156 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



■was formed the work has continually grown, slowly but steadily, until 

 the war period came on, when the tremendous organization that was 

 needed for the stimulation of food production was brought into being and 

 a farm bureau was placed in every county in this state on February 1, 

 3918. It was said at that time that the organization of the farm bureaus 

 was a special piece of work for the stimulation of food production, but 

 as an outgrowth of the work that was done during that war period there 

 were some things that, taken from a conference standpoint, from the 

 standpoint of organized effort, led those who were working with the farm 

 bureaus to believe that there was need for other organizations to amal- 

 gamate those farm bureaus into a state organization similar to your 

 organization of county fairs. So last year at Marshalltown that organ- 

 ization was made, and it has outlined a definite program of work. The 

 farm bureau movement has developed in various counties of this state. 

 It has developed from the standpoint of a co-operative organization that 

 stands on its own feet, that stands there ready to co-operate with any 

 other existing organization that is striving or working along the same 

 lines. It has no affiliations with any other existing organizations except 

 from a co-operative standpoint. It stands ready to co-operate with the 

 county fair, with the district fair, with the community organization, with 

 any organization that is in for the development of the community. It 

 has stood on that basis, and I want fo say to you gentlemen that that 

 has been the success of the farm bureau work. It has grown into an 

 organization that is no longer a one-man proposition. When it started 

 it was said that the county agent movement was an attempt to place a 

 man in every county of the state. In other words, to create another 

 position at the expense of the taxpayer. The farm bureau has grown 

 larger than that. They have found that the county agent is nothing 

 more or less than their paid servant, that he works for that organization, 

 that it develops the work and he carries out the program of develop- 

 ment, and what that program is in the county is what the members of 

 that organization make. As your worthy president has stated, in the 

 beginning of the work we sometimes thought, and I know a great many 

 of the county officers of the farm bureaus thought, "What's the use, the 

 people aren't appreciating this work;" but as it went on, and as time 

 developed it, we found that it was commencing to leaven the loaf, that 

 people were beginning to get the big vision, that if they were to get any- 

 thing out of this work it was necessary for them to get into it and help 

 direct it along the -lines of development of that county, the particular 

 community in which they resided. 



What were the things that led up to the state federation? I can men- 

 tion a few of them. It is like going back and telling an old story time 

 and time again, but when we had that seed-corn situation two years ago 

 the organization proved its worth. Men who had been in the state for 

 30 years remembered the crisis that they went through at one period 

 before when we had a seed-corn famine in this state and they sent in 

 seed corn from other states and outside counties that didn't mature, so 

 they knew the crisis they were facing, but by careful co-operation with 

 other existing organizations, and every one in the state I think co-oper- 

 ated along that line, all pulling together, they were able to furnish seed 



