Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1910-01-27
ne MONSTRAT|ON
FARMS STARTED
IN MINNESOTA
Expert Agriculture viii Be
Taught Under Direction of
Federation Of Commercial
Clubs,
Especial Correspondence to Morning J~ournail

tspeciaI Correspondence to Morning Journai1
ST. Paul, Mimi, Jan. 2S.-Arrange-
mcnts have been closed by which for
the first time the expert instruction of
The Minnesota state agricultural coll
Iege will be carried this season direct
10 the farmers on the farms. through
the establishment under the super
vision of the Minnesota Federation Of
Commercial clubs of twelve Demon
stration farms serving twelve general
districts. Plans are being completed
for the establishment of six additional
farms, making a total of twenty on
which during the entire coming season
the farmers will be instructed in the
latest and most modern methods of
cropping the tracts set aside.
Each of the demonstration farms
will be eighty acres in extent, inc the
entire farming operations of the year
will be handled by experts who Will in
addition to demonstrating proper
methods of blowing, c~ultivating, caring
for the crop and harvesting, introduce
a complete system of farm accounts
by means of which the balance sheet
for each farm will show in the fall
TO a cent what profits have been made.
The crops to be put in on the various
farms will be such as will best serve
the needs of the localities where the
farms are located. Where corn Gull
ture is neglected or insufficiently UNI
derstood. corn will be planted. Where
grain farming is not up to standard
the tracts will be planted to grain.
The general rule of giving the farm
ers instruction along the lines. where
they are weakest will be followed, n
the demonstration farms will be used
In a general campaign to raise the
standards of farm methods and pro-
duction both.
Each farm will be under the. super
vision of a Minnesota commercial
club, which contracts in advance to
provide necessary land for the work,
to provide farm labor n equipment,
and to gather together each time the
expert visits the tract, all the m
of that region that they may observe
the name in. which the work is
done, question the experts and gain
from what they see of the actual work.
@ clear idea of proper methods to De
employed and the reasons why. Fol-
lowing zach visit of the experts, farm
ers meetings will be held by the club
az which the farmers will q6iz the ex-
perts and engage in the general dis
cussion Of current farm problems,
The movement for the spread of
agricultural education to the farms
was taken up by the Federation of
Commercial clubs after an investiGa-
49,. S,vltoH ehavra1 chat hiif n small
percentage Of adult farmers in Mime
sofa are able Il even attend the VIM
ter short course of the agricultural
college. Through the active eo-opera-
ton of Prof. Andrew Boss of the ag-
r%icultural college, who will superin-
tend the work of the coming season,
the way was opened to establish
tracts of land which will serve during
the crop season as schools for farmers
who cannot leave their farms. Pro-
fessor Boss will carry on the active
work with the cooperation of local
clubs and business men and the re-
suits Of the work will be gathered and
bulletined from time to time for the
benefit of thousands of men who can
not be reached by the work on the
demonstration tracts.
Eighty-acre demonstrations farms
are selected as a unit because of the
fact that charging to operation the
labor, equipment and cost, 1t is i'm
practicable to use a smaller tract and
show representative farm profits from
the work done. Farms have been
established by the action of the fed
Grafton at Breckenridge, Renville,
Pipestone, Osakis, Delano, Bemid1i
Wadena. East Grand Forks, Detroit
Rothsay, Willmar and Stewartvillt
and arrangements are being mad =
locate additional farms at Fergus
Falls, st. Cloud, Alexandria, Water
town. Red Wing, Hibbing and Brook
Park. These points cover every con-
dition met with in Minnesota and as
well, the various varieties of Mime
sofa soil. Hibbing Is to have a farm
where ten years ago II was thong
practically impossible to successfully
conduct agricultural operations.