456 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



Central Section — Benton, Boone, Callaway, Chariton, Cole, Cooper, 

 Camden, Dallas, Hickory, Howard, Laclede, Maries, Miller, Moniteau, 

 Morgan, Osage, Pettis, Phelps, Pulaski, Randolph and Saline. 



Southivest Section — Barry, Barton, Bates, Cedar, Cass, Christian, 

 Dade, Douglas, Greene, Henry, Jasper, Johnson, Lawrence, McDonald, 

 Ne^\i;on, Ozark, Polk, St. Clair, Stone, Taney, Vernon, Webster and 

 Wright. 



Southeast Section — Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, 

 Crawford, Dent, Dunklin, Franklin, Gasconade, Howell, Iron, Jeffer- 

 son, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Oregon, Pemiscot, Perry, Rey- 

 nolds, Ripley, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Scott, Shannon, 

 Stoddard, Texas, Washington and Wayne. 



"What," somebody may ask, "is the good of all these facts and 

 figures? AVhy should the State issue crop reports? Is anybody bene- 

 fited?" These questions might be answered by asking another, "Why 

 should any business man keep books?" The crop reports are valuable 

 in many ways. They have a news value, a fact which almost all tlie 

 daily papers, as well as many of the leading weeklies, are quick to ap- 

 preciate. They represent an intelligent and unprejudiced discussion of 

 yield and value, and serve as a safe basis for buyer and seller. Many 

 business men depend, to a certain degree, upon these crop reports for 

 future plans. For this reason the reports are given the widest possi- 

 ble publicity, being given out to the press, mailed direct to correspondents 

 and published in condensed form in the year book of the State Board 

 of Agriculture. 



Through these reports the buyer knows in a general way of the sur- 

 plus products produced in any locality and where such products may be 

 found. The prospective purchaser of land, by consulting these reports, 

 is able to get some very valuable and reliable information concerning 

 crop conditions, the output and surplus of the particular county in 

 which he may be interested. No sensible business man would think 

 about buying a business without looking over the books. Farming is 

 a business. Suppose there were no "farmers' bookkeeper" for Missouri; 

 suppose the State made no reports and kept no record of crops and con- 

 ditions. How would the "Show Me State" seem in the eyes of the 

 people of other states? One of the most valuable features of the State 

 crop reports is that they make it impossible for unscrupulous specu- 

 lators to seriously influence the markets by bogus and misleading re- 

 ports. If the State and National governments did not issue crop re- 

 ports grain speculators would, and there would be no way, for the time 

 being, to prove them false. For this reason speculators are believed to 

 sometimes trj' to discredit the department's reports. 



