DRY-FARMING CONGRESS, WICHITA, 1914 



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the greatest interest of the community enlisted, he does his work after 

 conference and consultation with a representative executive committee 

 from the farm bureau. 



Types of Demonstration Work Undertaken 



As to the types of work undertaken by these bureaus and agricultural 

 agents, there is great variation. In many cases the chief emphasis is 

 placed upon accumulating information as to the best methods of conducting 

 farm enterprises already in practice in the county and in promoting the 

 wide-spread diffusion of this information among the members of the farm 

 bureau and of the county at large. In other cases it takes the form of 

 demonstrations in crops and soils, based upon the positive results of sound 

 experimental work of the various experiment stations and the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, and calling the attention of the farmers 

 of the county in every way possible to the results on the farms where 

 these demonstrations are in progress. 



Again in some counties careful surveys of the organization and busi- 

 ness side of farming are made and the best organized farms used as 

 demonstrations in efficient management. In still other instances farm 

 bureaus have given much of their time to the exchange of breeding animals, 

 purebred seed, etc., in order to increase the production of livestock and 

 crops by the use of better bred livestock and purebred seed. Again many 

 bureaus have been largely instrumental in bringing the farmers together 

 in cooperating groups for the purchase of farm materials and the selling of 

 farm products. The latter form of bureau is emphasizing largely economy 

 in distribution; the former, economy in production, and both are legitimate 

 in so far as they are instructional in character and for the purpose of 

 creating high ideals in the art and business of farming. 



Many farm bureaus also are giving a great deal of attention to the 

 social side of farm life, the promotion of social clubs, picnics, homecom- 

 ings, etc., while others are emphasizing their educational work through 

 schools and boys and girls contests and clubs. The latter is a very valu- 

 able phase of the agricultural demonstration movement. 



Representative Results of the Demonstration Movement 



That the demonstration movement through farm bureaus and agri- 

 cultural agents is bringing results both numerous and striking is appreci- 

 ated by everyone who is in close contact with demonstration work. These 

 results cannot easily be expressed in dollars and cents. We might just as 

 well try to give an estimate of the value of schools, churches, etc. An 

 attempt has been made, however, to estimate the increased yields on the 

 demonstration plats of corn and cotton in the South in 1911, aggregating 

 an area of 279,379 acres. It is stated that on these plats alone the value 

 of the increased yields of these two staple crops at current prices was 

 $2,479,694. This takes no account of the work among the boys and girls, 

 and 50,000 other cooperators who did almost as well as the demonstrators. 

 Even if we leave all monetary estimates out of consideration, the results 

 are very noticeable and often striking. As an example, a farm bureau 



