Bismarck daily tribune., 1912-05-17
MISSOURI SLOPE GROUP
BANKERS ASSOCIATION
ORGANIZED At MANDAN
Will Assist Promotion of Better Farming
Throughout Slope Counties
Enthusiastic Meeting of Bankers and Busi=
ness Men Held Thursday


= thus it is vitality interested in the
, wealth and it's resources. We're II
) kind of a formative stage in Nortl
; Dakota and just now are only laying
, out the commonwealth. The state o.
) North Dakota has one of the bright
} est futures of any state in the union
, but that future depends largely upon
, what We do now, We are especially
} interested in making this "home
state" A prosperous community
means a prosperous business for the
bankers.
! We have had two unfavorable year,
in North Dakota. Other states had
the same experience years ago thai
we have had during the two years
/ just ended. In Minnesota bankers
and other business men become en-
thused over the project to induce far
mers to take up better farming me-
thods. Now conditions in that state
have changed, and instead of poor
crop years Minnesota is assured of
prosperous communities every year
Create Affection for North Dakota.
[ One of the important things for us
( to do is to create a sentiment for
North Dakota. The sentiment Of hav-
ing part in the building up of the
state and having sort of love or az
fection for 1t would solve the problem
i of keeping boys on the farm. 1t
would be good thing if we could i'm.
pei young men to get farm and keep
it. This Is one Of the things We may
be able to accomplish.
Work Being Done.
! The better farming association is
doing a great work among the farm
: ers and aiding in bringing about that
permanent prosperity which we hope
soon to attain. The association form
ulated the plan of testing and select
ing better seed. The more produce
you can secure from farm the great
er the interest that will attach to it.
Encouraging the stock industry is
another idea, as is the plan for farm
demonstrators to-be sent around each
county and visit with the farmers and
). aid them all they can. These are
just a few of the things the better
farming association is doing. There
are many more and it has still more
in mind. There is lots of good being
accomplished.
| cooper's Address.
! Thomas P. Cooper of argo. secre-
| tary and director of the Better Farm
, ing Association, outlined the work
that is now being done among the
farmers of that organization. At the
present time the association is en-
ploying II men in the state all the
way from Bowman county in the
southwest to Cavilier county in the
northeast. Eleven counties have or
ganized, that is raised funds to as.
slst in carrying On the work, ari in
TOUR other counties the better iarm-
Ing experts are working without any
money. The idea of the experts is to
help the farmers do their work more
profitably. Their labors are centered
about study Of economics in agri-
culture-how to return fertility to
the soil, class of crops to raise ard
the class Of live stock to raise. The
associations purpose is to employ
men who have actually learned these
things and can teach them to others.
There are five lines of association
work:
l.-Demonstration plats Plats are
laid out comprising from 20 to 80 &C.
res. Crops are rotated, and expert.
ments are made of soil conditions in
all parts Of the state. Oftentimes one
part of county will be found to be
much different from another part.
The results from these uemonstra-
tion plats assist in determining what
are the better crops for each section.
demonstration fields. Small
areas running from l to acres are
soWn to crops in which the experts
are especially interested. This year
there is especial interest in alfalfa
raising. In addition clover, winter
wheat, winter rye, sand vetch, sweet
clover and corn are being planted in
these demonstration fields.
3.-Demonstration g. of live stock. It
is recognized that live stock is the
Key note Of better farming in this
state. The association will show the
farmer how to feed and care for his
stock. 1t can demonstrate that it
can protitably carry on live stock rails
ing in North Dakota. Success hinges
on proper care, proper management,
and proper selection Of stock.
4-Economy associations. The far
mers are interested in keeping &C.
count of the profit and loss of their
farms. The association is supervis-
Ing 300 of these accounts this year.
When you can open the farmers eyes
to keeping accurate tab of the profit
and loss you have aroused him to
the Importance of the business side
OF agriculture. Farming is a busi-
ness.
5.-General advisory work. Each
expert has certain territory and
makes his rounds at stated intervals,
He is prepared to hel pthe farmers,
and finds cases constantly. The bas.
is Of all the association work is that
the experts shall be able to actually
go out in the field and show the far.