334 



THE COUNTY AGENT 



no one has yet been able to forecast price, the County Agent will 

 be wise not to attempt it. 



The County Agent is also under pressure to do actual marketing 

 woik for his clients to sell their goods for them or to buy their 

 supplies. This is a prostitution of his functions, for he is there to 

 teach self-help, not to do the farmers' work for him. The end of 

 such a course is disaster. 



The agent will give all possible market information within 

 his power, and direct the farmer to the various trade papers, 

 to the federal and State market reports, and other sources of 



FIG. 68. Marketing wool. Cooperative wool associations are formed by the County Agent. 



(U. S. D. A.) 



information, and then he will let the farmer decide for himself 

 how and when he shall use this information. In most cases of 

 this kind, the daily market reports issued free by the United States 

 Bureau of Markets will meet the farmer's need of up-to-date 

 market news service. 



The Middleman Question. One neglected phase of " coopera- 

 tion" may well receive the attention of the County Agent. In 

 many cases farmers organize and bunch their buying or selling 

 power, and hire one of their own number as manager. It would 

 be equally cooperative, in many such cases, if these bunchec^ 

 buying or selling orders were turned over to some established dealer 

 whose services and charges were deemed fair and satisfactory. 



So much fiction has been written about the farmers' 35-cent 



