Chapter IX 



THE AMERICAN FARM BUREAU 

 FEDERATION 



THE RISE of the American Farm Bureau Federation in 1919 marked 

 the entry into the agricultural scene of a farmers' organization that 

 was strikingly different from and even hostile to the Nonpartisan League, 

 the Farmers' Union, and the Equity. It was the most ambitious attempt 

 ever made to organize the farmers of the country into a superorganiza- 

 tion. The temper of the times reveals that the Bureau came into being for 

 other reasons, however, than that of seeking to organize the farmers from 

 the bottom up. The cooperative movement, as already observed, was 

 thriving, and the need for coordinating the local units was great. The 

 social and industrial unrest that followed in the wake of the war created 

 alarm in many quarters. Most farmers in the country were not members 

 of any general farm organization. (The Grange and the Farmers' Union 

 were the only two farmer organizations of importance; the Equity was 

 very weak, and while the Nonpartisan League was still strong, signs of de- 

 cline were apparent to the shrewd observer.) Commercial and financial 

 interests as well as government officials and educational leaders who saw 

 the need for a strong farmer organization were unwilling to encourage 

 any of the existing movements. They wanted a body that was conserva- 

 tive, stable, and better financed organized along safe and sane lines and 

 hence more in keeping with American tradition. The feeling was that this 



