The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1916-12-15
Position of County Agent Explained.

Position or county Agent Explained
For the Advocate.
When a county first secures
county agent many persons natural
ly ask why an agent is employed and
what he is supposed to do. SO, In
this, my first talk to the people OF the
county through the papers of the
county, L will try to explain how the
position of county agent came to be
formed and the nature OF the work
an agent il to do.
The first settlers in this country
were farmers, and, until about 1881
there were few large cities and little
manufacturing. The great majority
of the people lived on the farm and
farming was the hOnOred occupation.
But about that time great CONNER
cial age developed; mining, manutac-
turing and railroading were the great
things and farming, the chief bust
ness of this distinctly agricultural
country, was left for those with too
little education or initiative to make
a living at anything else. The farm
boys thought farming drudgery and
1ocked to the towns and cities to be-
come bookkeepers, railroaders, law
yers and doctors. Town and city
people considered the country a good
place to get something to eat and TO
get away from as soon as possible.
Farmers rather pitied themselves and
anyone who tried to apply brains and
business methods to farming and
make anything of it but plain hard
work was considered a dreamer or
book farmer and had little or no at
tention paid to him.
The past twenty years however, has
seen the tide swing back to the land,
and now farming is like popular
song. Everyone is thinking about it.
No amount of education is considered
too much to be used on it. 1T is a
worthy occupation for the Wisest and
the strongest The sons of farmers
who intend to farm like the sons
of doctors who intend to practice medl-
cine, are sent off to school to study
farming. Town and city people have said
and written so much in the past few
years about their longing for the cOun-
try that, back to the land has become
a slogan. Farmers now, instead OF
plying themselves, buy an expensive
automobile, rare back, and take the
whole road. and those men or women
who farm with brains get their name
in the paper most every week for
they have produced wheat that aver
ages thirty bushels, while the aver
age for the United States is -, alfalfa
for their own and their EeightOrs
COW, a hen that laid 800 eggs III
year while the average hen lays less
than 100, and a COW that gave 80
quarts OF milk in one day, $1,000
pounds or 1897 gallons in a year
while the average COW gives less than
5000 pounds.
At the present time everybody
wants to either farm or do something
to get his name in the pot. The most
obscure weekly paper prints QUOTA
tiOns from bulletins and authorities
on agricultural topics and our Fresi-
dent recently said, We must have
greater agricultural production" So,
following the trend Of the times Con-
gress recently turned its attention to
The farmer, and after careful inVeS !
tigatiOn and consideration decided
that, since the Federal government
and the individual states have been.
spending great sums of money an
nually for the past ten to fifty years
Investigating farm problems, the need
OF the times is to acQuaint the farmer
with these results. To accomplish |
this what is known IS the Smith
Lever bill was passed which permits |
the United States Department OF Ag-
riculture to pay half the expense of
keeping a trained man in each coun-
ty of every state giving his whole
time to demonstrating and explaining
fn hn flr y,r+ hoe i
about their problems.
The county agent idea, however, did
not originate in congressional halls
but among farmers. Some counties
in the corn belt have had agents for
ten years or more, the county itself
providing all the necessary funds. A
few counties in this state have had.
in cooperation with the United States
Department of Agriculture, agents
for five years or more And our State
Legislature at its last session proved
itself awake to the farmers interest
by meeting the Governments offer to
pay half the expense OF agents by
appropriatirg The other half SO that
an agent might be placed il every
county at little expense 10 the county.
The duties CT q county agent is &c
be the agent OF the STATE ENnn"imcnt
Station ard Agricultural College ul<
the United States .;2Ha ~tme,3t CT \ -
riculture in demonstrating ard eN-
planning to the people what has been
learned about farm problems. gents
have found that they cen accomplish
more by confining their efforts to a
few definite needs Of the county each
year than by going indiscriminately
from one thing to another. The cam
paign for the year is u.s. ally decided
upon at a conference Of representa-
tives of the organizations Ct the
county such as the ?,-nerG' clubs,
the oranges, the nowen@ ners. the