Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1917-12-21
MANY FARMERS JOIN
COUNTY ASSOCIATION
Expect to Have County Agent
Here by the First Part of
February
WILL BE MORE THAN 200
Many Have Already Become Mem
bers and Success of Organization
is Assured

The temporary organization form
ed the latter part of November to
handle the campaign of securing
members among the farmers for the
Stevens County Farm Bureau AssOci-
alton is meeting with success and al
ready many farmers have signed the
agreement and paid in their first
$3.50. T. H. Mcguire, secretary,
says that the success of the new Or
ganizatiOn is assured and as soon as
the local leaders in each township
CO. make the canvass of their diff
fcrent localities the required number
of farmers will be secured. The
sooner the members are secured and
the permanent organization perfect
ed, the sooner the matter of hiring a
county agent can be taken up. This
should be done by the first of Janu-
ary or at least not later than the
first of February so that a man can
get on the job by the time spring
arrives.
This farm bureau organization is
considered a necessary foundation
for the success of the county agent
movement 1t is to be an association
of the people Of the county who are
interested in rural affairs, and if
will have for it's purpose a more
economic development of agriculture,
the establishment Of community
Of ~
well-being, prosperity and happiness
of the country people.
Contrary to the idea that seems
to prevail in Stevens county, the
agent is not a siIk-gIoved individual
who comes around and tells the
farmers how to farm and what to
plant, and he is not "butt-in-ski"
who tries to change the methods now
prevelant on the farms, and people
who think this way are getting fewer
and farther between. If such was the
case it is hardly likely that fifty
counties in Minnesota would be en-
ploying county agents, and if a
county agent is doing something
worth while in this many counties
then this county surely has use for
such a man.
Some of the things that county
agent does do to assist the farmers
is to work with them in the up
building of the community, to serve
as a leader and organizer, to impart
farm knowledge gained by the ex-
perience of others, to help increase
the acreage and yield Of food crops,
to assist the farmers in securing
good seed, livestock and labor, to con-
duct demonstrations along agricul-
tural lines, help with the drainage
problem, put down epidemics of
disease among animals and many
other things.
The county agent will work under
the joint direction of the farm bu-
reau organization, the Board of
County Commissioners, and the Min
nesota College of Agriculture, and
one reason why the Stevens Farm
Bureau Association should be per-
fected at once is that they can have
a chance to pick a man whom they
want
The experience of the counties that
have a good, live, countrywide farm
ers organization, known as a farm
bureau association, under the lead
ership of resident manager known
is enough to show what a county
should show the need of a man for
Stevens county. To illustrates: In
Renville county in 1913 hog cholera
broke out and out of $500 hogs
raised in the county, 43, ,403, or 564
out of each 1000 died. In 1914 with
1OO,722 hogs raised, the organiza-
tion through it's agent reduced the
death rate to SO out of every 1000
and in 1915 with 1O8,360 hogs
raised, the death rate was reduced tt
out of every 1OOO,' and the county
agent was greatly responsible fol
this great work.
There are many other such in
stances that could be cited, but this
is enough to show that a county
agent can do here. Every farmer
should join the association and make
sure of getting a county agent fol
1918.