Heppner gazette-times., November 06, 1980, SPECIAL SECTION, Page Page 5, Image 13

Special MCGG Section-Page S
P.KGG coop benedtkl to farmers, says long time member
them collective bargaining Grain Grower8 got jnt0 the caused a shortage of burlap
when they sold," he says. storage business mainly in the sacks, which were then used
He also recalls that the 19m when Worid War n for grain shipment.
O.K. Cvtsfortii
Formation of the Morrow
County Grain Growers coop
erative "was immensely ben
eficial to the farmers in
Morrow County," says long
time wheat farmer, and one of
the few people still around
who participated in the co-op
since its infancy - O. W.
Cutsforth.
Prior to the co-op, Cutsforth
recalls that wheat farmers
were often shortchanged, and
sometimes outright robbed,
by private grain dealers. "We
were pretty much the victims
of individual buyers," he says.
He recalls one year when a
buyer collected almost every
one's crop, sold it and skipped
town with the money. "Just
about everyone around lost
their crop that year," he says.
"I don't know what happened
to that guy, if he ever got
caught and went to jail or
what."
Cutsforth remembers other
instances when the weight
farmers were paid for in
Heppner ended up much lower
than the weight when dealers
sold the wheat in Portland
"The co-op was immensely
beneficial to the farmer in
Morrow County. It saved them
money on storage and gave
AND YOUR
ACHIEVEMENTS OVER
THE YEARS
Ray Boyce Insurance
I 676-9625 Heppner
cTo flte uMomow County Qtain Qftowete
50 Qjeats
C7VZJ
Where the customer
is the company