The American Society of Equity or Farmers Equity was an American agricultural cooperative and political organization, founded in 1902, which aimed to organize farmers as a "Third Power" in the United States, able to compete with capital and organized labor on equal terms. Equity inspired the creation of many farmers' cooperatives still in existence. Equity forces became involved in the politics of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota, leading in the latter state to the eventual rise of the Nonpartisan League. [1] Leaders of Equity (such as U.S. Senator Magnus Johnson and Wisconsin State Senator Henry Kleist) were elected to numerous local political offices. [2] [3] [4] [5]
This society was organized by James A. Everitt at Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1902, to see to it that justice was done to the farmer and the consumer. Its principal aim was to "assist the farmer financially, socially, politically, and industrially." To this end, it demanded equitable prices for all farm products, equal rights for the farmers with their urban fellow-citizens, adequate influence in legislation, and such returns in the pursuit of agriculture as were reaped in industrial pursuits. Equitable prices were to be determined by the cost of production, plus a fair and reasonable profit. The cost of production included: interest on capital invested, taxes on real estate and personal property, labor, seed, insurance, wear and tear, transportation to markets and other items of expense incident to the management of a farm. These equitable prices were to be obtained by co-operative control of the markets by the producers, by regulating deliveries and sales, and by preventing so-called dumping or glutting. Farm products were to be offered for sale as the demand warrants, or by pooling for direct sales (this system was adopted by tobacco growers). Socially, farmers and their families were to be brought into closer contact, in order to promote the community spirit. Meetings were held, entertainments were given, and picnics arranged. Women's auxiliaries assisted in this work. Politically, the farmers were taught to be more active and to take a greater interest in local, State, and national affairs. The Society was non-partisan and non-sectarian. Political and religious discussions were not tolerated at its meetings. By conducting the meetings in accordance with parliamentary rules, the members were to be educated and trained sufficiently to fill public offices efficiently, when elected to them, and to represent their constituents effectively. Industrially, the farmers were taught the importance of agriculture, the need of accounting, and the benefits to be derived from more modern methods. By increasing the farmers' remuneration or income, better homes were to be provided, to keep the children on the farm and to give them a start on farms of their own. The headquarters of the Society were at Indianapolis. [6]
The Archbishops of the United States, at their meeting in 1914, decided that the Society of Equity was not a secret society forbidden to Catholics. [6]
In 1934, the Society merged into the Farmers' Union.
A cooperative is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise". Cooperatives are democratically controlled by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors. They differ from collectives in that they are generally built from the bottom-up, rather than the top-down. Cooperatives may include:
The Nonpartisan League (NPL) was a left-wing political party founded in 1915 in North Dakota by Arthur C. Townley, a former organizer for the Socialist Party of America. On behalf of small farmers and merchants, the Nonpartisan League advocated state control of mills, grain elevators, banks, and other farm-related industries in order to reduce the power of corporate and political interests from Minneapolis and Chicago.
The Agricultural Wheel was a cooperative alliance of farmers in the United States. It was established in 1882 in Arkansas. A major founding organizers of the Agricultural Wheel was W. W. Tedford, an Arkansas farmer and school teacher. Like similar farmer organizations such as the Southern Farmers' Alliance, the Louisiana Farmers' Union, and the Brothers of Freedom, the Agricultural Wheel had been formed to expose and correct the injustices and oppressions done to the small farmers by merchants, grain elevators and the railroads. The Wheel promoted a radical agenda including currency expansion through free silver; closing all national banks; regulation or nationalization of the railroads, the telephones and the telegraph; allow only Americans to purchase public lands; impose an income tax on high incomes; and elect senators by popular election instead of by state legislatures. The Wheel encouraged farmers to join local cooperatives, avoid the debt cycle, and avoid one crop overemphasis on cotton.
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The Great Lakes region of Northern America is a binational Canadian–American region centered around the Great Lakes that includes the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and the Canadian province of Ontario. Canada's Quebec province is at times included as part of the region because the St. Lawrence River watershed is part of the continuous hydrologic system. The region forms a distinctive historical, economic, and cultural identity. A portion of the region also encompasses the Great Lakes megalopolis.
The North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League Party is the North Dakota affiliate of the national Democratic Party. It was formed as the outcome of a merger of two parties; the state previously had a three-party political system. It is one of only two state Democratic Party affiliates to have a different name from the central party, the other being the neighboring Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. The party currently has very weak electoral power in the state, controlling none of North Dakota's statewide or federal elected offices.
The Farmers' Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement among American farmers that developed and flourished ca. 1875. The movement included several parallel but independent political organizations — the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union among the white farmers of the South, the National Farmers' Alliance among the white and black farmers of the Midwest and High Plains, where the Granger movement had been strong, and the Colored Farmers' National Alliance and Cooperative Union, consisting of the African American farmers of the South.
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Theodore William Schultz was an American agricultural economist and chairman of the University of Chicago Department of Economics. Schultz rose to national prominence after winning the 1979 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit while satisfying the needs of consumers for products related to natural resources such as biotechnology, farms, food, forestry, fisheries, fuel, and fiber.
National Farmers Union is a national federation of state Farmers Union organizations in the United States. The organization was founded in 1902 in Point, Texas, and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.. The organization was created to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers, and their rural communities by promoting legislation and education beneficial to farmers, and developing cooperative buying and selling methods and businesses. NFU advocates for the sustainable production of food, fiber, feed, and fuel. The current president is Rob Larew, and the vice president is Jeff Kippley. Former NFU Presidents have included Roger Johnson, Tom Buis, and David Frederickson.
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