCA still thinking small; needed “one cooperative from the Wisconsin River to the Mississippi;” cited accomplishments of Lake to Lake and Consolidated Badger. Urged Sprecher to call meeting to include representatives from plants at Sauk City, a bitter competitor; WCCA, Reedsburg, Richland Center, and Portage.

END OF TAPE 1, SIDE 1

INTRODUCTION

EARLY MEETINGS AT LAKE DELTON AND ELROY
Scope and Content Note: Froker dominated dinner meeting of twenty-one representatives. Second meeting four-five months later at Elroy. No immediate results; Froker not disappointed. Dr. Nick Fabricius, Ladysmith, talked about merger from practical point of view. More receptiveness, but still hesitancy.

SPRECHER AND MANAGER OF SAUK CITY PLANT MAKE MERGER AGREEMENT IN ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY
Scope and Content Note: Floyd Harris and Sprecher agreed to work, on respective ends on milk plant territory. Sauk City and WCCA boards got together; inefficient if both Sauk City and WCCA put in expensive new dryers while both lose patrons.

AGREEMENT TO START NEWLY MERGED COOPERATIVE BY
Scope and Content Note: Assistance from Francis Hough, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. Exchanged equities; combined boards; redistricted territory; picked neutral name of Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative (WDC). By February, 1963, farmer-members approved merger. Harris named manager; Sprecher elected president. New dryer never purchased.

OTHER COOPERATIVES INDUCED TO JOIN WDC
Scope and Content Note: Good earnings; good publicity. By 1964, Richland Center cooperative having difficulties, but National Farmers Organization (NFO) critical of WDC threat to merge and close Richland Center plant. Richland Center businessmen favorable; WDC kept plant open after consolidation.

HILLPOINT COOPERATIVE JOINS WDC
Scope and Content Note: Hillpoint, Grade A powder plant at Reedsburg, result of previous mergers; pushed toward WDC by salmonella problem in 1965. WDC promised that the $200,000 in Hillpoint building fund would be distributed to farmers.

EXCELSIOR COOPERATIVE CREAMERY (BARABOO) JOINS WDC
Scope and Content Note: Joined not long after Hillpoint.

WISCONSIN DELLS JOINS WDC
Scope and Content Note: Well-run bottling, butter, and skim plant. WDC tried to continue bottling and failed; sold it to the Hawthorn-Mellody Company.

WDC VOTED OUT OF CHICAGO FLUID MARKET
Scope and Content Note: WDC competed against Pure Milk Association (PMA) in Chicago market. PMA voted out WDC's Chicago milk order in 1965. WDC decided to invest about $200,000 in Berne, Indiana firm; after several years cleaned house; Leroy Litscher took over management.

DAIRY MAID PRODUCTS COOPERATIVE (FORMERLY DRIED MILK PRODUCTS COOPERATIVE) JOINS WDC
Scope and Content Note: Based at Eau Claire, DMPC originally designed to inform member plants of dried milk prices.

END TAPE 1, SIDE 2

INTRODUCTION

SPRECHER ELECTED TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF DRIED MILK PRODUCTS COOPERATIVE (DMPC)
Scope and Content Note: Elected to five-member board of directors before Wisconsin Dairies Cooperative (WDC) formed.

COMMENTS ON FLOYD LUCIA, MANAGER OF DMPC
Scope and Content Note: Originally field man for old Wisconsin Cooperative Creameries Association, Lucia became close friend of Sprecher's. “Father of initiating quality milk on the farm,” although abused by many farmers as “white-collar guy.”

DMPC BEGINS TO PACKAGE POWDERED MILK
Scope and Content Note: DMPC sold surplus powdered milk to national government for welfare and aid distribution programs. Later began to package powder, as did the Sauk City plant and others in west central Wisconsin and Minnesota.

DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVED POWDERED MILK
Scope and Content Note: DMPC supportive of research to develop powdered milk with better dissolvability; led to development of outstanding instant powdered milk. Also developed drying process, but Carnation sued for patent infringement.

DMPC BECOMES DAIRY MAID AND MERGES WITH LAND O'LAKES (LOL), INC.
Scope and Content Note: When DMPC began bulk handling of butter, changed name to Dairy Maid. Need for brand name and expected development of cheese line led to merger with LOL in March 1965. Dairy Maid brought eighty million dollars worth of business to LOL.

LOL CHEESE MARKETING
Scope and Content Note: LOL began merchandising consumer cheese several years before merger with WDC; had purchased large plant at Spencer, Wisconsin, still main plant for warehousing and packaging. Lake to Lake, leader in rindless packaging of natural cheese, today markets all butter and powder but only some cheese through LOL.

SPRECHER IS ELECTED TO LOL BOARD OF DIRECTORS,
Scope and Content Note: Sprecher elected to LOL board after territory redistricted following merger with Dairy Maid. Disagreement with Dean Froker over Dairy Maid-LOL proposed merger. Froker believed Wisconsin should develop its own statewide marketing organization and brand name, a feeling rooted as far back as the 1920s.

OTHER DIFFICULTIES IN PROMOTING DAIRYMAID-LOL MERGER
Scope and Content Note: Sprecher visited many plants to promote merger. Opposition from National Farmers Organization; Sprecher once followed home by three cars.

ATTEMPTS BY COOPERATIVES TO DEVELOP ASEPTIC CANNING
Scope and Content Note: Nick Fabricius advised Dairy Maid to use milk in western Wisconsin not under federal milk order system to use aseptic canning process for ice cream, mixed baby foods, and pudding. Plant at Clear Lake exciting but unstable because aseptic canning dependent upon “fad” products. LOL still in aseptic canning, but most others unsuccessful.

FELCO JOINS LOL; CONTROVERSY WHEN TERRITORY REDISTRICTED
Scope and Content Note: FELCO, primarily agricultural services organization for meat producers in Iowa, southern Minnesota, Nebraska, and parts of Dakota, desired marketing contract with LOL for meat and soy bean products. LOL and FELCO merged in 1970; controversial redistricting over six-state area.

NON-FARMER MEMBERS OF LOL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Scope and Content Note: Board added agricultural economist and “financial man” to provide outside knowledge and perspective. Sprecher feels additions made LOL a leader rather than follower of change.

SPRECHER ELECTED PRESIDENT OF LOL
Scope and Content Note: After FELCO and LOL merger, Sprecher elected president and has served for seven years. Now 65, Sprecher will retire from board by March 1977 because of LOL age policy.

OTHER LOL ACQUISITIONS
Scope and Content Note: Include H. C. Christian Company, large Chicago butter merchandising firm.

WDC LEADERSHIP IN BUTTER-MAKING AND POWDERED MILK OPERATION
Scope and Content Note: WDC first to adopt continuous butter-making operation; “putting the cream in one end and printing it out of the other end.” WDC also first to start bulk handling of powder in tote bins in 1964-1965.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WDC AND LOL
Scope and Content Note: WDC first marketed powder through Dairy Maid, which merged with the LOL marketing organization. WDC now contracts with LOL to sell all its butter; LOL makes marketing decisions.

RIVALRY BETWEEN WDC AND HIAWATHA VALLEY DAIRIES COOPERATIVE
Scope and Content Note: Both established about same time. Though WDC now buys butter- milk from Hiawatha Valley and dries it, has been intensive, clean competition between them in acquiring smaller plants. Recalls WDC lost Cashton and Pigeon Falls plants to Hiawatha Valley. Hiawatha Valley markets cheese through LOL, and Sprecher foresees eventual Hiawatha Valley and WDC merger.

WDC TERRITORY
Scope and Content Note: Territory conforms to original plan of extending from Wisconsin River to Mississippi River. Also extends through southeast to Whitewater, Deerfield, and Genoa City to Illinois state line. Area not consolidated; much room for improvement.

PROBABILITY OF LARGER BUT FEWER FAMILY FARMS
Scope and Content Note: Foresees dwindling of present 50,000 farmers to half that number; believes dairy farming must become two-family operation to eliminate constant 365-day attention required now of one-family enterprises.

NEED FOR AND FAILURE OF MILK MARKETING COOPERATIVES TO SUPPORT YOUNG DAIRY FARMERS
Scope and Content Note: Feels cooperatives should be doing more to help farmers stay in business; so far “fancy resolutions” endorsing family farm and keeping young men on farm are only “nice words.” Too much emphasis in cooperatives on short-range economic returns; too little attention to long-range questions of helping to finance farmers and providing field services to help with feeding problems. Older members fear influence of young members, which discourages latter's participation.

END TAPE 2, SIDE 1

INTRODUCTION

IMPORTANCE TO YOUNG FARMER OF EDUCATION AND MEMBERSHIP IN COOPERATIVE
Scope and Content Note: Farmer must be better educated to be asset to himself and community. Satisfaction in dairy farming, but Sprecher would, if starting to farm again, immediately join a cooperative because it instills pride in ownership of a brand name, keeps members informed about state and national politics, and develops leadership. Feels necessity of cooperation within cooperative has made him more tolerant.

WDC EXPANSION AFTER
Scope and Content Note: Bought out several private cheese plants; Genoa City, with complete Grade A operation, merged with WDC in 1974. In 1975, cooperatives at Clear Lake and at Barron, once largest butter- making plant in the country, joined WDC. Foresees more mergers.

EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE MERGERS ON FARMER MEMBERS
Scope and Content Note: Constantly expanding cooperatives must get closer to farmers with field workers' face-to-face contact.

NEED FOR COLLEGE EDUCATED PEOPLE IN COOPERATIVES
Scope and Content Note: Cooperatives need fewer “good guys,” and more well-educated, qualified people who can talk to all farmers, especially the increasing number of university-educated farmers.

MEMBERSHIP IN DAIRY MAID LEADS TO INVOLVEMENT WITH NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Scope and Content Note: Sprecher asked to be on Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman's dairy advisory committee while on Dairy Maid board of directors. Committee function more to be told the administration's thinking than to advise the administration.

BECOMES DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL MILK PRODUCERS FEDERATION (NMPF),
Scope and Content Note: Sprecher became NMPF director after Wisconsin Cooperative Creameries Association joined the NMPF. When Dairy Maid merged with LOL, Sprecher became member of Executive Committee of the NMPF.

BECOMES DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL COUNCIL OF FARMER COOPERATIVES
Scope and Content Note: FELCO member of National Council of Farmer Cooperatives when merged with LOL. Sprecher has been a director since 1971.

BECOMES DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE COUNCIL OF AMERICA
Scope and Content Note: Council formed to promote better relations between consumers and farmers. Sprecher served on board of directors; very approving of its objectives.

COMMENTS ON MILO SWANTON, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF WISCONSIN COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES (WCAC)
Scope and Content Note: Swanton ran “best cooperative organization that the State of Wisconsin's ever had.” Everyone respected him, knew where he stood. Swanton very adept at delegating responsibilities.

MERGER OF WISCONSIN ASSOCIATION OF COOPERATIVES (WAC) AND WCAC
Scope and Content Note: Sprecher remains uneasy over merger between WAC and WCAC because consumers' cooperatives and agricultural production cooperatives have different objectives.

ATTEMPT BY ASSOCIATED MILK PRODUCERS INCORPORATED (AMPI) OFFICIAL TO BRING IN WDC
Scope and Content Note: Sprecher strongly felt that operating cooperatives in Wisconsin and Pure Milk Association (PMA) should have gotten together. But “real feeling” against merging operating cooperative with a bargaining cooperative. PMA then began to look South. Sprecher very bitter about AMPI's David Parr's unsuccessful attempt to bribe him.

CONTROVERSY OVER PARITY FOR MILK LEADS TO POLITICAL FUNDING OF PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
Scope and Content Note: LOL opposed NMPF efforts to increase parity level from 75 to 85 per cent. AMPI agreed with NMPF; President Nixon agreed with AMPI, overruling Secretary of Agriculture Clifford Hardin. Meanwhile, LOL farmer-members antagonistic toward their own directors and put much pressure on them to furnish corporate funds to Nixon administration as AMPI was rumored to have done.

POSSIBILITY OF WDC JOINING AMPI
Scope and Content Note: Sprecher feels increased Department of Justice judgments pertaining to cooperative monopoly makes WDC merger with AMPI unlikely and possibly illegal.

END TAPE 2, SIDE 2