Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1921-08-18
FARMERS OF THE
NATION MUST GROW
AUTHOR OF SMITH-LEVER
ACT SPEAKS 70
co. AGENTS

Oneida county celebrated the ten
years of growth of county agent work
in Wisconsin by big convention of
county agents meeting in Rhinelander
last Wednesday The first Oneida
county agricultural committee, COM
posed of F. A. Lowell, A, w. Brown
and Arthur Taylor, had charge of the
program which was enjoyed by an au-
dience of between two and three
thousand people.
Sixty-Six Floats
The morning program consisted of
music, taking of pictures and a big
parade. There were sixty-six floats
in the parade which was mile in
length, and Marathon county was rep
resented by float showing the devel-
opment of the different phases of
county work in this vicinity At noon
the crowd enjoyed a picnic lunch from
well filled baskets and gathered in the
big natural amphitheatre in the
Rhinelander park to listen to instruc-
tive talks by men noted for their ac-
tivity in farm work.
The University's part in county
agent work was told by K. l.. Hatch
Of the Agriculture at Madison, and w.
A. Lloyd of the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture outlined the past
ten years of county agent work in the
United States. The first county agent.
ever appointed il the country was
established in one of the southern
states in response toinquiries on de-
velopment work in the south. The
first emergency that was met was the
spread Of the cotton boil weevil which
was threat teIfing the cotton crops of
the country with disaster. Since that
time the development of county work
has been nation wide. Oneida county
in Wisconsin was the first to have a
county agents office With public funds
used for it's support.
Mr.. Levers Talk
The Hon. A. F. Lever of the Federal
Farm Loan Board, Washington, D. c.,
gave the principal address of the
meeting. He said in part, that the
American farmer is gradually awak-
ening to conception of the import
ance of agriculture to the nation. The
American farmer is the greatest pro-
ducer per acre of any farmer in the
world, but he is the poorest business
man in the marketing of his crops of
any class of men in the country, and
in this respect he must develop
The introduction of pure bred cat
tie, aid Mr.. Lever, was a great an
achievement as the winning of the
battle of Waterloo, and the substitution
of Duroc Jersey hogs for the razor
back variety that used to abound in
the south is as worthy of praise as any
of Demosthenes' orations Speaking
of the men who have done much to
help agriculture, he said that it would
be fitting and proper to erect monu-
ments in Washington, the city of mon
uments, and he mentioned the work
of such men as DR.. Seaman and DR..
w. T. Knapp of the U. S. Department
of Agriculture.
Woman the Hub
Mr.. Lever said that the hub of the
vast agricultural wheel is the farm
woman and strongly advocated the es
tablishing of home demonstration
agents in all counties to aid in bet
tering the conditions of the farm
home through campaign of educa-
ton. "We may not realize it," he said,
"but Henry Ford and Thomas A. Edi-.
son are two of the greatest benefac-
tors of mankind, for the Lizzie and
the phonograph have done much to
change the sameness of women's life
on the farm through relieving the
monotony that heretofore accompan-
led it." In conclusion he said that
farming must be made profitable if it
is to continue in existence.
Fifty counties were repreented at
the convention and on the day follow
ing, the representatives inspected
number of farms in the vicinity of
Rhinelander and Witnessed demon
strations of picric acid explosives. The
condition of the crops were noted and
after day spent in visiting the diff
ferent farms the county agents at
tended dinner given by the Rhine
lander commercial club at the Oneida
Hotel. w. J. Rogan of Marathon
county, attended.
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