OFFER PLAN T 

 IMPROVE SERVIC 

 OF FARM BUREA 



IMPATIENCE with the government's 

 sluggish attempts to coordinate the 

 activities of agricultural agencies 

 was expressed by President Charles 

 B. Shuman of the Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association in Springfield Sept. 29- 



President Shuman, with other lAA of- 

 ficials, discussed numerous Farm Bureau 

 questions before a gathering of several 

 hundred Farm Bureau presidents, farm 

 advisers, and other Farm Bureau leaders, 

 several of whom expressed their opin- 

 ions from the floor. 



Other matters discussed included rural 

 school consolidation, taxation of coopera- 

 tives, conduct of County Farm Bureau 

 annual meetings, associate membership in 

 Farm Bureau, and organization of county 

 committees on issues of statewide im- 

 {Kjrtance. 



President Shuman expressed concern 

 at the slow progress of the Soil Con- 

 servation Service, which he said has spent 

 $275,000,000 in 12 years to reach only 

 six per cent of the nation's farms. 



He cited the four agencies now carry- 

 ing on the soil conservation program and 

 asked for more sensible coordination and 

 less waste and duplication. It is con- 

 fusing to farmers, he said, with so many 

 federal employes trying to do the same 

 thing. All four agencies are carrying on 

 educational and demonstrational pro- 

 grams in .soil conservation practices. 



"If we are to avert national disaster," 

 President Shuman said, "we must ac- 

 celerate the program of soil conservation 

 as provided under the Agricultural Co- 

 ordination Bill of 1947." 



The Agricultural Coordination Bill 

 provides that the Soil Conservation Serv- 

 ice become a division of the extension 

 service; eliminates regional SCS offices; 

 transfers research work of SCS to experi- 

 ment stations; gives more authority to 

 SCS districts; and provides that all edu- 

 cational and technical assistance on soil 

 conserv'ation be supplied through the 

 extension service. 



George E. Metzger, secretary of the 

 lAA division of organization and in- 



formation, called attention to abuses in 

 the acquisition of associate membership 

 and cited examples of associate members 

 without thought to the welfare of agri- 

 culture evidently acquiring membership 

 simply to obtain Farm Bureau privileges. 



President Shuman commented that 

 perhaps the associate membership situa- 

 tion requires drastic action in view of 

 the findings presented by Secretary Metz- 

 ger. 



Pointing out the shortcomings of most 

 county Farm Bureau annual meetings, 

 Metzger asked for better planned pro- 

 grams. The program, he said, should be 

 well organized so it never drags. Make 

 business reports short and snappy and 

 limit your speakers to one or two good 

 ones. 



President Shuman added that the an- 

 nual meeting may be the only contact 

 some members have with Farm Bureau 

 so it should be good. 



Taking up the question of consolida- 

 tion of rural schools, John K. Cox, lAA 

 director of rural school relations, said 

 that there had been less "land-grabbing," 

 of rural school areas by more aggressive 

 neighbors since the people had become 

 better informed on the practice of land 

 grabbing and how it can be stopped. 



(Conliiiued on page 7) 



TO IMPROVE the effectiveness of 

 Farm Bureau service and give county 

 leaders a better chance to mold 

 opinion at both state and county 

 levels, a plan of action was pre- 

 sented to Farm Bureau Leaders in Spring- 

 field by I. E. Parett, secretary of general 

 services for the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation. 



The plan has the approval of the public 

 relations committee of the lAA and the 

 lAA board of directors. 



Stated simply, it calls for the estab- 

 lishment in each county of four com- 

 mittees on 1. Organization-Information, 

 2. Marketing, 3. Public Relations, and 

 4. Business Service. These committees 

 would work with similar groups at th^ 

 state level. 



Farm Bureau leaders have felt for some 

 time that too much has been asked of 

 the county Farm Bureau president. The 

 burden on one man has prevented the 

 county Farm Bureau from being as effec- 

 tive as it might be if the responsibility 

 were shared with other county leaders. 



Explaining the plan and its purposes, 

 Parett said: "Problems arising at both 

 county and state levels often require 

 quick action by well-informed, trained 

 leaders. This is particularly true in the 

 field of legislation. 



Following are the recommendations as 

 presented by Secreta,rv Parett: 



A. Organization-Information — Com- 

 mittees of three men in each county, one 

 of whom acts as chairman, are recom- 

 mended. Further organization within the 

 committee itself seems advisable because 

 one man should be designated as an or- 

 ganization specialist, another on Publicity 

 and Information matters, and a third 

 on Rural Youth. 



B. Marketing — Each county is asked 

 to have a Marketing committee of five 

 members, one of whom should be chair- 

 man. The five branches of marketing 

 to be directed by this committee are Live- 

 stock. Grain, Dairy, Fruit and Vegetable, 

 and Wool. 



C. Public Relations — Considering the 



L A. A. RECORD 



