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CONFERENCES 



With a total attendance of more than 2,500 

 Illinois farmers, four special conferences, a 

 part of the program of the 22nd annual meet- 

 ing of the Illinois Agricultural Association, 

 swung into action, 1:30 P.M. Thursday, Janu- 

 ary 28, in Chicago. These meetings, dealing 

 with public relations, organization and in- 

 formation marketing, and rural electrification, 

 respectively, were held to give Farm Bure!>u 

 members an opportunity to state their individ- 

 ual views on a wide variety of subjects. 



From these meetings was learned the desires 

 of members regarding many questions of gen- 

 eral interest. Opinions expressed by memoers 

 serve to guide directors and administrative 

 officials of the organization in carrying out 

 the Association's program. 



Secretary of Agriculture, Henry A. Wallace 

 sat in at the public relations conference which 

 was attended by 1,500 persons. Mr. Wallace 

 heard 17 farmers state their personal opinions 

 of the 1937 Soil Conservation and Domestic 

 Allotment Act. 



Charles H. Snyder, Brown county, urged 

 that the Act be amended so that state ad- 

 ministration of the Act would be delayed until 

 1940. Such action, Snyder argued, would al- 

 low state legislatures time to study the es- 

 sential factors that should be included in state 

 legislation necessary to administer the law. 



Mr. Price of Kane county said, "I've seen 

 land going down in fertility at a rapid rate, 

 especially during the past ten years. Our land 

 needs to be brought back. Let's take steps to 

 have our soil built up for future generations." 



Roy Douglas, Champaign county, suggested 

 that the Farm Bureau should have more to do 

 with the local administration of the Soil Con- 

 servation Act. 



Earl C. Smith, president of lAA. pointed 

 out that the farm tenancy problem will take 

 care of itself when fair and stable prices based 

 on principles of law and co-operation can be 

 maintained. "Tenants will then be able to 

 have a net income with which to buy farms," 

 he said. 



Regardless of what is done to help tenants 

 some provision must be made by wh'ch the 

 prices of land will be kept at a level favor- 

 able to tenants who want to buy farms, Mr. 

 Thomas, Kendall county, commented. 



Farm Bureau members who attended the 

 conference on organization and information 

 discussed the problem of getting adequate in- 

 formation to non-members. Members asked 

 that some consideration be given to greater 

 use of radio during the year. They suggested 

 that more pamphlets be published to aid in 

 passing information along to non-members. 

 Members also urged that the lAA RECORD 

 be sent to special lists of non-members. 



Young People's Activities 

 Frank Gingrich, director of young peoples 

 activities, explained the four point program 

 which has been planned for the young folks 

 of Illinois who are through school and who 

 have not yet entered farming or business. 

 Gingrich said that group programs during the 

 year will include dramatic skits, tours to co-' 

 operative enterprises and other points of in- 

 terest, radio forums for young people, and dis- 

 cussions on problems affecting rural living. 

 The 400 Farm Bureau members who attended 

 the meeting were favorably impressed with 

 the program as outlined. 



Much time was spent in discussing defini- 

 tion of membership. The points enlarged 



upon were the standing of new members, mem- 

 bership transfers from one county to another, 

 solicitation of prospective members who live 

 in adjoining counties, and the standing of 

 delinquent members. 



Marketing Discussed 



"Where do we go from here.'" was the 

 general trend of discussion during the market- 

 ing conference in the Morrison Hotel attended 

 by nearly 500 farmers. It was the consensus 

 of opinion that the present marketing program 

 of the respective organizations affiliated with 

 the lAA are sound, and that they should be 

 pushed by all members. To increase their 

 effectiveness members pointed out, there is 

 need for mOre information about the various 

 activities of the marketing groups. This in- 

 formation they said should be given to mem- 

 bers and non-members alike. 



F. W. Peck, director of agricultural exten- 

 sion. University of Minnesota, told the con- 

 ference that more stress should be laid on 

 processing the raw products of our farms. He 

 showed the group that the closer the producer 

 takes the product to the consumer, the more 

 money the producer will get. 



The place of the co-operative in rural elec- 

 trification was the theme of the discussion in 

 the rural electrification conference. It was 

 pointed out that new state legislation is neces- 

 sary if the electric co-op is to take a place in 

 the field with the public utilities in selling 

 power to farmers. The meeting was attended 

 by 200 persons. 



lAA DIRECTORS 



The 22nd annual meeting of the Association 

 terminated the service of four outstanding 

 Farm Bureau leaders as members of the lAA 

 board, namely, C. E. Bamborough, Samuel 

 Sorrells, E. D. Lawrence, and R. B. Endicott. 



Oldest in point of service of the four is 

 Claude E. Bamborough of Polo who was 

 elected from the 13th district at the Chicago 

 meeting in 1923 to succeed L. E. Birdsall of 

 Sterling. His first assignment was the market- 

 ing committee, then chairman of the poultry 

 committee for two years. When Earl Smith 

 was elected president in 1926, Mr. Bambor- 

 ough was appointed to succeed him as chair- 

 man of the Organization-Information com- 

 mittee. This chairmanship he held until 

 two years ago when he was appointed chairman 

 of Business Service committee and Secretary 

 of several lAA subsidiaries. He was elected 

 director seven consecutive times serving for 

 14 years. 



Mr. Bamborough has had an interesting 

 life. Educated at Northwestern University 

 as a pharmacist, he had a drug store at Polo 

 for many years. The confinement of the 

 shopkeeper's life didn't agree with him so 

 he bought a 400 acre livestock farm south- 

 east of Polo and went to farming. He was 

 successful as a farm operator and livestock 

 feeder from the beginning. He is a tireless 

 worker, noted for his sound business judg- 

 ment. The failing health of Mrs. Bamborough 

 was a factor in his withdrawal from Farm 

 Bureau activities. The Bamboroughs have 

 two adopted daughters, both married, and 

 while they reside in town, Mr. Bamborough 

 continues to operate his own farm. He has 



served on the board of supervisors of Ogle 

 county for many years. 



Mr. Sorrells, of Raymond, another early 

 leader in the Farm Bureau movement was 

 chosen director from the 21st district in 1924. 

 He has an unsurpassed attendence record hav- 

 ing missed only one board meeting in 13 years. 

 Mr. Sorrells is one of the best known and most 

 progressive farmers in Montgomery county 

 and has a well-improved livestock farm. He 

 was appointed to the marketing committee 

 by President Sam Thompson soon after his 

 election to the board, and in 1925 was made 

 chairman which position he has held since 

 tliat time. 



Mr. Sorrells assisted in organizing the Il- 

 linois Farm Bureau Serum Association which 

 he served either as president, vice-president, 

 or director for 12 years. He was in on the 

 organization of Illinois Farm Supply Co., 

 and served as a director for six years from 

 1927 to 1932. 



Shortly after the Illinois Livestock Market- 

 ing Ass'n. was established, Mr. Sorrells was 

 elected to succeed Henry H. Parke as pres- 

 ident. He still serves in that capacity. He 

 has been a director in the St. Louis Producers 

 for many years. 



Some time ago, Mr. Sorrells invited the 

 leaders from his district to a dinner at his 

 home where he announced that he would 

 no longer be a candidate for director. His 

 warm personality won for him a host of 

 friends over the state. 



Ernest Lawrence, a younger member of the 

 board in point of service, was elected from 

 the 17th district in 1933. Active from the 

 beginning in the McLean County Farm Bur- 

 eau, Mr. Lawrence's good judgment and 

 business ability was early recognized by his 

 fellow members. He was chosen the first 

 president of McLean County Service Co. In 

 1929 he was elected president of Illinois 

 Farm Supply Company where he served two 

 years. Mr. Lawrence was appointed chair- 

 man of 'the Organization-Information Com- 

 mittee of the lAA board when Mr. Bambor- 

 ough was given the Business Service Com- 

 mittee post. 



Mr. Lawrence, a graduate of the Univer- 

 sity of Illinois, not only operates the farm 

 on which he resides, but also supervises the 

 leasing and operation of many other farms 

 in McLean and adjoining counties for a 

 Bloomington bank. This work commands so 

 much of his time that he asked to be relieved 

 of his place on the lAA board. Mr. Lawrence 

 won a Master Farmer medal years ago. He 

 is a member of a U. of I. advisory committee. 



Robert B. Endicott's name is synonymous 

 with everything progressive in horticulture 

 in Southern Illinois. He has been active as 

 an official and board member of the Illinois 

 Fruit Growers Exchange, president of the 

 Illinois Horticulture Society, president of the 

 Pulaski County Farm Bureau, and was elected 

 to the lAA board in 1933 from the 25th 

 district. Mr, Endicott is not only a leader 

 in farm organizations, he is also a topnotch 

 farmer. His farm produces a wide variety 

 of horticultural and field crops as well as 

 livestock. During the past three years he 

 has served as chairman of the Public Relations 

 Committee. He knows farmer's problems 

 and his practical, common sense approach to 

 solutions have been valuable to the many 

 groups and committees he has served. 



FEBRUARY. 1937 



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