nfo history question

S

swindave

Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

does any here remember the national farmers organizon?
a friend was telling me about the early days of the nfo,

hog and dairy calve shooting? dumping milk?
all because of low prices,

any one have any stories on that stuff? or other nfo things?

 

R

rrlund

Well-known Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

I was never a member, but they owned the local elevator for a while. They would dry and store my corn, but wouldn't buy it. I'd have to have it loaded back out in semis and hauled somewhere else.

Back in 1974, before the local milk plant closed, they had a plant over west of here. I was hauling at the time. NFO closed their plant in September of that year and stuck members for all the milk they had shipped up to the closing date that month. There were two loads that switched to Carnation and started bringing their loads over here. We took on another route and bought the guys truck. He wanted to retire and didn't want to haul over here.

They tried to get a toe hold in the milk market here in the 60s. Got a few people to join up. They all had trouble getting out of the contract and kinda got the shaft. I remember a picture on the front page of the local paper when they were dumping milk. They had a Ford County 6 hooked to one of those side slinger manure spreader slinging milk in a field, putting on a show. I can still remember that the story in the paper ended with ' A dog was seen in the field licking up the milk later ' .

 

7

72supr

Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

I was just a kid but I remember the NFO. There were very few members around here they were kind of over the top. To put it bluntly NFO here stood for Nuts, Fools and Oddballs.

 

G

greg oliver

Well-known Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

We joined NFO for a short time around 1990. I jumped out after they had the bright idea to borrow money to pay members a bonus for their milk. I had to rejoin for a short time as my contract was up in August. We started with Dellwood foods in 1969 switched to Cumberland farms in 1974 as Dellwood wanted to charge for hauling our milk and plant was only 6 miles away. Then switched to Tuscan then Dairylea as non cooperative members then NFO and finished in 90- 94 with Eastern. Dairy Lea and Eastern are DFA now I believe. DFA has a class action lawsuit by some of its members look up Garrett Sitts vs DFA. I helped form for a barnyard project at Garretts last year.

 

W

wilson ind

Well-known Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

I contracted to build a NFO grain elevator is southeast Indiana. This was in mid 1970 time period. After receiving a $50,000 check on a friday afternoon the LYING THIEVINGS SCUMBALLS stopped payment early the next week. They could give NO reason as to quality of or timeliness of construction. They just wanted to CHEAT ANF GET FREE MATERIALS AND LABOR!!!!

 

W

wilson ind

Well-known Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

Filters on this prevent me from saying what I really think of former Scottsburg Indiana nfo. Small nfo letters to show contempt.

 

C

caterpillar guy

Well-known Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

In the 60's we shipeed to Kraft in Pinconning Then to Pet for a while then the hauler started telling us about how he was going to go to hauling for NFO so we sent milk there for a few short years and had a problem with their antibiotic testing and saying it was fine then raisng cane about it after it was sent. That ended the NFO deal and went back and ended with Kraft.

 

Gary Mitchell

Well-known Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

I recall in the late 60's some dumped their milk in our area, (Cass County MO.). Pop got to leaving the lights on in and around our milk barn because some of them dumped the neighbors milk at night too. While he agreed in theory he had obligations at the bank. gm

 

P

Phil-mar Farms

Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

About that time mercury vapor yard lights came out and we used to call them NFO lights

 

M

Mark-Mi

Well-known Member

Location

S.E. Mi.

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

Those were some rough times. NFO members would try to blockade my Dad and neighbors from hauling cattle into the Detroit stock yard. Dad and neighbors would stick together because NFO members would cut your tires while you went to the back of your truck when unloading. And try to single you out and run you off the road.
My Dad's best friend from High School was a devout NFO member. A lot of years went by before Dad and him renewed their friendship.My Dad hauled eight cattle at a time in a 16 foot box on a 1961 BC 160 IH truck.
Well if were calling the NFO names.My Dad called it the National Fools Organization.

 

F

flying belgian

Well-known Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

When they approached Pa back in the 60s he said this will never work unless all farmers join. Therefor when you get everybody else signed up come back and I will be the last farmer to join.

 

R

Rich'sToys

Well-known Member

Location

Southern MN

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

When I was a kid and we would go to my uncle's house, we would drive by a farm that had NFO painted in big green letters on the side of the white barn.
One time after a lot of these other shenanigans went down, we went over there again and someone had vandalized the barn by throwing red paint on the wall over those green letters.

 

7

730virgil

Well-known Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

Carroll IL NFO president had hogs and cattle on farm where he didn't live. he hire out of area trucker to haul animals late at night so no one would see them being moved

 

H

Hockeygoon

Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

Never had them anywhere near our area. Probably just as well. My earliest memory as a child in the very early 70s was to wake up in the middle of the night to gun fire and my dad cussing and yelling at the top of his lungs. Apparently he was shooting at some gas thieves as they tried to run away with 5 gallon gas cans. I remember seeing the cans the next morning with bullet holes in them. I learned later they were some of my mom's nephews... and I am pretty sure dad knew who they were that night. I could only imagine what he would have done to people who weren't family.

 

A

Alvin 41

Member

• Jun 5, 2021

• #1

I'm still a member, marketed milk thru NFO until we sold cows in 2010 and used their grain marketing advice for a few years. They still operate from same headquarters in IA.

 

K

KenL

Member

• Jun 6, 2021

• #1

When nfo was blocking the driveway to Hillshire in New London Wi. one of the guys(fell) under the truck that was delivering a load of hogs and was killed. Never found out whether he fell or was pushed

 

T

Traditional Farmer

Well-known Member

Location

Virginia

• Jun 6, 2021

• #1

Weren't they the group that organized the tractor ride to DC? We went down to US 29 to watch a bunch of them ride by.I know where the threshing machine is located that was put up on the steps at the Capitol building local,scrap yard owner picked it up.I guess those farmers would be branded terror-ist these days.

 

B

Bill(Wis)

Well-known Member

• Jun 6, 2021

• #1

The only local member I remember went bankrupt. He had purchased a local farm in 1957 and had a big mortgage. I remember the New London incident. WIKIPEDIA has the history of the NFO.

 

timcasbolt

Well-known Member

• Jun 6, 2021

• #1

(quoted from post at 07:25:18 06/06/21) Weren't they the group that organized the tractor ride to DC? We went down to US 29 to watch a bunch of them ride by.I know where the threshing machine is located that was put up on the steps at the Capitol building local,scrap yard owner picked it up.I guess those farmers would be branded terror-ist these days.

Click to expand...

f they were trying to overthrow the government, yes that would be a terrorist act.