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The Huron Expositor, 1954-12-10, Page 14ti ii II phi tit m Page 11) instructions to rter and to loom bility of a busi- An option on the occupied was ob- later, after a drive was completed, it er was obtained and of the same year it pted by the members, there , were 78 char - VI s, and an official directors was elected. is 0 0 The board included E. B. Gou- die, K. E. Jackson, Frank Rey- nolds, T. W. McMillan, Harry Palin, James McIntosh and R. S. McKercher. Mr. McKercher was elected chairman, a n d Frank Reynolds was the first secretary. Homer Hunt was employed to manage the business and in No- vember the mill, purchased from J. A. MacKenzie, was op- ened for business. John Quin- lan was the only other em- ployee at that time. Congratulations to the Seaforth Farmers Co-operative on the opening NEW MILL FACILITIES of It was a pleasure to have supplied much of the Hardware and Sheet Metal wok required in the new plant. Geo. A. Sills & SONS Plumbing - Hardware - Heating Sheet Metal Work Phone 56 Seaforth Or It is intereathig , to dates tlie changes in farming trietb icia signified by theuse to which' the building was. put. Purchas- ed as a base to bring .iii feed. grain to produce hogs, rattle,. dairy and poultry- products, to feed not only Canada's growing pdpulation, but also her great armed forces and those of her Allies at this crucial stage of the war, the original purpose of this particular mill was to buy grain L om the surrounding countryside and ship it out of the district. It was perhaps an accident that the timing of the opening of the business was most _op- portnue. In the season follow- ing 1943, there was in this dis- trict as near a total failure of feed grains as has been experi- enced in recent times. The storage facilities of the newly - acquired buildings were at the service of the live stock feeders of the community, and the old .grain house was actually full to. the rafters at the close of navigation in 1943. This pro- vided a real service and con- tributed much to the mainten- ance of vital flocks and herds during that lean winter. A complete line of ready - mixed feeds and mixing facili- ties were maintained from the beginning, and it was appar- ent from the patronage that the service was appreciated by the membership which con- tinued to grow. Various lines of farm supplies, such as fenc- ing, fertilizers, coal, etc., were added items handled as time went on. Expansion Necessary It was not long before the machinery in the mill was not adequate to handle the volume. The equipment which Mr. C. Walden took over from Mr. L. Aberhart, was acquired and moved to the Co-op property to supplement the second feed mixer which had been purchas- e There has been no essen- tial c ge from that time un- til the present renovations. It is a tribute to those re- sponsible for the operation of the business that a favorable balance sheet and a declaration of patronage earnings has been forthcoming every year. This has resulted in the Co-opera- tive being in an enviable posi- tion among sisters organiza- tions in Ontario. Feeds prepared by United Co-operatives have been hand- led from the beginning. When the Co-op feed mixing program was inaugurated, Seaforth Far- mers Co-operative took the first load of Premix from the new plant in Guelph. Seaforth led the Co-op parade in volume of feed for some yews, and still shows up among the lead- ers, topping the list in occa- sional months. Enter Produce Business In 1947, after direction from the annual meeting of members eat .the hoard .decided to go intgj the produce business. Soon the present egg grading station and poultry buying centre was established on ,Main Street, This venture was opened under the management of Claire Reith. .It has always been a success. and . has operated with a capacity volume almost all the year round. Following Mr. Reith's resignation in 1952, Mr. Walter Stuart was employed, and continues to play a vital role in the Co-op business. Homer Hunt resigned as manager of the mill department in 1953, after a most successful eleven years in the service of Seaforth district farmers. He was ably assisted by Mrs. Hunt as accountant, a position which she continues to. hold. At this time Mr. Reith was re-engaged by the Co-op as manager of the mill department. He is man- ager at the present time. Business Increased For some time it. has been realized the old facilities at the mill would not be adequate for the expanding business. At the anual meeting in 1954 the board of directors was instruct- ed to proceed with the erection of a new mill. Under discus- sion also was the advisability of moving the egg grading sta- tion to the south end of town, as was the building of addition- al warehouse and office space. It was decided by the board to go ahead with the mill and of- fice facilities at once. A canvass was made for funds among the members. Tile can- vass was successful and several new members were enrolled. As a result of this canvass and the satisfactory condition of the finances, it is hoped to be able to finance the present renova- tions without outside ,capital However, if egg grading station and warehousing space is to be enlarged in the near future, it is likely additional capital will be required. The contlPact for the building of the new mill was given to the Campbell Construcion Co., of Ridgetown. This decision was taken after consultation with United Co-operatives and a visit to several mill projects completed by Messrs. Campbell and Son. The Campbells are capable of building a mill in its entirety without sub -con- tractors, and have had long. ex- perience in Southwestern On- tario. The materials used in con- struction have been purchased as far as possible from lcoal suppliers. Last Word in Efficiency It is hoped that when com- pleted, as it will be shortly the new mill will be the last word in efficiency for local feed ser- vice. Appointments have been planned for a minimum of hand labor. Specifications as to vol- ume will appear elsewhere in this paper. Space has been left ICS Tbemnew. m • WbichcSeaferth Farmers Co-operative is open- ing this k,' iia been o structed weewith emphasis .becingn- placed on efficiency and service at minimum cost, according to Manager Claire Reith. The mill itself is completely new. Equipment installed in- cludes a Sprout Walden 24 -inch ,grinder, driven by two 50 -horse power motors, which can han- dle up to five tons of grain an hour. The .. former , roller has been completely reconditioned with new motors and belts, so that its output has been greatly The mill is equipped with a new bagging -up scales, which weighs bags ak they are filled from the mixer. This added on the second floor for more work bins to accommodate new features, such as bulk delivery when the demand for such be- comes sufficient to warrant in- stallation of necessary machin- ery and delivery facilities. The first floor of the old grain house will be used for the storage of complete bagged feed, concentrates, mill feeds, etc. It should be noted that the bins in the grain storage have been reinforced and steel lined. Grain will be conveyed in and out of storage by two auger conveyors, eliminating any ma- chinery in any part of the structureexcept the new mill. Wire fencing, fertilizer and other farm suppplies will be housed in the building used as a chopping mill up to the pre- sent. At completion, all build- ings will be steel clad. It is planned to build a new office building on the lot in front of the new mill. It will be constructed in such- a way as to enable enlargement to in- clude egg grading space if and - when that becomes a reality. It is felt that the space immedi- ately to the west of the new mill, on the railway siding, should be reserved for the pre- sent to accommodate possible future warehouse needs. The management and board of directors have gone to a great deal of effort and given much time and thought to a project that will be worthy of the support of the 350 mem- bers. They believe they • have been successful in the first ma- jor expansion prgoram and in- vite all members, friends and customers to be present on Friday, December 10, to in- spect the new mill. A meeting is planned at the Community Centre, where all details with regard to construction and fin- ancing will be explained. Re- presentatives of United Co-op- eratives will be present, and lunch will be served at the close of the meeting. evrFeatures feature. according tolfc—Reltiko l wW save considerable tune and speed up service. Mixing will be dope by a new Eureka horizonal mnixer designed' to mix a feu of feed every five to seven minutes. The whole operation has been designed to reduce labor. Flat - form pits will be used for cus- tom grinding, thus reducing bag handling to a minimum, Hopper scales will avoid extra handling and weighing of grain. The former mill has been converted to warehouse space, providing some 2,600 square feet 1MRr. Reith said. All stor- age bins have been lined and will provide storage for 12 cars of grain. All grain is con- veyed by machinery and is on- ly handled on taking off. The new arrangements will permit handling grain- and pre- pared 'feeds in bulk, thus mak- ing a more efficient operation, as well as saying customer's time. A$ a further convenience and an added service, regular truck routesare being planned and ,will be announced shortly, Mr. Reith stated. - Con '1 shWo :.to SEAFORTH FARMERS CO-OPERATIVE IT WAS A PLEASURE TO PROVIDE STEEL AND STEEL FABRICATION Seaforth Machine Shop E. Durst Sulfurfb CONGRATULATIONS To the Directors and Members of the SEAFORTH FARMERS CO-OPERATIVE on the Completion of their NEW FEED MILL It was our privilege to have supplied the neccesary Lumber for • the building.. Ball -Macaulay Ltd. Lumber and Building Supplies Phone 787 Seaforth r IL MIT Mg ONE THEY OWN i AndOPEN HOUSE SEAFORTH FARMERS CO.OP NEW MODERN FEED DILL FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10TH FROM 2 UNTIL 5 p.m. LADIES ESPECIALLY INVITED �+r4:�dtlbGn I• 2) REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED • r a d$