192 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



It is the necessity for the exchange of experiences, and barter of ideas 

 that m|akes such meetings as this interesting and instructive. Time was 

 when the Iowa Improved Stock Breeders' Association was the leading 

 one of its kind in the United States. That it is not so today certainly 

 is not because the need for it is gone. 



I believe that some line of action should be decided upon here thnt 

 will properly present this matter to our next legislature. This organi 

 zation should be one in keeping with the agricultural interest of the 

 greatest state in the union. 



The organizations in our sister states, such as Minnesota, Illinois 

 and Nebraska, are recognized and encouraged by the legislatures of those 

 states in a substantial manner. A bill on this subject was before our 

 last legislature and there is but little doubt but what it would be favor- 

 ably acted upon by the next legislature if it is properly presented. I 

 hope this meeting will not adjourn without some decisive action on this 

 matter. 



Certainly there is not a farmer or stock grower in the state of Iowa 

 who does not take great pride in the position attained by our agricul- 

 tural college. That it is in the forefront of agricultural colleges was 

 clearly demonstrated at the recent International Show at Chicago. The 

 record made there clearly demonstrates what a commanding position we 

 hold in stock breeding and farming. 



This great live stock center of Newton should be exactly the right 

 place to inaugurate a movement whicn shall result in giving us an organ- 

 ization of improved stock breeders that will as thoroughly and properly 

 represent Iowa's position as an agricultural state, as does our agricul- 

 tural college. The need for an organization of this kind never was 

 greater than at present. New problems are coming up to be solved all 

 the time, and the recent sharp advance in lands in Iowa calls for better 

 and more careful farming than ever before. The methods heretofore in 

 vogue, in many places, will not do for the future and if we are to main- 

 tain the position we now occupy, advancement and education along agri- 

 cultural lines must be the watchword. 



There is one feature of live stock breeding and improvement that 

 many farmers and breeders overlook. A farmer may get the idea that 

 the ordinary kind of stock he has been raising has not been profitable, 

 and for this reason he will buy a good thoroughbred male. The first 

 cross is, if at all judiciously made, almost always surprisingly satisfac- 

 tory. The test, however, comes as to whether he can see the necessity 

 for keeping on in the sam,e direction. It is rare indeed that such im- 

 provement can be noted by any succeeding cross. The owner is quite 

 likely to conclude that he has not been so fortunate in securing a good 

 male as in the first instance, and owing to this fact he loses his en- 

 thusiasm, and his stock begins to go back. 



Very few farmers, comparatively, realize the necessity for the con- 

 stant use of improved blood. They do not realize that the introduction 

 of improved blood is necessary to guard against the natural deterioration 

 that comes from bad crosses, poor feed and unfavorable seasons. 



