12 P.D. 123 



Farmers Class 

 Joseph DeVries, No. Uxbridge 15 2395 lbs. 159.66 lbs. 



Horses 



Members of the division assisted in conducting the Commercial Horse 

 Show at the Eastern States Exposition at Springfield. They also helped 

 with the Dynamometer Contest at Springfield, Worcester, Uxbridge and 

 Barre Fairs. 



Sheep 



Interest in sheep has been increasing. New flocks are being started 

 and the demand for sheep information is strong. Eleven sheep meetings 

 were held in cooperation with the Massachusetts Sheep Breeders' Associ- 

 ation and the New England Sheep and Wool Growers' Association. 



Mr. C. D. Richardson, our sheep specialist, submits the following re- 

 port: 



"I have addressed 22 meetings on some phase of the sheep business. 



Have assisted in the sale or purchase of 320 sheep during the year. 



On numerous occasions (probably 100 or more) I have been in consul- 

 tation with men in nearly every section of the State on the advisability 

 of starting in the sheep business, or on the drawbacks in connection with 

 the business which had already been established. 



Have assisted in the pooling of nearly 20,000 lbs. of wool, about 16,000 

 of which was disposed of in the blanket proposition. The balance was 

 sold direct. 



Many of the sheep men in Massachusetts and adjoining States have 

 accepted our plan of disposing of their early lambs. About 1,800 lambs 

 were sold through channels suggested by the Division." 



Dairy Cattle 



The most important problem confronting the Massachusetts dairymen 

 is that of replacements. With the increase in the number of herds being 

 tested for tuberculosis, and the large number reacting, the demand for 

 clean cattle exceeds the supply, at least as far as New England is con- 

 cerned. 



The difficulty of securing satisfactory replacements is well illustrated 

 by the experience of one dairyman who submitted his herd to the tuber- 

 culin test and lost 94 animals in a three year period while trying to main- 

 tain a herd of 38 to 40 milking cows. He tried various New England 

 sources of supply with disastrous results each time. 



A number of farmers have tried buying dairy cows directly from the 

 west. This plan seems to offer good possibilities, especially as the amount 

 of tuberculosis infection in certain sections of the middle west is rela- 

 tively low. Prices for good dairy cattle have steadily gone up until they 

 have reached the peak of war time prices. 



Fair Inspections and Meetings 

 Fifteen fairs and three poultry shows were inspected by the division. 

 Members of the division attended 99 meetings, speaking at 64 of them. 



REPORT OF THE DIVISION OF MARKETS 



The past year has been marked by increased interest in marketing on 

 the part of Massachusetts farmers and consumers. This increased in- 

 terest is probably due largely to the New England Farm Marketing Con- 

 ferences which have been held during the last two years, and to the 

 grading program for farm products which is under way. These confer- 

 ences and the discussion of grades and standards for local farm products 

 by producers, dealers, and consumers have brought the subject of mar- 

 keting to the attention of the Massachusetts public probably more clearly 

 than ever before. It is now generally realized that a better, more efficient 

 system of marketing locally grown farm products is necessary, first, as 



