Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1914-06-05
CORRESPONDENT URGES THE Sc
CURING OF A COUNTY AGRl
CULTURAL REPRE-
SENTATIVE
A SUCCESS IN OTHER COUNTIES
Would Be Great Assistance in De-
veioping Agricultural Resources
of This County

| At the last meeting Of the county
board the proposition of securing {
county agricultural representative o.
| the Wisconsin College of Agriculture
| for this county was voted down. AS
| this is an important matter, involv
| ing things of a large import for this
county and also sure to call fol
money expenditure, it seems wise
to consider it broadly so that the
people may arrive at some We'll
grounded conclusion before anything
Is DONE
Let us consider the agricultural
representative plan. The county car
ries only half of the expense, the
University of Wisconsin the other
half. A competent man is selected d
by the College of Agriculture, nom
mated by the President of the Uni
versity and elected by the Board of
Regents of the University. This would
seem to be the process by which
as able men can be secured as pos
sible. The county handles it's half
of the money, the University it's half.
This would seem to work for the
success of the plan and in cOuntie S
having agricultural representatives
(and nine counties now have them }
the plan is proving correct. The ag-
ricultural representative needs no
large equipment Of apparatus and no
new buildings. He comes to the coun-
ty with his trunk and suitcase and
with no further expense a good
work can be done, but at only an
expense of a couple hundred dollars
he can be equipped to do all that
an agricultural representative is do
ing in any county. Can agricultural
development be carried on any less
eXtravagantly in any. other way? The
experience of Ireland, England, Bel
GUM, Germany and other European
countries, of Canada and many coun-
tics in this and other states backs
up this statement that the agricul-
tural representative accomplishes
more at the least expense of time
and money than any other means
of agricultural development.
What does he do? He establishes
an office at the county seat which
hnannoac hn uynr1y n
this office he carries on his cores
ponGence, has bulletins, papers, cat
alogs and other things which makes
the office a bureau of information.
Here he meets people who desire
to consult him on his office days.
In scme counties the walls of this
office is a regular exhibit place for
the products of the county and what
an advertisement it is to county
to have on display continual fair
Of it's best products. Then in coun-
ties maintaining county training
school he teaches portion of the
year and so get those preparing to
teach ready to do good work in ag-
riculture in the rural schools. This
work is coming out all right in coun-
ties where it is tried. In the winter
he carries on a short course for far
mer boys and this is accomplishing a
great deal for better agriculture in
counties having those men. He or
ganizes a farmers course of about
three days in which the professors
from the College of Agriculture dc
the lecturing and to which the reg
ular farmers of the county go fol-
learning the most approved ways OF
doing things. He carries on trial
plots with various new crops to see
what is best to grow. The work is
usually done on the grounds of the
county fair association. He carries
on trial plots with various things
on farms about the county Finally
he is on hand to help the farmers
in all cases of need and in cases
where the thing is too much for hin
he calls in the professors from tht
College of Agriculture and SO brings
to bear upon the most difflcuI
problems the most expert help.
Just now agricultural representa-
tives in counties having them ART
doing a great work in organizing tn
farmers into community potato asso
Citations. Rusk county would benefl
much right now if it had a man
The counties which took first AM
second at the Wisconsin Potat
Growers Association meeting a
tural representatives and quite like
Rhinelander last fall had agrlcu