THE HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



Published By The 



Hampshire County Farm Bureau 



A. F. MacDougall, County Agent 



Office, First National Eank Bldg. 



Northampton, Mass. 



Entered as second class matter 

 Nov. 9, 1915 at the post office at 

 Northampton, Massachusetts, under 

 the Act of March 8, 1879. 



OFFICERS OF THE FARM BUREAU 



Charles R. Damon, President, 



Williamsburg. 



W. D. Mandell, Treasurer, 



Northampton. 



John J. Knenedy, Secretary, 



Northampton. 



Advisory Board 



C. E. Hodgkins, Chairman, 



Northampton. 

 M. "A. Morse, Belchertown. 

 Martin Norrls, Southampt n. 

 Perley E. Davis, Granby. 

 E. B. Clapp, Easthampton. 

 Warren M. King, Northampton. 

 Chas. R. Damon, Williamsburg. 



EDITORIAL 



THE COUNTY AGENT 



Many and varied are the questions 

 asked about what the County Agent 

 is and what he is supposed to do. Oc- 

 casionally we see or read of a knock- 

 er (who is really a booster) of the 

 movement, who has the Idea that the 

 county agent stands as one who is 

 an "expert" on all lines of farming 

 and one who goes to even the best 

 farms in the county and tells them 

 that their methods are wrong and 

 that they -must make some radical 

 changes in order to exist. 



How far this is from the real work 

 of the county agent. The real job 

 of the county's hired man is to dem- 

 onstrate, not to advise. He is not an 

 advisor but an agent of the farmers. 



It is true some work is done assist- 

 ing individual farmers with special 

 problems, but it is not the agent's en- 

 tire work "advising" a farmer on how 

 to grow a field of corn, milk a cow, 

 or pick his apples 



A farmer as a rule knows his busi- 

 ness pretty thoroughly and many of 

 them can often give pointers to the 

 best agriculturist, especially on their 

 local conditions. 



The Farm Bureau is an Exchange 

 Bureau where the farmers are able to 

 go for any information they desire. 

 It is not natural to suppose that the 

 agent should have ready answers for 

 all these inquiries. He is there to 

 * take these problems to the places he 

 thinks are best able to answer them, 

 whether it be the State Agricultural 

 College, the State Board of Agricul- 

 ture, the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

 or to a farmer in the county. 



It often happens that a farmer in 

 one end of the county can have his 

 problems answered by a farmer in an- 

 other part of the county. It is this 

 carrying of news from one part to 

 the other that helps make the agent 

 useful. 



The county agent should make a 

 study of his county so as to know 

 best how to apply the information he 

 gets from different sources to the lo- 

 cal needs. It may be that he can 

 be of most value in a certain com- 

 munity if he assists in starting a 

 cow-test association, helps to obtain 

 speakers for the Grange, or has an 

 orchard properly pruned and sprayed 

 for the farmers to observe. Or in 

 another community they may want to 

 join and buy their fertilizer, sail 

 their potatoes, or have their boys and 

 girls join a pig or canning club. It 

 is the agent's work to do what he 

 can for those who want his services. 



Another very important point is 

 that the county agent is not "working 

 alone. The farm bureau is an or- 

 ganization composed of many of the 

 farmers and husiness men of the 

 fountv. all working to help not only 

 themselves but their neighbors; to 

 obtain more out of this life they are 

 living. 



Every town has a director besides 

 several members of the bureau who 

 are working with the county agent. 

 This Ik not a one-man job, but a job 

 in which everyone has his share of 

 the work to do. 



THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY 

 . COW -TEST ASSOCIATION 



More herds are needed to put the 

 association on a good financial ba- 

 sis and bring the price down where 

 it will be reasonable. 



Diiring the month of November 

 241 cows were entered and the price 

 per cow was 17 cents. In December 

 three more herds are coming in which 

 will probably bring the price down 

 to 15 cents per cow. This will still be 

 3 cents too high. Every herd that 

 can be added now lowers the price. 

 Let every member try to get a new , 

 herd in either this month or for a j 

 certainty by January. If everyone 

 tries, surely 5 or 6 herds would ent- 

 er. 



A cow-test association is not a 

 charitable institution you are ask-ii 

 to help; it is an association to help 

 every dairyman in it to better know 

 his cows and a means of keeping in 

 touch with his whole business in a 

 more efficient manner. It is an in- 

 vestment to return dollars and cents 

 into your pocket, not to take them 

 out. 



It is hoped that every man in the 

 association today is in it to get all 

 he can out of it; that is, don't enter 

 your cows to see what records you 

 can make in order to beat your neigh- 

 bors. Enter your cows so that you 

 can know the ones that make the 

 most efficient use of the feed you 

 give them and help to eliminate the 

 unprofitable ones. Give all the in- 

 formation you can to your tester 

 so that he can return you more ac- 

 curate figures. Also get all the in- 

 formation you can from your tester, 

 lie comes to your place every month 

 to help you. Keep records on every 

 cow in your barn, the poor ones as 

 well as the good ones. It is the whole 

 herd as well as the individual cow 

 you want to know about. 



The following men belong to the 

 association: 



No. of 

 Cows 

 W. H. Learned, Florence, 11 



C. T. Burt, Easthampton, 15 



James McAuslane, Easthampton, 13 

 Clapp Bros., Easthampton. 

 McConnell Farm, Easthampton 

 W. A. Parsons, Southampton 17 

 Nelson Lewis, Northampton, 13 



W. J. LaFleur, Northampton, 

 Josiah Parsons, Northampton, 9 



E. T. Whitaker. Hadley, 15 



W. C. Heiden, Hadley, 12 



T. E. Dimick, Hadley, 14 



E. C. Harlow, Amherst, 16 



C. W. Ball, Grnaby, ig 



J. L. Ingham, Granby, 21 



Fred Bridgman, Westhampton, 21 

 C. G. Loud, Westhampton, 14 



E. H. Montague, Westhampton, 14 

 Hugh Bridgman, Westhampton. 18 



MASSACHUSETTS APPLE 

 CORN SHOW 



AND 



With the fine showing made by 

 our growers at the New England 

 Fruit Show to encourage us, a large 

 delegation from the County ought to 

 attend the Massachusetts Show and 

 exhibit their fruit. Prizes are giv- 

 en on plate and box exhibits and 

 for the most attractive and pratical 

 retail package fcr apples. 



Attractive premiums are also Df- 

 fered for corn and milk exhibits. 

 Remember this is a state affair and 

 Hampshire County wants to be well 



