Page View
Bell, Florence C. (Florence Colfax), 1899- / Farmer co-ops in Wisconsin
([1941])
Power program adopted, pp. 45-46
PDF (555.7 KB)
Farm homes wired, p. 46
PDF (274.4 KB)
Frozen-food lockers a new co-op service, pp. 46-47
PDF (526.6 KB)
Page 46
cooperative power plant in the world. Allotments for these generating plants totaled $1,782,500 on June 30, 1940. On the same date allotments for con- struction of more than 10,000 miles of lines to make power available to 33,023 members, totaled $11,244,800. Wiring and plumbing loans to mem- bers comprised $320,500 of the $13,- 347,800 total allotted to Wisconsin up to June 30, 1940. Members may bor- row from their cooperative what they need to wire their homes or install plumbing. They make repayments monthly, quarterly, or semiannually. But many pay cash. Farm Homes Wired In 8 months, 600 farmers in one county wired their homes at an average cost of $200. Few used credit. Everv electrician and electrical contractor in the area was busy for months. Cooperative generating plants sup- ply only part of the power needs of Wisconsin's electrified farms, and a large part of the power is purchased wholesale-enough to increase Wis- consin's annual electrical output mate- rially. In 1939 the figure reached approximately 36,000,000 kilowatt- hours, and the cost to the coopera- tives amounted to about half a million dollars. A survey taken on Wisconsin R. E. A.-financed power systems between January and April 1940, shows how members are putting their new electric power to good use. Water pumps were in use on 20.7 percent of the farms reporting, 9.4 percent had put in a shower or tub, more than 15 percent had an electric cream separator, and 17.9 percent were using electric fences. The number of electric motors is good indicator of the extent to whic electric power is applied to farm taski The returns show that 3.1 percen owned motors larger than 1 borst power, and 29.7 percent owned motor of 1 horsepower or less. While motor under 1 horsepower are, of course, to small to power ensilage cutters, woo saws, and other heavy farm machinery they prove their value in the fan repair shop, on water pumps, milkiq machines, small feed grinders, and tb like. Much of the heavy burden is bei lifted from the shoulders of the farn wife through installation of electri equipment in the home. Of the farm reporting, 85.7 percent had electri irons, 86.8 percent had radios, 24. percent had purchased hot plates, 18. percent had refrigerators, 79.2 percen had washing machines, and 17 percen were using vacuum cleaners. Wide use of early-morning and all night lights to raise poultry productior and maintain it throughout the wintr is shown by the survey. More thu one-fourth of all farms reporting wen using electric lights in their laiing houses. Frozen-Food Lockers a New Co-op Service Since its inception during 1935 the frozen-food locker industry in Wiscon sin has expanded at a rapid rate. A survey conducted jointly by the Farm Credit Administration and the WVis. consin College of Agriculture during the early part of 1940 indicates lb-i there were 250 locker plants in opera- tion, one-fifth of which were o% ned and operated by cooperatives. - 46 -
This material may be protected by copyright law (e.g., Title 17, US Code).| For information on re-use, see http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/Copyright