The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1933-12-29


efficient production, If you please, as
a part of this important agricultural
program in which all farmers are en-
gagged.
Any one with average intelligence
knows that producing at lowest cost
is the first element to business sue
cess. l want, therefore, to present
few facts relative to the Extension
Service, since the big job of the
County Agent, representing that
Service, is to help his farmers pro-
duce at less cost l shall not dis
cuss the work of the Home Demon
stration Agent, since this series of
articles is dealing principally with
the farm business and the sphere of
the Home Demonstration Agent be-
ing primarily with the home, deser-
yes special consideration at some
other time.
There are three viewpoints with
which to discuss the County Agent
and his place in the present agricul-
tural program.
First: There is the viewpoint of
the farmer (and many business men,
too) who believes in the Extension
Service-who uses the County Agent
knows the facts about how little
the service costs the taxpayers and
who feels that such governmental as
sistance for farmers is right and
proper.
Second There is the viewpoint of
the farmer and certain business
men who are actively opposed to the
Extension Service-believe it is
wrong and expensive for the govern
ment to spend taxpayers money to
help one particular group.
Third: There is another group,
principally our town dwellcrs, who
just don't give the matter much at
tention. They realize the County
Agent Is good fellow and that the
service doesn't cost much-they are
willing to dismiss it with that.
There is no need to consider the
first man. The facts, as they occur
to me have already occurred to him.
He is the man who knows what the
Extension Service is doing and he is
ready to go to bat when there is any
agitation or development to take the
service away or curtail it.
For the second and third man,
merely ask them to lay aside their
prejudices and consider calmly a
lew facts.
There are two important things
she Extension Service is doing and
The first is to help farmers solve
daily problems that arise and which
the farmer could not possibly solve
by himself
If that appears like broad state
ment, consider some of the problems,
heretofore unknown, that have con-,
fronted the farmers of this and other
states within the past few years,
such as wheat smut-corn root-rot-
potato mosaic-Japanese Beetle
corn borer-fruit fy-poultry di-
,eases and long list of others.
When these emergencies arose, the
County Agent was the first man to.
whom the farmers turned or to their
neighbor who had gotten the import
ant information from the County
Agent. Farmers do not often rea-
.ize this, yet, there are many farmers
who are condemning the Extension
Service as unnecessary and yet are
treating wheat or inoculating soy
beans without realizing that the
County Agent first introduced the
method, whatever it may be, perhaps
years before.
Is it good public policy for the
government to do this for farmers
while industry must finance it's own
l SoOoASh' AC dAlo w CA 10 LuetL ed6A1
culture is the basic industry of the
nation. All civilization is built
upon it. Together with the extrac-
tive industries Chat is, mining) all
business is in the long run, built
upon it. 1t is in the public interest,
rather than farmers alone, that ag-
ricultural problems be solved.
1t must be remembered that the
County Agent system grew out of
the despair of the southern farmers
to do anything about the boil, weevil
in cotton years ago and the first
County Agents were field men, ap-
pointed to carry out the findings of
the Department of agriculture and
the Experiment Stations towards the
solutions of these problems.
We cannot fully appreciate the
County Agent without remembering
that back of him is the research of
the Experiment Stations, carried on
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