PLANS FOR THE FUTURE 



A. J. NicoLL, Delhi, N. Y. 

 Farmers' Institute Lecturer 



An important factor in the success of dairy improvement asso- 

 ciation work in lS,ew York State has been the very efficient work 

 done by the farm bureaus of the different counties; and as the 

 demand for register-of-merit work has increased, it has seemed 

 best to change the name of the organization and to have a definite 

 understanding between the different parties interested in carrying 

 on the work as to what each should be responsible for. At the 

 normal institute held in Ithaca, in November, 1915, a plan was 

 discussed that has been developed during the past winter and is 

 now ready to be tried out by the different associations of the 

 state. Under the old plan, the Bureau of Farmers' Institutes 

 found it difficult to obtain data and to keep in touch with the 

 different organizations. As none of the officers of the associa- 

 tion are paid for their work, corresj)ondence was often unan- 

 swered, and valuable data were unavailable. Under the proposed 

 plan each party has certain responsibilities that are assumed in 

 a written agreement, and, if any part of the work fails, the 

 responsibility can be placed where it belongs. 



The high cost of doing advanced registry work, or, in other 

 words, of keeping official yearly records of dairy cows of the 

 different breeds, has created a demand on the part of a large num- 

 ber of dairjanen for this class of work to be done under the direc- 

 tion of the Department of Agriculture and the farm bureaus of 

 the state. The summarizing of the record books that has been 

 done free for tlie associations by the Bureau of Farmers' Insti- 

 tutes has often been delayed on account of the lack of funds to 

 employ the extra assistants needed to complete the yearly records 

 and return the books promptly to the owner. Under the proposed 

 plan this work will be done quarterly by the testers under the 

 direction of the farm bureau managers, thus enabling the farmer 

 to have bis books fully summarized at the close of the year. 



The duties of the tester will be much the same as heretofore, 

 except in the matter of sununarizing the records, for which he 



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