White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1927-10-07
COUNTY AGENT DURDLE
HAS HOPEFUL OUTLOOK

Speaking of the general farm situa-
ton in the country, E. c. Durdle,
Benton county extension agent says:
Generally speaking, it is probably
true that, throughout the agricultural
sections of the whole country, there
is. rather marked tendency in the
movement away from the farm. This
movement seems particularly apparent,
it seems to me. in certain sections of
the county. I believe, however, that
serious thought will bring about
different attitude on the part of many
who have this feeling.
There should be no question OH
the part of any one as to the sound
ness of this district as an agricultural
section, if the right system of agri-
culture is followed. There are
enough farmers who are l1lnking
good and whose farms are not for
sale, except at prices covering good
returns for capital and labor invested,
to enable anyone to see that farming
can be made to pay, and we believe
Fay we'll. considering the general de-
pref sion under which, agriculture
of the whole nation, more or less,
is working. 1t is true also that some
farmers are not making money, at
least on capital invested. Some farms
undoubtedly were purchased at fig
ure too high to be in keeping with
their real value as an earning propo-
siticn. Again, soma of these places
have been cultivated under system
of farming that is fundamentally un-
souna and which never will pay ex-
cept in unusual seasons and eventual
ly will fail in spite of these unusual
seasons because Of the system follow
ed.
"When buyer comes into COM
rnunity to purchase, n.ne times out OF
ten, if he is the type of MIN who
will make good and stay with the
prcs so.ition, he will take the place
that shows that it is already making
money. instead cf the place that looks
pretty generally run down and untidy.
"Our point is this; to the man who
really wants to sell because he does
not like the system Of farming which
one must necessarily follow here or
does not Ike the country or Climate,
we would say, put your place into as
profitable a condition as possible ana
you will have nine chances to one
Of selling. 1t will help not only you
but your community as we'll
"To those who really like the cll-
mate district and its system OF tarnn-
ing we would like to pass On state
n tsnt, made by leader in farm lite
Of this state at farmers meeting at
Cclyille some seven or eight years
ago. This leader said, The sooner
the farmer ef the West comes to the
cont 81 view that he is on mis- farm
TO live there, and to die there II
necessary. the better our agricultural
situation will be. This may not be
the exact wording OF his statement
but it at least conveys the genera
idea. He then went on to explain,
how many farmers of the West and
almost universally, in the acquiring OF
farm. looked upon them too much as
= stepping stone to the acquiring OF a
better place. Under this system the
farm was worked from temporary
standpoint instead of looking forward
to real system of permanent
IT believe that no section of the
state or the country offers greater
possibilities from basis standpoint
than Benton county. To those, VINO
have their project and work SO
planned that the farm offers opportu-
mites for profitable labor for three
hundred working days in the year,
feel that this section will return
more in living and as much in imam
cial way as any district in the whoie
country"