THE UNIVERSITY AND THE FARM 107 



the population grows, especially in the neighborhood of cities and in- 

 dustrial centers. The dairy industry should become larger in the next 

 decade or two, both as an independent industry and as a part of ordi- 

 nary farming. In this line, as in others, the University's duty as it 

 is supplied with means for the purpose is to cooperate with the prac- 

 tical farmer by studying conditions and trying to devise methods of 

 expansion and improvement and to make scientific discoveries that 

 will promote the progress of the industry. 



ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT 



In addition to the group of activities and improvements thus far 

 mentioned, there is also the very large field of economic, social, and 

 business improvement in farming. Farming as a business has been 

 sadly neglected. There is a good deal of popular enthusiasm at pres- 

 ent about one aspect of the economics of farming; namely, that of 

 marketing, and some on the general subject of farm organization and 

 management. Farm organization may be regarded from the point of 

 view of technical agriculture or from that of economics. From the 

 former point of view, the farm should be so organized as to make 

 possible the utilization of the best technical methods of production. 

 From the latter point of view, the farm should be organized, that is 

 to say, the capital invested in the farm should be so apportioned be- 

 tween different farm operations, as to yield the largest net profits 

 from the processes to which it is assigned. We need a study of the 

 apportionment of capital to diverse farming operations on farms of 

 standard sizes. This would be a study of agricultural investment. 

 To this the University should give its attention as soon as it can find 

 means. We need, in addition, a study of the economics of farm dis- 

 tribution, involving marketing; warehousing (cooperative and other) ; 

 transportation, whether by highway or by rail; markets considered 

 with reference to their geographical distribution and their economic 

 character; and a number of similar subjects. These are all proper 

 subjects for study at the University, and it should be a part of the 

 future policy of the state to provide means for the encouragement of 

 these studies. 



Again, we shall need in our Illinois farming better and more fre- 

 quent statistical reports showing the actual conditions in the various 

 agricultural activities of interest to our people, so that our farmers will 

 be able more intelligently to determine what products to raise in each 

 season and how most advantageously to sell them. 



