TAKING THE RISKS OUT OF FARMING. 



E. S. BRIGHAM, COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, MONTPELIER, VERMONT. 



Those whose knowledge is largely confined to the purchase 

 of food in the city market think of farming as one of the most 

 independent and secure of occupations. The expression, "The 

 farmer is sure of his living, anyway," is often heard and is 

 commonly believed. It is very easy to account for this. When 

 land enough for a farm could be had from a generous govern- 

 ment for the asking, and when farming consisted principally in 

 raising supplies for family use, it was true that the farmer had 

 little to worry about. 



Donald Grant Mitchell, in his book, "My Farm of Edge- 

 wood," written in 1863, refers to this type of farming thus: — 



The farmer, . . . inheriting his httle patch of land, and feeling reason- 

 ably sure of his corn and bacon, and having none of that incentive which 

 attends risk, yields himself to a stolid indifference. . . . Yet some of the 

 agricultural papers tell us with pride that bankruptcies among farmers 

 are rare. Pray why should they not be rare? The man who never mounts 

 a ladder will most surely never have a fall from one. Dash, enterprise, 

 spirit, wakefulness have their hazards, and always will; but if a man 

 sleep, the worst that can befall him is only a bad dream. 



This type of farming is passing as farm lands increase in 

 price, involving heavy interest charges, and as farmers feel the 

 need for money to pay for improvements, for automobiles, 

 telephones, electric lights, etc., — things which are considered 

 necessities to-day. Now the majority of farmers are doing a 

 commercial business which does not differ essentially from the 

 business of the manufacturer. Costs are incurred in raising a 

 crop, for labor, machinery, fertilizers, etc., which must be 

 paid with the proceeds therefrom, and a profit must be earned 

 if the business is a good one. The farmer has all the risks of 

 the manufacturer, and some besides, for while the manufacturer 

 gathers his business inside a plant where he is independent of 

 weather or the seasons, the farmer has to deal daily with weather 



