Grain Marketing Patterns of Local Cooperatives

Report Introduction: Methods of grain producing, harvesting, transporting, and storing—both at the farm and local elevators—have undergone many changes within the past 15 to 20 years. The shift to field shelling of corn, harvesting at higher moisture content, and the increasing volume of grain handled each year have forced local elevators to undergo many changes. Because transportation rates continue to change, shifts occur in the source and destination of grains and in the types of facilities needed to store and handle grains. To develop fundamental information on grain flow and other selected features of the industry, Farmer Cooperative Service made a survey of local cooperatives in the United States. Information on grain flow, storage capacity, type of grain handled, and mode of transportation can be used to help improve the present marketing system. The flow of grain to and from the local cooperative elevator to the next buyer is an important link in marketing grain. The need to identify and evaluate this particular phase is needed in helping analyze operations and problems in ongoing cooperatives