43S IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



FARM BUSINESS RECORDS 



Inasmuch as cost of production is one of the objects of the Fed- 

 eration, the practical method of getting some facts is through a 

 system of Farm Records. The AgricuUural Extension Department 

 of the Iowa State College through Mr. Thompson, of the Farm Man- 

 agement Section, has been issuing these Record Books for sale at 

 cost. Last year this was stopped by educational authorities. The 

 Federation took the matter up and published an edition of forty 

 thousand copies, which came from the press beginning December 

 10th. Since that time better than thirty-seven thousand of the books 

 have been sold, and we have been selling them at cost plus the 

 handling. An additional ten thousand edition has been ordered. 



THE AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION 



Ten of the eleven members of the Executive Committee attended 

 the organization meeting of the Anierican Farm Bureau Federation 

 at Chicago on November 12th, 13th and 14th. A total of thirty-two 

 people from Iowa was at this meeting. Thirty-three of the different 

 states responded to roll call, and after three days and two nights 

 of deliberation the constitution and platform of the big organization 

 was completed and adopted. In the election of officers, the honor 

 of being the first president of the American Farm Bureau Federation 

 fell to our worthy president, Mr. J. R. Howard. In the first meeting 

 of the National Executive Committee the Temporary Headquarters 

 were assigned to the office of the Secretary of the Iowa Farm Bureau 

 Federation at Ames. The final meeting for completion of the A. F. 

 B. F. in permanent form will be held at Chicago on ^larch 3, 1920. 



HELPING NEIGHBOR STATES ORGANIZE 



September 4th, the Secretary went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and 

 helped Minnesota federate. October 1st to Manhattan, Kansas, and 

 on November 7th President Howard to Louisville, Kentucky, all of 

 which states formed federations and were represented at the Chicago 

 meeting. 



