who spoke on ' M.ikini; a Southeastern 

 Illinois Farm Pay.' 



Illinois premier stockmen, number- 

 ing 30 whose animals won grand cham- 

 pionship awards at State or National 

 shows during the past year, were honor 

 guests at the Stockmen s Bani.]uet, Tues- 

 day evening. 



Subjects such as ' Shall We Buy That 

 Farm Now' and What Clin We Do 

 .About Tenancy Problems in Illinois" 

 created a great deal of interest in the 

 round table discussions and the Ques- 

 tion Box hour of the agricultural eco- 

 nomics program throughout the week. 



In the rural electrification confer- 

 ence, G. W. Baxter, director of trans- 

 portation department of the lAA, 

 stated that 19.4 percent or 15,004 of 

 the 2.31, 8-16 farms in Illinois are now 

 served with electricity. 



But not ail the time was devoted 

 to study. 



Wednesday evening featured the 

 Winter Festival, when Illinois farm 

 folk made the George Huff Gymnasium 

 fairly ring as they sang community 

 songs, applauded the unique gymnastic 

 program presented by university stu- 

 dents, and participated in folk games 

 of American neighbors. 



Thursday night saw this same gym- 

 nasium converted into a theatre for the 

 Annual Rural Music and Drama Tour- 

 nament. A full evenings entertainment 

 was provided by one-act plays, mcn'j 

 and mixed quartets, double quartets, 

 ladies' trios, double trios, and a com- 

 munity orchestra. 



General sessions with an outstanding 

 speaker and a subject of interest to all 

 Farm and Home Week visitors were 

 on each days program. The weather, 

 public health, world peate and the corn 

 belt farmer were some of the topics 

 liiscussed. 



Donald Kirkpatrick, general counsel 

 of the lAA and AFBF, addressed the 

 Thursday general session in the absence 

 of Fdward A O'Neal, president of the 

 AFBF who was scheduled to speak on 

 ■ The Farm Bureau of Today. ' Bring- 

 ing the week's program to a close was 

 the general session on Friday with 

 Louis J. Taber, master National Grange 

 as speaker. 



Hybrid Com 



of December. Yields of hybrid corn 

 this past season were up to 100 bu. an 

 acre and more. 



Blue prints are drawn for the Asso- 

 ciation's proposed new $2"), 000 seed 

 house to be eijuipped with the latest 

 machinery for drying, sorting, grading, 

 cleaning, storing, treating, sacking, and 

 storing hybrid seed corn. The site 

 for the building has not vet been chos- 



COMMITTEE THAT PRESENTED 1938 PIATT COUNTY MEMBERSHIP QUOTA TO 

 Geo. E. Metier on Ian. 14, in lAA oHice, Chicago. Back Row: Ralph Bear, Bert Downey. 

 M. E. Horton. Front: L. P. Hendricks, county organization director. S. L. Grove. 



en. It IS expected that the new build- 

 ing will be ready for next year s crop 



"We have a chance here to render 

 a great .service to Farm Bureau mem- 

 bers," commented Mr. Schofield, a 

 service second to none now being 

 rendered in the state. Hybrid seed corn 

 has universal appeal. It is something 

 every farmer wants or will want. If 

 we can increase the yield only 10 bu. 

 an acre, that's 900 bushels on 90 acres 

 of corn. At "iO cents a bushel it amounts 

 to $150 and on top of that we should 

 be able to pay a patronage dividend. 

 \X'c expect to hold ilown production 

 costs without sacrificing quality. Where 

 can you match this opportunity in any 

 thing organized farmers are doing.' 

 The Crop Improvement As.sociation has 

 stimulated Farm Bureau membership 

 C'ounty organization director F. W. 

 Tieken had a batch of 16 signed Farm 

 Bureau membership agreements 

 iirouglit in by stock solicitors for the 

 hybrid seed cooperative. 



The hybrid industry is young and no 

 one can look down the road far enough 

 to see just what the future holds It 

 seems certain that with greater pro 

 duction and sales volume seed prices 

 will decline still further. There is 

 some danger that competition will 

 drive prices so low as to hurt seed, 

 quality. Thus far a high degree of 

 stabilization in prices has been attained 

 through cooperative action among the 

 hybrid seed growers. Higher vielding 

 varieties are bound to be developed. 

 Corn breeders everywhere are at work 

 searching for the perfect inbred mates 



Piatt County First 



To Make 1938 Quota 



First to turn in a full 19sS quota of 

 Farm Bureau memberships was the fast- 

 working Piatt county organization lom- 

 mittee. 'Ilicy needed HO and on January 

 1 1 they liad H6. A one-day drive that 

 started with an eight o'clock breakfast 

 and ended with an oyster supper resulted 

 in 5.^ memberships. Committeemen 

 brought membership checks to the lAA 

 otfices early, January It. 



In 1936 the Piatt quota was 150, they 

 signed 160; 193" quota. 100. 116 were 

 signed. 



1 hey arc even doubling up bv send- 

 ing seed to .South America to grow two 

 crops within a year. Competition is 

 getting keen but that is all to the good 

 Farmers will benefit from it. And 

 with at least one cooperative in the 

 field to j-irovide a yardstick on hybrid 

 seed costs, the outlook is bright for 

 continued progress in lower cost pro- 

 duction and better profits from the 

 vorn belt s number one crop 



I Icvin hundred Peoria C'ouncy i'arm 



Huu.iu iiutiibL-is particip.itc.l in tin- iiintli 

 .iniiual Jivtrihuiion of earnings by Pc-i>ri.« 

 foiititv .Service (Jiinip.niv. Pcmu. Dcccmhcr 



:i. 



New .illhine liii;li iinrks in •-jU-n. iiKume. 

 .uul lllVl,l^■^^^^ were animunceil be Froj Pol- 

 lock, manager. Patri)n.ige diviJitiilN tot.ili.-d 

 5-S.Si)0. or an .iccragc- of S2S 2u pir meni- 

 KcT pair. in. 



T H, VX'.issoii, prcMilc-nr. expressed the 

 .ippifciatioM ot tlif boar. I tor ilu- splc-n,li.i 

 iniicasf in husiiicss. \ . R M.irch.mt was 

 ihc spcikc-r. 



( R FoiJ. nine yc.irs .i .Incitor. retired 

 1 I MjIkt .if Brimtield succeeded him. 



FEBRUARY. 1938 



2S 



m 



