The Agricultural Situation Reviewed from a Little Different Angle

The Agricultural Situation Reviewed from a Little Different Angle By P. V. Cordon, Director, Branch Agricultural College The farm bloc, the president's conference on agriculture, the various congressional investigations into the cause of the farmers' economic problems, the legislative remedies that have been proposed as sure-cures for agricultural ills — these things, and all others related thereto, have received so much attention of late that it is refreshing and otherwise beneficial to review the basic facts that constitute the foundation of agriculture. Some of these facts are: First, that agriculture is an art; sec- ond, that a great many people practice this art not merely as a means of making a living but as a source of domestic happiness ; third, that its successful pursuit depends upon a thorough knowledge of life in its broader sense; fourth, that modern farming itself is dependent upon many industries; fifth, that agriculture involves, at once, problems of production and prob- lems of disposal; and, sixth, despite all efforts to minimize them, there will always be "ups and downs" in agriculture, just as there always have been. J. S. Mills says that "art in general consists of the truths of science, arranged in the most convenient order for practice, instead of the order which is the most convenient for thought;" whereas F. H. Giddings urges us to remember that "the arts themselves are groups of ideas and acquisitions of skill that exist only in the minds, muscles and nerves of living men." Webster says that art is "systematic application of knowledge or skill in effecting a desired result. Also, an occupation or busi- ness requiring such knowledge or skill; a craft; as, mechanical or industrial arts." From these definitions it is plain that agriculture is an art, but there are good reasons why it should not be confused with the mechanical or industrial arts that are commonly referred to as trades. For agriculture is not a trade and the farmer is not a tradesman, in the sense that carpenters, plumbers and machinists are tradesmen. For obvious reasons, also, agriculture as an art has relatively little in common with the so-called trade unions, except as ag- riculture and the trades have become, in a sense, interdepend-

494 IMPROVEMENT ERA ent. The agriculturist, technically, is both employer and em- ployee, whereas, the unionist has the viewpoint of only the employee. The bricklayer, for example, is interested in obtain- ing high pay, short hours, and cheap food; whereas the farmer knows that only through long hours and reasonable prices for his food products can he obtain even a fair wage for his labor. The farmer very clearly, also, is directly or indirectly affected by every increase in wage that the unionist obtains; a good example of this being the present situation with reference to freight rates. There is another thing that sets agriculture apart from the trades or crafts, namely, that the farmer cannot proceed with the assurance of getting out of his occupation returns in exact proportions to what he puts into it. His returns are affected by too many limiting factors, including the hazards of climate, the ravages of insect pests and the destructiveness of infectious dis- eases, not to mention the uncertainty of the markets for farm produce. The tradesman is paid by the hour or the day; so much labor performed means so much cash in hand. The farm- er, on the other hand, as the result of his labor, if his crops are good, becomes at once the owner of saleable goods and he seeks to dispose of his goods wherever and however he may to the best possible advantage to himself. If his crops fail, he is the loser; his labor nets him nothing. Even if his crops are good and, for one cause or another, the market is poor, he is again the loser. In a sense, therefore, the farmer is a gambler, as my friend, Mike Hogan, once put it. Mike was farming in central Montana, when an oil boom settled upon that region. He with others, of course, caught the "oil fever" and began scratching around for a little cash with which to speculate. Mike's banker advised against such specu- lation, but Mike replied that the five hundred dollars he was about to gamble on oil was a mere trifle compared with the amount of money he gambled every year when he planted his crops, and the chances for "striking it right" were so much better in oil that there could be no comparison! And he was right, at least in so far as the amount involved was concerned, because, as we calculated at the time, his planted crop, includ- ing the seed, the plowing and the preparation of the land, repre- sented a capital outlay of approximately three thousand dollars. As for chances for "striking it right," I can only state that Mike was speaking in the gloom of his experience during four Consecutive years of drought. Yet, fully aware of all these uncertainties of agriculture, mindful of all its hazards, familiar with the long hour* irv

AGRICULTURAL SITUATION REVIEWED 495 volved, and awake to the unfavorable economic situation con- fronting them, there are millions of Mikes who, undismayed, will go forth this spring to sow their crops, buoyed up by the hope of success. They have done so before — ever since the ag- ricultural age of man dawned — and they will do so, must do so, each year in the future, if human life on earth is to be maintained. That is the fact underlying all speculation upon the manner in which the farmers are to practice their art suc- cessfully. And what would success mean to Mike? The production of a good crop, disposed of to advantage, so that the barn might be painted, a decent hen-house built, the kitchen linoleum replaced, a better sire purchased, and the children assured of their schooling! The financial ability thus to improve his farm and thereby create a more wholesome environment for his family is the ambition of every true farmer. In the making of a good living, of course, he is interested, as he should be; but behind that, born of his interest in his art, is the ambition, shared by his wife, to provide a good home. And when that ambition is tempered by a love for good livestock, a fondness for superior crops, and a desire to excel in the production of either, or both, there is created about that home an atmosphere that breeds manhood and womanhood of the highest type. Then is the art of agriculture practiced successfully. This successful pursuit of agriculture, however, is governed by the farmer's knowledge of life — life of the soil, the crops, the animals, and man. How terribly wrong is the old idea, still retained in many quarters, particularly among those who know the least about agriculture, that to know how to farm is simply to know how to harness a team, hitch it properly to the plow or the drill or the reaper, drive it knowingly all day, unhitch it at night, tie the horses to the manger, throw them some hay; milk the cows, slop the hogs, gather the eggs, and close up for the night! The drudgery implied in such a statement is the only thing emphasized; and that appeals only to him who thinks he sees in it an argument against the tyranny of the "capitalist." He fails to see the wholesomeness of honest labor, the joy of knowing how to work in harmony with the laws of nature, the satisfaction of proprietorship, the familiar hap- piness that characterizes the farm home. Successful farming today calls for knowledge as broad in scope, as complete and as accurate, as the knowledge demanded by any profession, business or trade; indeed, there are many who would argue that the knowledge possessed by a success- ful farmer is more comprehensive than that possessed by any

496 IMPROVEMENT ERA other man. Be that as it may, the fact remains that the farmer must know his soil, the uncertainties of his climate, the needs of his crops and his animals and the requirements of those who buy his produce. And if he breeds better crops and better animals he must know the biological principles underlying such improvement. Moreover he must know something about law, commerce, architecture, building, mechanics, sanitation, veterinary medicine, and every other trade or profession bear- ing directly or indirectly upon the daily operation of his farm. How different then is his industrial position from that of the man who daily spends his time at a machine designed only to cut soles for the shoes we wear! How different from the daily performance of the average laborer in any trade! How dif- ferent from the daily practice of the professional man, or even the varied day of the business man! Yet farming, it must be remembered, is dependent upon many, many industries. The old cry about farm life being so independent no longer holds true. The farmer, in his present relationship to industrial life, is among the most dependent men on earth. If he were not, he would not be interested in the out- come of the many conferences, conversations, oratorical out- bursts and congressional confabs that are being staged for his benefit. He has awakened to the fact that his alleged inde- pendence is no truer than the heralded advantage of isolation is to America. He now is aware that the hunger of the hordes who stand all day at factory machines has a tremendous effect upon the market for his surplus produce; he realizes that it is a long, long step from the iron mine to the plow beam; from the machinery manufacturing plant to the farm; from the farm to the roller mills and the packing houses, and back; from the hide he takes from his kill to the shoes he wears to church; from the wool he sells to the suit he wears; from the cotton bale to the gingham housedress; from lead ore to the printed page; from crude oil to gasoline for his automobile! All this he sees, now, as never before. He finds himself still independ- ent, to a degree, in so far as he may produce food for his fam- ilv: but, to provide the many comforts of a modern home and improve his surroundings, he knows that he must dispose of a surplus of something, be it wheat, cotton, live stock or vege- tables. Thus, it is plain, agriculture, as was stated in the beginning paragraph of this article, involves, at once, problems of pro- duction and problems of disposal. Strangely enough, this fact has onlv recently been recognized by farmers and, for that matter, by their professional associates and advisers in federal

AGRICULTURAL SITUATION REVIEWED 49? and state departments of agriculture as well as by legislatures, chambers of commerce and other organizations. Until very recent years, agricultural effort was all in the direction of pro- duction; today, as might have been expected in the light of human experience since man first appeared on earth, the stress is all on disposal. The pendulum has swung, as usual, from one extreme to another. But it is clear as sunlight that some- thing must be produced before it can be sold. A marketing plan, private or cooperative, is useless if it has nothing to market, or if something that is available for the market is not marketable. I have already referred to the scope of knowledge that must be possessed by the farmer if he is to be successful as a producer of marketable goods. Possessing such knowledge, is it humanly possible for him to possess also the knowledge neces- sary to a profitable disposal of those goods? There, in my opinion, is the question that is too frequently overlooked by conferences on farm problems; or, if it is not overlooked en- tirely, it is not fully considered. My answer to that question would be in the affirmative, provided — and I would print this proviso in distinctive type — provided, that the meaning of necessary be clearly defined. How much marketing knowledge is necessary? What is necessary if the farmer is to dispose of his crops profitably? Let us turn the query around, and apply it in a little dif- ferent way. Suppose we were considering the problem of how the consumer of farm products could produce them profitably. What knowledge would it be necessary for him to possess? Take the tire manufacturer, for example. He wants to grow the cotton he uses in his tires. Should he leave his office, buy a cotton farm, which would probably be as strange to him as anything else in the world, and spend his time and money in an effort to grow his own cotton? Or would it be better busi- ness to hire a good cotton grower to manage the farm? A common sense analysis of this case makes it appear that the knowledge needed by the manufacturer involves merely the knowledge that a cotton farm, working capital, and a good manager are essential to success. The degree of success at- tained would depend, of course, upon the natural factors that limit the production of any crop. Returning now to the original question, does it not seem that the knowledge necessary to a profitable disposal of farm produce involves chiefly the knowledge that organization, work- ing capital and good management are essential to success? And that the degree of success attained will depend upon natural

498 IMPROVEMENT ERA and economic laws that influence, if they do not govern, the If that defines necessary, and if that is truly the essential marketing knowledge that the farmer needs, then it would seem that a general appreciation of this fact would serve to clear the air of much of the confusion resulting from the numerous remedies for farm ills that have been and are being proposed. I come now to my sixth point, namely, that despite all ef- forts to minimize them, there will always be "ups and downs" in agriculture, just as there always have been. My reasons for stating this as a fact are (1) that nature, to a very great extent, will always govern production; and (2) that farmers are hu- man beings, subject to all the whims, jealousies, fads and fancies that characterize the human race. The effect on price of large and small crops may be con- trolled, to some extent, by organization; that is, fluctuations in price may be less violent; but it is unlikely that fluctuations can ever be wholly avoided, if for no other reason than that the human factor will prompt many farmers to sow as they prefer to reap, regardless. The human traits of the farmer are his virtues. It is be- cause he is human that he loves nature and her ways, and his love of nature is responsible for the fact that he is always striv- ing to produce, which enables the rest of humanity to live, and to improve his holdings, which is a good thing for the world. Take away from him that love of nature, or chill it with a cold industrialism, and, at that moment, you will rob agriculture of its life-sustaining substance! For there is something besides business in farming — something deeper, more soulful, more God-like. By this I do not mean that there is no good reason for the concern shown about agricultural problems — heaven knows there is reason enough! — but I think it well for the farmer, and everybody who is really interested in the welfare of the farmer, to keep in mind what constitutes agriculture, so as not to be unduly influenced by every proposed solution of its great problems, behind which are the problems of life itself. Cedar City, Utah A Clean Face A Beautiful, Clean not a Decorated or Enameled Face Greatly Helps In Judging the Kind of Ladies Men Naturally and Openly Praise, and Quite Respectfully Say: "These Useful, Valiant Women are 'Xcellent, Youthful, and Zealous."