Farm Bi'reau Work in New York vState for 19 14 2 151 



meadow fertilization 



The system of farming practiced by the farmers of the county makes 

 it necessary that a considerable portion of the farm be held in grass for 

 several years. Farmers often find it difificult to maintain a good stand 

 of timothy, and the general experience is that the yield decreases each 

 year. The farm bureau has carried on demonstration work in the fer- 

 tilization of meadows, and the results have been so striking that we hesitate 

 to say that equal returns can be obtained every year. The mixture used 

 for fertilizing has generally been 100 pounds nitrate of soda, 150 pounds 

 acid phosphate, and 25 pounds muriate of potash, per acre. The total 

 cost of fertilizing an acre, including labor, is about $6, and the returns 

 have ranged from $10 to $15 per acre. 



M. E. Chubbuck, 

 Farm Bureau Manager of Herkimer County. 



JEFFERSON COUNTY 



During the past year the bureau has continued its former lines of 

 work throughout the county and has met in every instance with the 

 hearty cooperation and assistance of the farmers, individually and col- 

 lectively. It is a well-known fact that we are just now entering a decade 

 that will witness many changes tending toward greater agricultural activity 

 and an increasing appreciation of agriculture as a business. The organi- 

 zation of a farm on a strictly business basis is of vastly more importance 

 than having good cows or good crops. Wide-awake farmers are beginning 

 to appreciate more, and more the importance of well-organized farm 

 business. Hit-or-miss farming has never been profitable and should be 

 discouraged as a matter of policy. 



The field activities of the bureau are confined largely to tests and 

 demonstrations and to visiting farmers who express a desire to carry 

 on some definite lines of work that may result in better farm practice 

 and more profitable farming. Our present list of cooperators includes 

 466 farmers in all parts of the county. Our plan has been to illustrate 

 a principle through the agency of field demonstrations as much as possible, 

 because more men can be reached in this way than by personal visits, and, 

 furthermore, a field demonstration is more convincing than a talk. 



During the past year the manager of the bureau has taken part in 

 99 different meetings and field demonstrations and has thereby come in 

 contact, directly or indirectly, with approximately 6680 persons within 

 the county. The auspices under which these meetings were held may be 

 classified as follows: 



Forty-seven meetings under auspices of the farm bureau, reaching 1595 

 persons. 



Thirty meetings under auspices of subordinate granges, reaching 2554 

 persons. 



Twenty-two meetings under auspices of farmers' institutes and other 

 local organizations, reaching 2532 persons. 



This indicates, in a way, the interest taken in the farm bureau by 

 the subordinate granges and other local organizations in the county. 



The Jefferson County Farm Bureau Association was formally organized 

 at a public meeting held in Watertown, March 6, 19 14. The methods 



