The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-10-03


acres of corn in Iowa than there
are in Minnesota, twice as many
cattle, and six, times as many hogs,
the income per farm ought to be
more than $500 or sixty per cent
more in Iowa than it is in Minnesota.
There are about $4,000 farmers in the
second district, and the farms aver
age 218 acres each, with an average
of about 1914 acres of crop producing
land. These farms average eight
mich cows each, twelve head of other
cattle and nineteen hogs. What is
needed is eight loads of fertilizer
every five years on every acre of
ground, and it will take fifty head
of cattle on each farm to produce
the fertilizer
KY Advocated Farmers Clubs.
To sum up what this section Of
Minnesota needs, think that there
should be at least one good, live
farmers club in every township, next
a county agricultural agent in each
county; we need 10000 more farm
ers, twice the, present acreage OF
corn with the minimum crop of fifty
bushels per acre; each farmer should
raise one acre of alfalfa, and there
should be 100000 more cattle and
40 900 more hogs" a'-"~
When Mr.. Wilson finished, the
question was asked, whether sweet
clover was as good as alfalfa. Mr.
Wilson replied that it was not, but
that each farmer should start and
raise an acre next year to SCI, what
it will do He said that sweet clover
is good enough where alfalfa cannot
be raised, but not where it can be
raised. Some discussion was also
given farmers clubs, and in answer
to the question as to who organized
them, Mr. Wilson said that the clubs
We're usually organized in the district
school house by the county expert
or some progressive farmer. Mr..
Gold called attention to the fact that
the cost of COWS is going UP by leaps
and bounds He said that cows We're
bought for s105 per head in Bigstone
county and that North Dakota was
looking for 10000 COWS for the com.
ing year. -.
Better Farming Methods.
Frank E. Balmer, district super
visor of county agricultural agents
for the counties comprising the west
central part OF this state, then dis.
cussed better farming methods as
taught by county experts. He intro
duced his address by telling about
the Irishman, Sir Horace Plunket
now a member of the English parlia
ment, who came to this country for
his health, studied American agricul
tural methods, and took them home
to his countrymen. His aims in i'm
proving the agricultural interests in
Ireland were better farming, better
business and better living. Mr.
Balmer said that better farming was
simply the application of modern
scientific methods 10 agriculture, thai
better business was the application oil
advanced and modern business prin
ciples, and that better living was the
result of association with better bust
ness and farming principles. ''The
county expert promotes better farm
ing in two ways" said he "He may
wait until he is called upon to give
advice to the farmers in his county
or he may travel about and find out
what is needed. Most of them com.
bine both methods. In the west cen,
trail section, the farms average 253
acres each, and eleven acres of corn
During the past two weeks, on &C.
count of the approach of seed corn
week the county experts in these
counties talked to 919 farmers, ad
dressed nineteen farmers clubs and
conducted twenty-seycn seed corn Sc.
lection contests.
Contest Great Success.
These contests were great sue.
cesses, and next year, the experts
say that the farmers report, the acre,
age. of corn in these counties will be
two or three times as much as this
year. Most of the farmers say that
they will raise at least one acre. OF
alfalfa next year. Eight thousand
head of cattle have been shipped to
these counties in the last eight
months. The experts help in, the
selection Of the cattle. Each man
goes about the county and finds out
how many cattle, and what breeds,
are required, and then he and one
or two farmers go where such cattle
are to be found and purchase them.
The banks supply the money, then
when the cattle are shipped in, they
are sold either by private or public
sale. Some of the counties have
COW testing contests, and in this the
experts enlist the buttermakers. OF
the various creameries to help them
in keeping records of the tests
Among other things, during the past
year, these experts have answered
LABS inquiries, have instigated the
building Of 40 silos and have organ
lied 50 farmers clubs"
Cost of County Expert.
Mr.. Wilson then stated that the
cost of each county expert is from
$1,000 to $4,000 per year. "A good
man cannot be secured for less than
$500 per year." said he, ''and his
eyneneas are usually 500 or SS00
per year. He is usually equipped