214 BACKGROUND AND MEANS OF SERVICE 



agriculture; and (3) as a means of cooperation with state 

 and national public agencies in the execution of such a 

 program. We may conclude that this conception of a farm 

 bureau in the thirty-three Northern and Western states 

 is practically universal. The exceptions do not affect the 

 general definition, but rather the degree of its application. 

 Some states, for example, place greater emphasis on the 

 local associations than do most other states. 



The farm bureau idea as embodied in this definition seems 

 to be accepted in the majority of the Southern states in a 

 general way. Conditions and present organization are so 

 different, however, that its application takes quite different 

 forms. 



EXTENT OF COUNTY BUREAUS 



In the thirty-three Northern and Western states in 1919, 

 1,121 counties, or 70 per cent of all the agricultural coun- 

 ties in these states, were employing county agents on a per- 

 manent basis. Of the counties reported as employing 

 agents, 82 per cent had "associations of people," as previ- 

 ously defined, supporting the work. 



Summarizing for the entire country, it would appear that 

 on December 1 ,1921, 2,052 counties, or about 68 per cent of 

 the entire number, were employing county agents, and 1,015 

 of these, or a little more than 49 per cent, supported their 

 agents by paid membership associations ; but less than one- 

 half of the latter were reported to be functioning well. In 

 addition there were on the same date 596 counties in the 

 fifteen Southern states reporting local farmers* clubs. 



COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT 



In many states Iowa, New York and others the local 

 board has full control of all local funds, including appro- 



