232 STATE BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



stratoi's were secured, aud the orders were placed lor llie jiiateriaLs 

 needed in making- many of the demonstrations, such as seeds, lime, tile, 

 and fertilizer. The meetings also furnished the opportunity for the for- 

 mation of cow testing associations, communitj^ breeders' associations, 

 boys' and girls' clubs, the placing of farm accounts books, and for plan- 

 ning home improvements. 



FOOD EMERGENCY WORK. 



To meet the food emergency situation which developed as a conse- 

 quence of the entrance of our country into war, surve^^s were made to de- 

 termine the needs of the counties; the outstanding problems which pre- 

 sented themselves at once were those of finance, seed and labor. In financ- 

 ing tlie increased operations in agriculture, boards of supervisors and 

 banks gave great assistance. In Alpena county the Board of Supervisors 

 appropriated |10,000 for the purchase and distribution of seed and in 

 Cheboygan .f 3,000; in Van Buren county the Board of Supervisors guar- 

 anteed the loans made by the banks to farmers for purchase of seeds. 

 Banks in Delta, Mason, Houghton, Menominee, Newaygo, Saginaw, Wex- 

 ford, and Chippewa counties extended credit to farmers for purchase of 

 seed; the Cadillac State Bank in- Wexford county advanced seed for 

 bean plots on condition that the seed be paid for from the sale of the 

 crop; in Chippewa county, banks advanced money for seed to farmers on 

 notes without interest ; and in Alpena county, a local bank, gave |10,000 

 for purchase of seed; in Cheboygan county, farmers worthy of credit 

 Avill be given until December 1, 1917, to pay for seed and will be charged 

 no interest, while in Marquette county bankers decided to extend credit 

 to farmers until November 15, without interest. 



Several large mining companies in Houghton county arranged to fence 

 and plow old pastures at their own expense for use of their employees. 

 Large factory owners in St. Clair county turned over |1,000 for boys' 

 and girls' gardens. In Schoolcraft county the agent was placed in 

 charge of a fund of .|6,000 to be used in financing the farmers who needed 

 this help in procuring seed. Quantities of seeds were distributed to 

 farmers in Cheboygan, Chippewa, Delta, Dickinson, Houghton, Lenawee, 

 Manistee, Mason, Menominee, Newaygo, Ontonagon, Ottawa, Schoolcraft, 

 St. Clair, St. Joseph, Van Buren and Wexford counties through the Farm 

 Bureaus in cooperation with other interested agencies in the county; 

 this location and distribution of seed greatly facilitated the spring seed- 

 ing. In Manistee county 120 acres from the golf course were given to the 

 Boy Scouts for raising beans; the Manistee Board of Commerce raised 

 |4,000 to carry on this work. 



Nearly all of the counties report assistance given in securing labor. 

 Some counties were able to supply the necessary labor locally. In coun- 

 ties having large cities and in those adjacent to large cities it has been 

 possible to meet the labor needs satisfactorily. This is illustrated by 

 the work done in Kent county; through the Farm Bureau cooperating 

 with the Association of Commerce, the Board of Education and the 

 Grand Kapids News in Grand Rapids, and with the Farm Bureaus of 

 adjoining counties, men and boys were secured for farms in Kent, Alle- 

 gan, Newaygo and OttaAva counties ; in this way 102 men and 281 boys 

 were secured to help on farms. In Lenawee, St. Clair and Wayne coun- 

 ties, considerable help was obtained from Detroit. In Lenawee county 

 30 men were secured for farmers. In St. Clair county 108 men were 



