MAN RUSK SEES BRKrHT 

 FUTURE FOREARM YOUTH 



OPPORTUNITIES for a fuller and 

 richer life for farm youth in agri- 

 Gjlture were never brighter, Dean H. P. 

 Rusk of the University of Illinois col- 

 lege of agriculture said in an address 

 before the annual conference of Illinois 

 Rural Youth in Chicago Nov. 27. 



The Rural Youth conference was held 

 in conjunction with the annual meeting 

 of the Illinois Agricultural Association in 

 Hotel Sherman. 



"Not all young people born on the 

 farm should stay on the farm," Dean 

 Rusk said. "The birth rate on farms 

 in the United States is about 50 per cent 

 above that needed to maintain a stable 

 farm population. With modern equip- 

 ment and methods, we probably do not 

 need a greater farm population than at 

 present." 



Dean Rusk pointed out the increasing 

 importance of the rural youth element 

 in the nation's economy, not only on the 

 farm but in the city's trade and industry. 

 Because of the declining birth rate in the 

 cities and the restrictions on immigration, 

 the nation needs the vigorous surplus 

 youth from the farms. 



"Rural youth," he continued, "has 

 been a real bulwark of democracy 

 throughout the history of this countr)'. 

 I believe that this steady flow of virile 

 youth from our rural areas to the cities 

 may be the salvatiorr of our democracy. 



"The people who produce the neces- 

 sities of life for all of us have not al- 

 ways had their fair share of this coun- 

 try's wealth; and they have sometimes 

 vigorously protested, but they have never 

 lost faith in the fundamental concepts 

 which underlie our system of govern- 

 ment," Dean Rusk said. 



The head of the state agricultural col- 

 lege discussed the new technological de- 

 velopments on the farm and traced the 

 development of the American farm from 

 the period when very little investment 

 was required to the present time when a 

 large per capita investment is necessary 

 to conduct the modern farm. 



Dean Rusk told his farm youth audi- 

 ence to watch for further change in agri- 

 culture. 



"Technological developments," he 

 said, "during the war and those about to 

 emerge warrant the belief that agriculture 

 may be on the verge of further revolu- 

 tionar)' changes. 



40 



Dean H. P. Rusk 



"The growing complexity of the mod- 

 ern farm business," he continued, "de- 

 mands as high a degree of managerial 

 ability as the average business enterprise. 

 The skills which any one farm worker 

 must use are more varied than those that 

 must be mastered by the average indus- 

 trial worker. These facts emphasize the 

 importance of intelligence, training and 

 the mastery of skills in the preparation 

 of rural youth for success in the agri- 

 culture of tomorrow." 



Dean Rusk explained that University 

 of Illinois college of agriculture grad- 



uates are found in a wide variety of oc- 

 cupations. A recent survey of 2,000 men 

 and women listed 360 different jobs in 

 45 states and 11 foreign countries. 



"Obviously," he said, "an agricultural 

 background and training are good prep- 

 aration for successful careers in many 

 different fields. 



"First of all we should encourage 

 intelligent, energetic farm boys and girls 

 who are favorably situated to consider 

 carefully a career on the farm. But for 

 the surplus not needed to carry on the 

 nation's agricultural operations, the train- 

 ing they receive in rural activities should 

 help to prepare them for useful participa- 

 tion in other areas of our complex econ- 

 omy." 



In closing. Dean Rusk cautioned that 

 in spite of the brightness of the farm 

 picture, the present may be a poor time 

 to buy into the farm business and that 

 young people going into farming might 

 very readily mortgage their futures by as- 

 suming too large obligations on the basis 

 of wartime inflated values. 



"Remember," he said, "there has been 

 a recession in prices of agricultural prod- 

 ucts and in land values after every major 

 war. Unless you can buy on the basis 

 of long-time average returns it would 

 seem wise to rent a while or even work 

 for wages where other conditions are 

 satisfactor)'. 



"To each of you I wish the best of 

 luck. But I admonish you to keep eter- 

 nally after pertinent facts; face them 

 frankly, and act energetically and in- 

 telligently in accordance with the facts. 

 Do these things and you will live long 

 and prosper without the aid of luck." 



Members named to the Rural Youth State 

 committee at annual meeting in Chicago 

 and their alternates are. left to right: 

 (back), Robert Temple. Estelle lansen. 



alt.: Evelyn Burger, altj Barbara Long, 

 alt: L. D. Elwell. alt: (front), Juliofem 

 Detroy. alt.; Glen Sailer, Alfred Mangold. 

 John Rollins and Dick Willicnns. 



L A. A. RECORD 



F! 



