Cf)e CommonUjealti) of ^msiati^instm 



REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER. 



The business of farming in Massachusetts has made very 

 distinct progress in the last few years. This is a result of 

 activities of the various educational and other agencies which 

 have done admirable work in the encouragement and assistance 

 to agriculture during many years past. It is also due to an 

 increased freight rate which has given the farmers of New 

 England a better competitive advantage with the farmers from 

 the West and the South. 



Very noticeable changes are taking place in Massachusetts 

 agriculture. Instead of old-fashioned generalized farming the 

 recent tendency has been toward specialization and the adapta- 

 tion of a system of farming to our condition of land and mar- 

 kets which is best fitted to bring about maximum returns and 

 produce, in many instances, a fair profit. The future of farm- 

 ing in Massachusetts lies in the raising of high-quality products. 

 In considerable measure the expensive hand operations are 

 being replaced by the use of modern machinery. This speciali- 

 zation calls for greater skill on the part of the farmer in pro- 

 duction and marketing. Through educational agencies he is 

 acquiring this skill in greater degree, particularly during the 

 last few years. Farmers' meetings no longer deal with the 

 fundamental, and, in many instances, elementary farming 

 problems which have now become well known, but are con- 

 cerned with technical problems of a high order. Meetings of 

 farmers for the discussion of these problems compare very 

 favorably with groups of other business men for the discussion 

 of their problems. 



Relations with Other Agricultural Agencies. 



There are many agencies at work for assistance to the farmer. 



The most effective of these are made up of farmers themselves. 



There has been a growing tendency for greater harmony among 



various organizations which deal with farm problems. These 



