Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-03-17
A FARMERS CLUB PLAN
PROPOSED ORGANIZATION FOR
RURAL COMMUNITIES
WORKED WELL IN OTHER PLACES
Minnesota University Suggests Plans
of Cooperation for More
Modern Methods

!
sued bulletin on Farmers Clubs
While Rusk county is not essentially an
agricultural county, il is fast developing
| along that line, and the cooperation of
farmers of the various localities along
the lines mentioned below, would has
ten the period when farming will be the
most profitable and important industry
of the county A copy of the bulletin
containing sample constitutions and by
laws may be seen at the News-Budget
office
The plan is to have farmers organ
ization in each small community, as in
school district, or at most in town
ship, so that all members may easily
meet at one central point. The whole
family joins the club and attends its
meetings, There may or may not be
fee charged for membership. Ii the
meetings are held in the schoolhouse,
or town hall, or in homes of the mem
bers, there will be no hall rent, and
very little need for fee except for
special purposes, when small assess
ment can be voted.
The club shall be organized on gene
raj rather than specific lines, so that
the organization is ready to take act
i've measures to promote the interests
of the community it represents when
there is any demand for united action.
Thus the club will serve the community
in the same manner that a commercial
or business mems club serves the city
or village.
The small Farmers Club makes a
social center and encourages frequent
gatherings of it's members. 1t makes
them better acquainted, encourages
sociability, tends to interest them all in
the same things and to dispel unpleas-
ant relations which often prevail in
communities where there is little social
intercourse. 1t makes possible the
gradual improvement of social condi-
tions by fostering united efforts along
the line of community improvements as
better schools, roads, rural phones, etc.
There is always more information in
a community than any one person pos
sessess. A Farmers Club that brings
it's members together often, affords ex-
cellent opportunity for the exchange of
ideas. People from outside OF the COM
munity may be secured to address
club meeting when individual effort
would be unable to secure such help
A club may take up Systematically the
study of any of the phases OF farm life
of special interest in the community,
short papers, discussions and debates
by members of the. club encourages
thought and study which undoubtedly
adds greatly to the general knowledge
of the community.
Proper marketing of farm products
has quite as much to do with the profits
of the farm as the proper growing of
crops and live stock. During the past
year, prices for most farm products
have been very good, but the fact re-
mains, nevertheless, that many have
taken less for their products than they
rightly should, considering the prices
paid for them by the consumer. 1t is
true also that some large farmers are
getting more for their products than
the average.
A farmer in the Red River Valley
who raises several hundred acres of po-
tatoes each year has been able to de-
velop a market for them largely for
seed purposes, and he consequently gets
better price than the average. He
does not raise superior quality OF po-
tatoes, but he has a great many car
loads of the same variety. Any group
of farmers who will get together and
agree on some one, or at most two or
three varieties of potatoes, to grow,
and then leave it to some one man to
sell the whole product so that carloads
of one variety may be sold, can get as
good prices for their potatoes as does
this large farmer. If it costs 25 cents
bushel to grow potatoes, and they are
selling at 80 cents per bushel, there is
net profit of 5 cents per bushel. II
small lots of mixed potatoes are selling
at 80 cents, car lots of straight and
standard variety will easily bring 35
cents. This will double the net profit,
and the second 5 cent profit is much
more easily earned than the first. The
small club furnishes basis for such
cooperation in production and market
ing of any farm product.
Any community that will get together
on the matter of breeding live stock or
producing farm products, and will per-
sistently strive to produce an excellent
and uniform product in large quantities,
can become noted the world over for its
products. West Salem and Fort Atkin-
son, Wisconsin, are usually first thought
of in the West if one wishes to buy
Guernsey cattle. Lake Mills and Wat
ertown, Wisconsin, and Northfield,
Mimi, are likewise noted for their Hol-
stein cattle. This is due to the fact
that several years ago few progress
i've stock men decided to specialize in
these breeds of cattle.
An excellent example of what few
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