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Since 1895 from 10 to Ki one-day institutes have been held in the timber districts 

 of central and northern Wisconsin, where farmers are making homes by clearing up 

 the timber land that has been logged over. These meetings have been very success- 

 ful and in great demand, and we believe have done much toward developing better 

 methods of farming, better bred live stock, and the dairy industry in particular. Many 

 cheese and butter factories have been established as the results of these meetings. 



The farmers of Wisconsin at first were suspicious of the farmers' institutes, looking 

 upon them as a political move or an advertising medium for stock breeders or for the 

 agricultural college and the State university, and quite often spoke of the institute 

 workers and speakers as theorists. This spirit has been entirely overcome by the 

 employment of practical farmers as institute instructors, until now the farmers of Wis- 

 consin have full confidence in the institute and its teachings. 



The Wisconsin system, while it may not be the 1)est under all conditions and circum- 

 stances, seems to be very satisfactory to Wisconsin farmers. It lays claim to being the 

 oldest organized State system in the country and has been, to some extent, studied by 

 representatives from other States and from foreign countries, and some of its plans have 

 been worked into many systems now in operation thruout the country. 



The work in Wisconsin has grown and developed so much that the greatest need now 

 is more funds to meet the many calls for institutes which can not at present be satisfied. 

 So far as Wisconsin is concerned, farmers' institutes have come to stay, and the only 

 question now is how to keep them advancing so as to satisfy the demands upon them. 



WYOMING. 



The first active steps toward establishing farmers' institutes in Wyoming were taken 

 at a meeting of the State industrial committee held at Sheridan, October 7-9, 1903. 



At this meeting, in pursuance of some suggestions made before the committee in an 

 address by the Farmers' Institute Specialist of the National Department of Agricul- 

 ture, steps were taken by representatives of the State agricultural and mechanical 

 college, and of the State agricultural experiment station to organize the institute work 

 and endeavor to secure an appropriation from the State in its behalf. 



The State agricultural college and the experiment station had been planning for the 

 organization of this work for some years and had held at the college the previous year 

 a meeting to which the farmers of the State had been invited. The difficulties due to 

 the sparsely settled condition of the country districts and the lack of railroad commu- 

 nication made it impractical)le for the members of the college faculty and the experi- 

 ment station staff to visit the rural communities without additional aid from some source 

 outside of the college and station funds to meet the expense. 



To provide for this. Director B. C. Buffum, of the State experiment station prepared 

 a bill which was presented before the eighth general assembly of the State at its session 

 of 1903-4, which was incorporated in the general appropriation bill and past. 



The portion relating to farmers' institutes is section 47 of the general appropriation 

 bill, and provides $2,000 for the purpose of holding farmers' institutes and short courses 

 in stock judging, agronomy, and general farming, the meetings to be arranged at such 

 places and at such times as will accommodate the people of the community in which 

 the meetings may be desired. The institutes or short courses are placed in charge of 

 the agricultural department of the university which arranges the necessary details of the 

 meetings. The board of trustees of the university is given authority to employ instruct- 

 ors and lecturers, to provide equipment, and to meet any necessary expenses incident 

 to the meetings. 



The first community to avail itself of the provisions of this act was Cody, Bighorn 

 County, where Director Buffum conducted a three-day institute on March 29, 30, and 

 31, 1905. This was the first State institute held in Wyoming and will be followed by 

 others at the close of the farming season. 



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