The Hope pioneer., 1922-12-07
COUNTY AGENTS FOR
MARKETS, FINANCE

Marketing and farm finance activities
have played a large part in the program
of the county extension agents Of North
Dakota during the past year according
to Gordon w. Randlett, director of the
state extension division.
For an agricultural college or a
county agent to mix in cooperative
marketing of farm products or farm
financing decade ago would have been
considered heresy,' declared Mr.. Rand
lett. =
Developments Of the past few years,
however, bring out most emphatically
that problems of production only do not
make up well-balanced program Of
extension work. Each of the 36 county
extension agents in North Dakota is
making Il study of the particular local
problem and with the cooperation Of
our state agents and of the farmers in
the county is putting into operation as
rapidly as possible a program calcu-
lated to bring about efficient prod,lc-
ton, economic marketing and adequate
financing Full operation of such IL
program will result in Il minimum price
to the consumer with maximum profit
to the farmer. Il happy condition for
the public in general.
Last spring the extension division
and the North Dakota Agricultural
college, together With the county eN-
tension agents, openly advocated a
reduction in The acreage of wheat. due
to the excessive carry-over from the
1921 crop and the indications from
every quarter of Il large crop This year,
With Il consequent flooding of the mar
ket and sinai! price per bnshel for the
crop this fall. Prices this fall Justify
the attitude taken by the extension
agents last spring.
$50 slow on potatoes was the adj
vice from the extension staff to the
farmers of the state last spring. Small
acreayes and thorough grading of the
product before marketing We're advised.
Many farmers. influenced by the sue
cess Of the neighbors with potatoes the
previous year. plunged heavily, with
the result that at the present time the
are practically worthless.
"Our work has not been confined to
calling attention to market and crop
conditions. At all times we have
furnished farmers with information
regarding existing marketing agencies.
County agents have held meetings at
which they have presented the various
cooperative plans for marketing wheat.
such as the United States Grain Grow
ers. Inc. the North Dakota Wheat
Growers and the Equity. Farmers have
not been advised to join any special
agency but they have received valuable
information regarding the fundamental
principles OF successful cooperative
marketing.
"One OF the most successful market
ing projects which was organized
largely through the activities Of the
county extension agents is the North
Dakota wool pool. which has just now
closed out the 1929 wool clip ut prices
netting the growers an average of 30
cents per pound, or from five to ten
cents more than was realized on the
average by growers who sold through
other sources.
"ScGres Of local potato marketing
associations have been organized by
county extension agents and plans are
well under way for Il statewide potato
marketing organization in cooperation
with the Farm Bureau.
Nearly fifty livestock shipping organ
iZatiOns have been formed. and more
than Il dozen cooperative cream mar
keting associations. County agents
were also instrumental in organizing a
number of the seed marketing associa-
tions for such products as alfalfa.
sweet clover. bronze grass. etc Within
the last few months a full-time market
ing specialist has entered the employ
OF the extension division. and it is
planned to elaborate considerably on
this type of work in the future.
"1n the western part of the state,
county agents have helped farmers to
secure seed loans from the federal gov
ernment, and in those counties employ
ing agents more than twice as many
loans We're secured as in the counties
that did not Agents have also been
active in organizing loan associations
so that farmers could secure long time
loans at reasonable rates from the
federal farm land bank"
While the earth remaineth, seed time