The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1913-02-18
A. D. Stewart On
Agricultural Expert
What Scientific Agriculture Has Done
For The Farmer When Converted
Into Common Practice

Through the courtesy of the Ga
zette, wish to give something of the
history, scope, purposes and achieve
ments of scientific agriculture and es-
pecially the Farmers Cooperative
Demonstrative work under the county
unit plan such as we are endeavoring
to set in motion in this county.
This work was inaugurated in Texas
in 1904, and had for its primary pur-
pose the destruction of the cotton bole
weevil which was rapidly forcing the
planter into condition of financial
panic and disaster. The bureau of
Entomology had already investigated
the life history of the bole weevil and
armed with this information the Coun-
ty government agents with the coop
GRAFTON of the farmers produced ex-
cellent crops of cotton in spite of the
bole weevil. In addition the farmers
of the South under the advice and dir
ection of the agents have learned the
lessons of Investigation and are pro-
ducing in increased abundance corn,
peanuts, peas, clover and are engaged
in general livestock industry with the
results of larger profits, increased
prosperity and home contentment.
From few agents in 1904 whose
operations were confined to the state
of Texas the work has been extended
to include Is states with 600 agents
employed in 1911. To show the "a
chievements of scientific agriculture
when converted into a common prac-
tice, l wish to call the attention of the
reading public to the comparative ia
BILE of the yields of corn and cotton ex-
hibited, on page 300 of the 1911 Year
Book of Agriculture covering 13 states
where the demonstrators exceed the
average acre yield of the state all the
way from 20 per cent to $50 per cent.
The chief benefits of the county
agent plan can not be tabulated, nor
can they be presented by statistics of
increased profits. 1t will stimulate
research and investigation, dignity
our vocation, broaden our vision and
pave the way for other cooperative
undertakings which are basal to our
highest material and social well-being.
The important features Of this work
is to bring to the farmer all that is Of
practical availability of the Federal
and Agricultural colleges of the states
make him participant in the demon
stration of this information with the
certainty of success of methods ap-
piled under normal conditions. The
agent must be competent. He must
have the equipment of the schools,
coupled with the farm experience and
must be large and tactful enough to
secure and hold the confidence of farm
ers among whom he works. In the
seven counties of our own state are
just such men employed with highly
| beneficial results. They have organ
lied corn growers associations, testing
groups, cooperative creameries, farm
clubs, pure seed associations and are
| doing good service in relating the rur-
al school more closely to the farm and
thus qualifying the children for the
4 practical duties of life.
Through the efforts of the Stevens
cred high grade Holsteins have been
| shipped in, twenty-five Of which were
sires to be used in rotation among the
herds of cattle and it will only require
a little arithmetic to compute what
/ this will mean to the cattle industry of
the county. To get some idea of the
character of the men employed and
what they are doing for the uplift of
/ agriculture in our own congressional
/ district read the article Good Farm
ing Taught by Resident Agent" in the
Feb. 10, issue of the Tribune, What
Scientific Agriculture is doing for New
j England read what George French in
i the Independent of January, has to
4 say on Business of Farming" one IL
i lustration from among many | quote:
/ There is a man in Connecticut who
has won the title of Peach King of
America, who has developed, from a
1 raw boy of IA struggling to support
his mother and brothers and sisters
while he paid off mortgage on the
few rocky acres his father left to a
millionaire, working the same land
that kept his father poor" To see
what we are going up against" with
our rapidly advancing price of land