The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1919-02-20
CountyAgricultural
Agent

Walter J. OFT, Sedgwick's county
Agricultural Agent learned his first
practical farming on . Kansas farm
where be spent his boyhood days. His
sxperisaee with general farming and
eatle feeding on his fathers farm
made 4 firm foundation for his later
agricultural training. He spent two
years in the Kansas State Normal
School at Emporia Kansas, after
which he took up the duties Of Kan
sas school teacher. He graduated
from the Kansas State Agricultural
College in 1915, receiving Bachelor
Of Science in Agriculture. Mr.. OFT.
before his appointment as Agricultur-
al Agent, spent one year as foreman
on a pure bred stock farm near Gree
ley, Colorado. At this time he man
aged Register of Merit herd which
he fitted and showed at the Great
Western Live Stock show at Denver
IN 1917. He served several months
as a State Emergency agent during
which time his work took him over
most of eastern Colorado. January
I, 1918 Mr.. OFT took up the duties Of
Sedgwick County Agricultural Agent.
The year has proven to be busy and
nsst interesting one for The agent but
Mr.. OFT says he is looking forward to
bigger and more interesting things
along agricultural lines in 1919.
Cssaty Agricultural Work in Sedg-
wick County
The county agricultural work in
0sdgwick county is new Though
the work began only one year ago
the splendid cooperation of the farm
efs has enabled it to make rapid pro-
gress. The Agricultural Emergency
0ill made funds available for the Sc
curing Of county agricultural agent
IN counties of the state. The bill
provided for the entire support of
county agent work until June l, 1918.
Sedgwick county. being wide awake
and ready to advance it's agricultural
needs made application to the state
Agricultural College and an agent was
appointed.
Several projects of work were plan
ned for the county and all carried to
. successful end through the splen-
did cooperation of the people. The
improvements of crops and livestock
and the bettering of home conditions
are the essentials of successful agri-
culture and to that end the work has
been carried forward.
The spring Of 1918 found the state
Of Colorado with an enormous bean
crop on its hand for which there was
no market. Through the extension
service of the state agricultural COL
lege survey of the crop was made
through the various agricultural
agent and an arrangement made
whereby the entire bean crop was pur
chased by the government at fair
price to both consumer and grower.
The farmers of Sedgwick county re-
ceived as much for their crops as the
growers located near the central ship
ping points. $144900 was saved to
Sedgwick county through the cooper
alive marketing of their 1917 bean
crop.
The poorly developed corn crop Of
1917 made the selection Of seed corn
for the 1918 crop a serious situation.
The planting of corn that will not
germinate is waste of money and
time The only resort was the testing
Of all corn before being planted, which
was carried out by the schools and
farmers with the help of the county
agent. 1t was found through germ
nation tests that only fifty per cent
Of the 1917 crop would germinate.
The situation was greatly relieved
through the securing of 400 bushels Of
seed corn by the county agent from the
state of Nebraska, showing a germina,
ton Of ninety per cent and over. The
results were a bumper corn crop ir
Sedgwick county Another result
which is of no lesser importance i.
the knowledge gained by the schoo
children who tested the corn ant
learned the value of planting seet
which is capable of termination ant
sending forth strong hardy plant
Through series of demonstration.
given over the county for the contro
of smut in grain the farmers were
shown an easy and practical metho,
Of destroying smut in wheat. As
result three fourths of the whea
planted last fall which is Sedgwic
county's large acreage was treate
for smut.
This preparation of seed and the fa
vorahle moisture conditions we hav
had thus far should insure the whea