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Show ' - - 1 1 " ! . FARM FAMILY AS UNIT CF PRO CRESS County Agricultural and Home Uemon ;;trat;on Agents Planning a Community j Program of Work With a Local Committee.. ty agricultural agents dealing -with production problems; there are home-demonstration home-demonstration agents dealing with home economics problems; there are boys and girls' club agents dealing with junior problems. Each of thest I lines of work is in charge of a statr lender at a college of agriculture Each has also been in charge of a separate administrative division at the Washing! on oliice. This has made a line of cleavage from oue end to the other, in spite. of the efforts of extension exten-sion directors and division chiefs to Harmonize; The inevitable result has been an unbalanced program. "If a unilied extension program can be developed, however, this difficulty can be overcome. Production and mar kering of crops are only two steps in the program of rural progress. If that is the only object we have in mind in extension work, we are not worthy of a place, in the great extension organization. organ-ization. It is as important to see that the money which i made by an economical eco-nomical program of production and marketing is properly spent as it is to make the money in the first place. If we do not carry our program far enough to aid farm families to secure better homos and better social life in our rural communities, vve have indeed fallen far short of the possibilities confronting us. Plan Program for Entire Family. "We all need to keep constantly in 'our minds a program which is planned for the entire family. Then we all need to work for the accomplishment of that program, each in his own niche, to be sure, but each with a vision of the whoie. Then if there chances to lie but one agent In a county, be that man or woman, the program can be carried on harmoniously. This is made increasingly possible by the recent re-cent and important development of subject-matter extension specialists for use in all counties as the work demands. (Prepared by the United Sriitea Department i of Agriculture.) A new plan for the reorganization of the extension office of the United 1 States Department of Agriculture was explained by C. W. Pugsley, assistant secretary of agriculture, in an address 1 before the annual convention of the Association of Land-Grant Colleges at New Orleans. The plan is a departure depart-ure from the organization heretofore existing. The extension offices of the North and South were combined on October 1 by order of the secretary of agriculture, but the details were not announced until they were gone over and agreed to by the Association of Land-Grant Colleges. The new plan will permit the development of an extension ex-tension program with the farm family , as the unit. The old organization' in ib( North had but three administrative administra-tive divisions of extension work one for men, another for women, and a . third for boys and girls, in the southern south-ern division two administrative lines were followed one for men and boys and another for women and girls.1 Must Have a Goal in Sight. "The new organization permits extension ex-tension workers- to focus their attention atten-tion more effectively upon an agricultural agricul-tural program," said Mr. Pugsley. "It is necessary lo have a goal in sight when we are engaged in an important piece of work if we expect to get the best results. So far as extension work is concerned, that goal should be a carefully worked-out program of rural progress. It should cover all phases of rural life. "The logical way to work out such a program in a county is to have meetings meet-ings of farm bureaus or other organizations, or-ganizations, composed of both men and women for the discussion of needs of all phases of rural life. A balanced extension program will be the result. "The responsibility for making a balanced county program does not end with the county meeting, however. The state has a responsibility. Its legislature leg-islature has appropriated money and placed officers in charge of its expenditures. expendi-tures. Many states have written info their laws the purposes for which the appropriations can or can not be used. It is the duty of the state officers to go over the projects of work from the standpoint of a state agricultural program. pro-gram. Some of these days each college col-lege of agriculture will have in its employ em-ploy some individual who will give Special attention to working out a unified program of agricultural progress prog-ress for the state, and who will assist Che counties in making their programs a part of the harmonious whole. Must Maintain Balanced Agriculture. "in a society organized as ours, the final responsibility for an agricultural program cannot rest with each state. The federal government has a responsibility respon-sibility in the matter. This is recognized recog-nized by the appropriation of the Smith-Lever and other extension funds, amounting now to about $6,750,-000. $6,750,-000. The Department of Agriculture is the national agency charged with the supervision of this vast and constantly con-stantly Increasing fund. It has the same responsibility toward the slate that the state has. toward the county. "It should furnish the best information informa-tion available on world conditions and should outline In a broad and general way a national agricultural program. It should look over the projects with rtio iiMtion.nl urogram In mind, iusl as Ihe state looks them over with the state programs in mind. Otherwise it will he very easjr to develop an unbalanced un-balanced agriculture from' which the entire nation will suffer. We have some evidence today that a nation does sutler from tin unbalanced agricultural agri-cultural system. "In short, the responsibility of the national government is to see that the federal funds are properly spent and -are accomplishing the purposes for which they were intended, rather than to dictate the details of the method of expenditure. More Home Economics Work. "A unified extension program means more extension work among the women wom-en and girls. The plan of work which has been In vogue in most of the states has worked to the disadvantage of extension activities in home problems. When the work is divided along the lines of sex and fige, as I has been during Ine nasi, that work which is most likely to Increase the fanners' income will receive the most attention. The Iniine and social features of a program pro-gram of rural progress are sure to be at a disadvantage under such a plan. "In most state.-; there are now coun- i |