Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1922-06-16


To-day, if agriculture is to survive in
the opinion of agricultural thinkers, farm
ers must cooperate. During the past
one hundred and fifty years we have had
spasIodic attempts at agricultural coop
Grafton. Leaders in this cooperative
movement have been the dairy farmers.
The dairy farmers of Switzerland were
early leaders. As early as 1920 Danish
cooperative diaries and cheese factories
to the Danish people. American dairy
farmers were also early co-operators. The
cooperative creamery movement started
in America in 1851. Creameries were
first individually owned and were grad
ually made cooperative.
Many new ideas and practices have
been advocated and worked out in Amer
lea, yet it has been left to those of other
nations to develop these TO their greatest
efficiency. 1t is true the growing pros
perity incidental to the building of a great
nation like ours had had its effect in
smothering many of these movements
such as that of cooperation. We have
just begun to settle down to a realization
that we are no more new nation with its
problems covered up by expansion. To-
day our problems are real. There is no
cheap unclaimed land to be had. Land
values have approached a stability. Our
soils have rapidly depleted. Other inter
ests have speculatively developed our
markets. The farmer has been too indie
pendent. All has been like dream. The
awakening is too great a shock to bear
alone. He grasps at cooperation.
Not fE1e First.
There have been many types of farm
organizations started at various times in
this country. These organizations have
had various ideas in view: some of them
have been too narrow in their conception
of solutions for the farm problems and
have been built up largely for selfish pur-
poses; some of them have had the idea in
view OF building up cooperative buying
organizations and have given but little
attention to the matter of marketing;
others have been built up for the develop
ment of the social and educational side of
the farmers problems; still others have
had the idea that the only way to relieve
the situation is fby securing legislation
favorable to the farmer.
here is no doubt but that these, or
CARNATIONS have done some good, but
they have not grasped the situation as
thoroughly as our newest of farm organ
izations-the Farm Bureau and the Farm
Bureau Federation.
THE Farm Bureau idea was developed
and brought about through the need for
a more widespread knowledge concerning
the work of our agricultural colleges and
experiment stations. 1t has been devel-
oped by federal and state support. 1t was
not long, however, after this work started,
until the more progressive farmers saw
in the Farm Bureau movement a working
foundation for better type of farm organ
ization than we have had heretofore.
There is no doubt but that the Farm Bu-
reau as an extension medium for the pur-
pose of bringing the knowledge as devel-
oped by our experiment stations into
actual practice by the American farmer,
has been of inestimable value. The more
progressive farmers have appreciated this.
Needs to Study.
Although this is a service that is worth
while, the farmer needs to study more
about his marketing problems, and the
Farm Bureau has been built along these
two lines-hrstly, to work for more eco
nomical production, or, in other words,
to try to stop some Of the leaks in agricul-
ture; and secondly, to develop that other
side of the problem, that of better mar
kets, which involves a good many differ
ent lines of work No other farm organ
ization has had these two functions, and
for this reason l see better future and
better working organization in the Farm
Bureau than in any other that we have
had
'As farmers we must not lose sight of
the fact that the biggest job the farmer
has is the one back home on the farm 1t
is very easy to forget that the matter of
production is the first absolute essential
and that the farmers big job is to produce
more economically. The American farmer
has to compete with all the world and I'm
less he produces as cheaply as possible,
he cannot compete and still maintain his
standard of living as he has in the past.
1t isimpossible to build wall of protection
around American agriculture, and the
sooner the farmer realizes this the better
we are going to be. The consumer is not
going to pay for ineficiency in production.
In handling this phase of the problem,
no better organization has ever been de-
veloped than the Farm Bureau, with men
employed by the Farm Bureau, working
in the counties to spread broadcast those
IDEAS which will lead toward more eco
nomical production. For this reason we
must continue to develop the work of the
County Farm Bureau. We must not
always look towards our state organiza-
tions and the national organization to
solve all of our difficulties. 1t is true they
have service to give which goes hand-in-
hand with the other, but what | want to
emphasize is the fact that we, as farmers,
are too prone to forget that We also have
job at home.
And it is just as important also that
we keep the cooperative organization
truly representative. In this matter
many cooperative associations have failed
to do their best work because clique
gained control of the organization.
Cooperation is here to stay. The man
on the farm is looking forward to it helping
solve his problems. If he will but learn
that to cooperate he must learn to work
with his neighbors. it will do all that he
expects of it." ;.