The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1915-12-30

ty agent work has been subject to sc
we're criticism and encouragement
that Is always in store for new
idea. Farmers are as a rule and very
wisely, conservative, and the practi
cability and usefulness of a new
idea must be thoroughly demonstrated
before they will accept it. In Sail
Lake county 1t fell to the lot of FL
j. Webb to prove to the farmers there
that the county agent was necessary
to their agricultural progress and
success. He was on trial for one sea.
son. At the end of that season q
mass meeting of the Salt Lake county
farmers was held to get the opinion OF
the people as to whether the work
was success or not. Mr.. Webb came
to the meeting, ignorant of the real
purpose thereof, and not knowing that
he was to be on trial. He remained
In the rear of the hall and listened
shall we say breathlessly ITO the pro-
ceedings of the meeting. Farmer aft
er farmer arose and expressed his ap-
prevail of Mr.. Webb's work.
"'He saved my hogs by showing
me how to check the cholera He
showed me how to select my potatoes
In order to get the best yield He
told me to plant sweet clover in my
swamp land. couldn't raise a dis
turbance on the land before, and now
| get crop of hay, and about hun
dred dollars worth Of seed besides.
These are samples of the express
sions. Needless to say the meeting
resulted in wholesale and enthus-
iastic approval of county agent work
in Salt Lake county.
THE life of the county agent is
by no means a simple one The re-
quirements made of him are legion.
lie must have wonderful fund or
working information. His knowledge
must cover every branch of farm
work. He must know the various
crops and weeds, their relation to
soils and moisture, and the plant
diseases associated with them. He
must know the breeds of farm ami
mails, their feeding and care, and the
treatment of their common ailments
The county agent Is essentially q pro-
ductive unit True, he uses up taxa
tion, but this amount is inconsidera-
lie compared with what he saves the
farmers each year, either in prevent
Ing losses or in encouraging better
farming, thereby producing larger
crops. For example, he would paw
Tor himself by checking a single out
break of hog cholera
He is a carrier of facts and ex-
periences from one farmer to another.
when he finds a farmer who Is ma
King good, he determines why, and
then proceeds to tell the neighboring
farmers or this mans success. He is
supreme In his own county, and in
itiates all kinds of plans and ingen-
1ous schemes to reach the hearts of
the people.
I'm some counties surveys have been
made of number of representative
farms in certain localities, which show
the size of each farm, the amount of
capital represented, the diversity of
the business and the profits accruing
therefrom. The survey shows every
detail OF the farming business. bring
ing out the weak as well as the
strong features of each farm. Sur
yeys have been completed in HYDE
Park and in Sandy, and also in Mil
lard and Sewer counties. The prime
value of these records is that each
FARMER can see why he is failing and
why his neighbor is succeeding. Dur
Ing the past year $50 farmers in Utah
nave received records of their indi-
vidual farms. The finest combination
OF farming yet found in Utah is in
Hyde Park, where they have dairy
Ing, dry farming and sugar beet rails
Ing.
County agent work opens up a
new and broad field for the right
kind of man. AS fast as the funds
Will permit, this part of the extern |
sion staff of the Utah Agricultural
college will be increased. There is
room for several experts in each coun-
ty, and as the counties themselves
come to realize this fact, they win
lend increased support to the move
ment, which means so much to their
progress"