South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-02-07
AGENTS ASSIST IN
FOOD PRODUCTION
Played Big Part in Indiana
During 1918 in Seventy
six Counties.

County agriculture agents played !
a biz part in Indiana's splendid food |
production record in 1918, the re-
port for the past year on county
agent work shows.
The work is growing rapidly
and we now have 76 regularly en-
plOyed county agents." said State
Leader T. A. Coleman. Several
more counties have applications in
for men and there are only a few
which will be without them by the
end of the fiscal year June so"
A good example OF the value OF
the work OF the agents was in
planting the corn crop last year In
spite Of the worst seed shortage in
the history OF the state, 1,6g5,591
acres. a third of the total acreage
in Indiana, was planted with tested
seed, 70,529 farmers in the counties
then having agents. testing their
seed. The stand of corn obtained
4 last summer was the best in history.
| because the men had selected their
/ seed carefully and then eliminated
I the bad ears. A poor season, frost
| In June and drought in July and
| August. cut the yield much below
/ the average, undOing a great deal
/ of the good that had been done.
/ The agents were able to supply
! thousands Of bushels of seed for
men who had been without II. AS a
result of the widespread interest in
/ getting good seed, 66,964 of the
| 900 men in the % counties Sc
lected their seed last September and
october from standing stocks and
stored IL properly in a dry place.
| This little piece of work will pre-
vent a recurrence this spring Of the
1918 disaster. which the corn crop
of the entire middle west was
threatened by the seed shortage.
A total of 231,337 acres of wheat
| on 45,374 farms were grown accord
ins TO methods suggested by the
county agents The results Of this
work was everywhere apparent in
the state last harvest, men using
better methods invariably showing
larger yields.
Enough seed oats to SOW 233,727
acres on 2S,470 farms was treated
with formaldehyde last spring TO
wipe out smut. This work, which
was demonstrated in every county
in the state, even where there was
no agent, attracted unusual interest
and aided in the oats yield consider
ably
Various lines Of crop improve
ment work was taken up. the agents
inducing 2,727 farmers to treat
their potato seed to prevent scab
and other disease which reduces the
crop yield, These men planted
ASA acres of "spuds."
Nine hundred and thirty-three
acres Of sweet clover. 1922 acres of
alfalfa, 21,S51 acres of sOybeans,
1913 acres of cowpeas, 217 acres of
hairy vetch. 1850 acres of barley
and 22,S74 acres of rye were grown
according to the agents suggested
methods. A total of 2,314 acres OF
beans and 1895 acres of clover
were grown at the agents sugges-
ton.
In addition to all these duties in
helping production of the general
field crops. the agents cared for or
assisted the owner in caring for 4S7
orchards, showing when and how "a
spray properly, thus increasing the
yield of the orchards
This story tells briefly what the
agents have done In the state the
last year on crop improvement
alone. They have been responsible
10 a large degree for the splendid
records made by many farmers. Due
10 the work of the agents largely
the state has made greater strides
in agricultural development during
the last year or two than it ever did
in similar period before.