370 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



such a breeder lived were engaged in developing the same breed 

 instead of a large number of different breeds, his animals would prob- 

 ably remain in the same neighborhood and be crossed with others of 

 the same breed. When this happens the work of the individual 

 breeder is not lost, but is enabled to count in the improvement of the 

 stock of the country. Under our present highly individualistic 

 methods, the farmer who enters upon a breeding enterprise frequently, 

 .if not generally, makes the initial mistake of selecting some breed 

 which is new to his community in order that he may have something 

 different from anything possessed by his neighbors. It is safe to say 

 that a neighborhood whose farmers behave in this absurd manner will 

 never become distinguished for the excellence of its live stock or of 

 its field crops. 



120. THE POSSIBILITIES OF CO-OPERATION 



In order to understand the gains which may be expected from 

 co-operative organization of agriculture, we should have clearly in 

 mind the shortcomings of the individual type of organization as 

 exemplified by the family -farm, and examine the precise way in which 

 co-operation is supposed to remedy these defects. It is quite evident 

 that the farm of comparatively small size is bound to remain the most 

 efficient operating unit under any type of agriculture which we can 

 foresee. The personal interest of the farmer and the suitability of the 

 family labor group do not, however, mean that such organization 

 secures the most effective possible utilization of the labor factor in 

 production. Though well suited to the routine operation of the farm, 

 it does not secure what is demanded by modern scientific methods of 

 agriculture, in the way of specialized forms of labor ability. The 

 average farm needs a little engineering work, a little veterinary 

 science, a little scientific plant and animal breeding, tree pruning, 

 special business ability and training, or what not. Even if the farmer 

 be the graduate of an agricultural college, he cannot expect to become 

 as expert in any one of these lines as can the man who makes it his 

 profession. Some, but not all, of these kinds of specialists can be 

 hired by the farmer when he needs them, but, in practice, he fails to 

 get their services adequately organized into his enterprise. The large 

 corporation solves its labor problems of this sort by decentralizing 

 operation among such number of plants as are needed for technical 

 efficiency and centralizing specialized services so as to keep such 

 workers fully employed. Theoretically, there is no reason why co- 



