Arizona republican., 1922-05-30
SKETCHES WORK OF
LOCALFARM. BUREAU
DURING PAST YEA r
President TAFT Shows How
Farmers Benefited By
Operation of County and
District Clubs

| County Farm Bureau and it's as
/ sociate district organizations We're
explained by Fred TAFT, county chair
man. yesterday. He told of the clubs
activities during the past year and
how it operates to the benefit of the
farmer. Sketching the work of the
association, he said
! "The Maricopa County Farm Bur-
eau underwent a sort of rejuyena-
ton process in March, 1921 A re-
| organization campaign was conduct
! ed under the auspices of the state and
national federations and in four
| weeks. fairly large membership
! had Joined. The county was divided
/ into IS districts and in each district
a community farm bureau was or
ganized on much the same plan as
/ the usual county farm bureau. The
presidents of these community farm
I bureaus comprise the county organ
| ization which, in type, is in many
ways comparable to the state farm
| bureaus
1.-THE Maricopa County Farm Bur-
eau now has a paid-up membership
| of 532 while memberships of more
| than 900 additional are secured by
promisory notes. These figures do
| not include members secured in the
drive brought to close Saturday
night, however.
/ Seek Goodwill of Ranchers
at is moro necessary now to hold
| the interest and active good will
| of our membership than to secure
their fees. SO the farm bureau has
taken a very lenient attitude toward
| collection of its notes. Because of
| the final stringency the work of the
/ organization has been greatly cur
| tailed, there having been many in.
stances where great good could have
been done if the treasury had been
| in a better condition. Much has
! been accomplished as it is. AT the
season of grain harvest prices of
grain sacks were reduced, by virture
of farm bureau efforts, from IL cents
| each to cents, or a savings of four
cents sack. Approximately 400,
900 sacks were used in Maricopa
county during the past season and
the savings to the farmers totalled
about $4,000 in round figures.
When the organization was
completed, gasoline prices were al
together but of proportion with
crude oil prices and with gasoline
prices at sources of production, in the
opinion of farm bureau members.
Different agepcies contributed to-
ward adjusting this matter but, prob
ably due mostly to farm bureau ef-
forts. the retail price was reduced
from SO to 281a cents per gallon
There has been slight increase
within the past week or ten days.
Big Savings Effected
Assuming that there are $4,000
motor vehicles in Maricopa county
and an average annual consumption
OF $50 gallons of gasoline per year,
this reduction has resulted in a saw
ing of more than a quarter of a mill
lion dollars annually to auto and
tractor owners of Maricopa county.
Arrangements have been made
with Phoenix firm to sell a standard
brand of automobile tires to farm
bureau members at 20 per cent dis
count. A similar arrangement has
been perfected for the purchase of
storage batteries
"At the time of grain harvest,
prices offered for home grown wheat
We're far below the cost of produc-
ton while so per cent more was being
paid for wheat to be shipped into
Arizona To meet this emergency,
a temporary grain selling organiza-
ton was formed which made up two
pools, one 70. immediate sale at the
best possible price and the other to
be held until the former was sold
at an average increase in price to
the farmer of about 25 cents the 100
pounds. Five million pounds We're
marketed through the first pool at
net savings of $12,500 to the farm
er of the county.
Similarly, the hay situation has
been taken care of. Early shipments,
because of farm bureau efforts, were
about $3.50 per ton higher than would
otherwise have been the case. Mid
season shipments were blocked by
a prohibitive rise in freight rates
Hence, the farm bureau has CO.
operated with other agencies to Sc
cure an adjustment of tariffs to a
point where the grower can again
afford to ship his products. In this
partial success has been attained
but much additional work along
this line is necessary and the farm
bureau is in an attitude of co-opera-
ton with every other organization in
terested in this task, which is sc
vital to the iptermountain west.
Aid In Cotton Harvest
In the fall Of 1921, the Marieopa
County Farm Bureau organized q
labor association to supply cotton
picking labor for 10000 acres of
Pima cotton. This organization has
NCiS SclliSldtlOIlly, sup
plying sufficient picking help at all
times.
I'm order to put the dairy business
on a sound basis, much work has
been done toward establishing dairy
organization. This work is now TAX
ing tangible form through the cam
paign for the organization of a CO.
operative marketing association for
the dairyman
Conducts Educational Campaign
"A comprehensive plan has been
adopted for the purpose of keeping an
adequate supply of pure Pima cotton
seed on hand at all times and the
pure seed committee has been in
structed. to continue it's work so as
to assure a supply of high quality
seed of other sorts
The Maricopa County Farm Bur-
eau has taken pains, during its ex-
istance, to keep the public advised
as to its action as we'll as the happen
ings connected with the farm bureau
elsewhere. Farm bureau columns
have been run in both daily and
agricultural periodicals..
The Maricopa County Farm bur-
eau is Incorporated under senate bill
No. 109 of the fifth legislature. This
law gives it joint responsibility for
agricultural extension work. An
nual reports of Maricopa county
two extension agents have been filed
In the educational work of the farm
bureau, attention might be called
to extensive dress form, hot school
lunches millinery and food work
for women and poultry culling, cot
ton pest control and irrigation work
for men. Extension ~ ents have
assisted in organizing tie work of