Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1915-05-21


the amount of money turned in plus
sixty per cent of that amount.
County Agent Funds
10 illustrate how county agents
funds can be secured by county or
Ranization,
Paid up membership, 200 mem-
oers AZ 500 ...............S 400 90
county Commissioners Levy. 1900 90
Total 1000 90
County deposite with state 1000 90
Received sixty per cent Of $1,000 96O 90
United States bureau of plant
''''i"''iy ....'. '............... boU w
The Benefits That the Farmers Can Derive
From County Agent Work
County agent work has been a grand
success wherever it has been tried out.
County Boards should pay county
agents good salaries for no good man
who Is thoroughly trained along agri-
cultural lines will work for a small
salary. The success of county agent
work depends largely upon the county
agent himself; SO county boards should
be sure that the county agent they Sc.
leot is familiar with the different lines
of work that they wish him to carry
out in the county.
County agent work, like good many
worthy and commendable undertak-
ings, has it's so-called enemies. Men
who wantonly oriticise and knock
county agent work are as rule ignor-
ant of the true nature of 1t; no one
should condemn a thing until they
fully understand the nature of it.
Some feature Of county agent work
may be of little value to one farmer,
yet on the other hand it may be of
great value to dozens of other farmers
in the county. For example: A COW
testing association may not be of value
to farmer who has no cow, but will be
of value to large number of his
neighbors who have cows. This very
same farmer may raise alfalfa seed and
to him an alfalfa seed grower associs-
tion would be of greater value, for he
could market his alfalfa seed through
the association thus getting better
price for 1t than he could have secured
through his individual efforts.
In the county agent, the farmers
have representative through whom
they can TRANSACT their business; he
can be their marketing and selling
agent and chief advisor along agricul.
tural lines. In other words he Is the
business agent of the farmer and may
be likened in business way to the
secretary of q town Commercial Club.
He can organize farmers associations,
suoh as clubs, farmers live stock breed.
ing associations; COW testing associat-
ions; corn breeders association, alfalfa
shippers associations; hog growers and
shippers associations, and other live
stock shippers associations; potato and
fruit growers associations. For ex.
ample, let us take an organization like
q county hog growers and shippers as
sooiation and see how it can become q
great value to the hog growers of q
county. Its greatest value will be to
the small hog growers The county
agent. will know how many hogs each
farmer has for sale; one farmer may
only have three or four and others may
have fve, ten, fifteen, twenty aud fifty
for sale. Now the county agent can re.
ho 20 xuhN
sale, to bring them into town on GER
tain day, and perhaps he can get
enough to ship two or three car loads
at once. In this way the farmers can
always find markets for their hogs and
get good prices for them.
This plan of cooperative shipping
under the direction Of county agent
has been worked out in q number of
our western and eastern states and has
proven big success. SO why can II
not prove greater success In the
counties west Of the river.
Similar systems could be arranged
for marketing potatoes alfalfa seed, In
fact any farm produce could be mar
keted in this way. The county agent
also can assist with district and county
fairs, and get up county exhibits to
show at the state fair. He could Or
ganize boys and girls industrial con-
tests, such as corn and hog growing
> and chicken contests The county
agent can run bureau of exchange
through which farmers can buy anG
l, sell to one another, and labor bureau
where farmers can apply for hiret
help. In other words the county sgen
can rnn farmers boa of exchange
,, SO it will be we'll for the farmers snG
: business men to look into county sgen
work and thoroughly study the mature
;, of it before condemniDg this move
ment.