Board of Agriculture

“ The Agricultural Society, organized during the Civil War, was, in 1872, changed into the State Board of Agriculture. The Agricultural College, established during the Civil War, began active work along agricultural lines in 1873. There have been a number of organizations of farmers, most of them between 1870 and 1890.
172 Advancement in agriculture has been made in area under cultivation, selection of crops, improvements in machinery, better methods of tillage, and irrigation. The leading crops are now corn, wheat, and alfalfa. ”

“ Sinclair replied that he sought no favours for himself, but the most gratifying of all would be the establishment by Parliament of a great National Corporation to be called "The Board of Agriculture." In due course the Board was successfully established with the King as Patron, Sinclair as President, and Arthur Young as Secretary. ”

“ The functions of the Secretary of Agriculture as a member of the Federal Farm Board, and the offices of the appointed members of the Federal Farm Board, except the office of the member designated as chairman thereof, are abolished. (2) The name of the Federal Farm Board is changed to the Farm Credit Administration. (3) The name of the office of Chairman of the Federal Farm Board is changed to Governor of the Farm Credit Administration, and he is vested with all the powers and duties of the Federal Farm Board. ”

“ Each bag, barrel or other package of such fertilizers or fertilizing materials shall have attached thereto a tag stating that all charges specified in this section have been paid, and the state board of agriculture is hereby empowered to prescribe a form for such tags, and to adopt such regulations as will enable them to enforce this law. ”

“ These reasons are decisive in themselves, but it should be added that the great organizations of citizens whose interests are affected by the forest-reserves, such as the National Live Stock Association, the National Wool Growers' Association, the American Mining Congress, the national Irrigation Congress, and the National Board of Trade, have uniformly, emphatically, and most of them repeatedly, expressed themselves in favor of placing all Government forest work in the Department of Agriculture because of the peculiar adaptation of that Department for it. ”

“ In addition to the experiment stations there is in nearly every state an officer or a special board whose duty is to look after its agricultural interests. Eighteen states, one territory, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands have a single official, usually called the Commissioner of Agriculture. Twenty-six states, one territory and Hawaii, have Boards of Agriculture. Information concerning the Agricultural Department of the United States will be found under AGRICULTURE, BOARD OF.
See the articles on the various sorts of crops ”

“ I have yet to learn that an application to a Congressman for seed has been disregarded, if the seeds were to be had, whether that application came from a political friend or a political foe. And I do wish that farmers generally would make more frequent application to the members from their respective districts than they do. It will be money in their pockets if they will keep posted in what the department has to distribute which is valuable, or new and promising, and solicit samples either from Congressmen or direct from the Commissioner of Agriculture. ”

“ Often the department is organized in numerous branches with specialists at the head of each. Thus, there are dairy commissioners, horticultural boards, livestock sanitary boards, foresters, entomologists (specialists in insect life in its relation to agriculture) , and others, to look after every aspect of farming. In a constantly decreasing number of states the powers of the agricultural officers are slight and their work ineffectual; but in others the organization is thorough and the work efficiently done and of the greatest value to the state. ”

“ When the first Commissioner of Agriculture, Isaac Newton, prepared his initial annual report to President Lincoln, he wrote: "I hardly deem it necessary to attempt to convince our intelligent countrymen of the vast importance of such a department, inasmuch as whatever improves the condition and character of the farmer feeds the life springs of national character, wealth, and power." We can all be grateful that the United States Department of Agriculture continues its vital mission today. ”

“ The Bureau of Agriculture has accomplished much in disseminating useful knowledge to the agriculturist, and also in introducing new and useful productions adapted to our soil and climate, and is worthy of the continued encouragement of the Government. ”

“ The free distribution of plants and seeds to Congressmen for their favored constituents has made it an equally easy matter for the Commissioner of Agriculture to obtain liberal appropriations for his Department and the publication of enormous editions of his Reports. ”

“ To encourage and promote agricultural development, a separate Department of Agriculture was created, and has been organized, and is at this time actively promoting, with the facilities at hand, our agricultural interests. ”

“ The Commissioner of Agriculture appoints the directors of farmers’ institutes, watches over the sale of food products that might be injurious to health, and has general care of the agricultural needs of the State. ”

“ The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture gives the operations of his Department for the year. As agriculture is the groundwork of our prosperity, too much importance can not be attached to the labors of this Department. ”

“ Farmers and others are not permitted to resort to their own devices and to make any agreements or arrangements they desire, regardless of the restraints which may be inflicted upon commerce. The statutory program to be followed under the Agricultural Act requires the participation of the Secretary of Agriculture who is to hold hearings and make findings. ”

“ The federal act requires every person, partnership, association, or corporation, who is engaged in the business of receiving in interstate or foreign commerce perishable agricultural commodities, defined as 'fresh fruits and vegetables of every kind and character,' for sale on commission, to procure a license from the Secretary of Agriculture. ”

“ In some of the states there are departments of agriculture, equal in dignity and power with the other main divisions of the government. In others agricultural interests are placed in the hands of subordinate boards, bureaus, or commissions. In some cases the officials in charge of the organization, such as the commissioner of agriculture, are elected directly by the people, while in others they are appointed by the governor of the state or by the legislature. ”

“ The Department of Agriculture under its present direction is accomplishing much in developing and utilizing the vast agricultural capabilities of the country, and for information respecting the details of its management reference is made to the annual report of the Commissioner. ”

“ Along the line of better crops we have done more for the farmer, and have done it more effectively, than any other Nation. Hut we have done little, and far less than many other Nations, for better business and better living on the farm. Hereafter we shall need in State and Nation not only the work of Departments of Agriculture such as we have now, but we shall need to have added to their functions such duties as will make them departments of rural business and rural life as well. Our Departments of Agriculture should cover the whole field of the farmer's life. ”

“ The commercial, manufacturing, and navigating interests are all to a great extent dependent on the agricultural. It is therefore the most important interest of the nation, and has a just claim to the fostering care and protection of the Government so far as they can be extended consistently with the provisions of the Constitution. As this can not be done by the ordinary modes of legislation, I respectfully recommend the establishment of an agricultural bureau, to be charged with the duty of giving to this leading branch of American industry the encouragement which it so well deserves. ”

“ Reporting– Not later than December 31, 2014, and every two years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report on the status of projects funded under the program, including—
(1) the number and types of eligible partners and producers participating in the partnership agreements selected; (2) the number of producers receiving assistance; and (3) total funding committed to projects, including from Federal and non-Federal resources. ”

“ In the United States the care of agriculture is, I believe, left to the separate States, but the Federal Bureau of Agriculture it is which issues warnings of the need of conserving the natural resources of the country. ”

“ We are signally honored by the co-operation of one of the most important members of the President's Cabinet, the Secretary of Agriculture, assisting in our program by the presence of leading officials of his staff, all endeavoring in every possible way to supply excellent sustaining foods to mankind, and to add from many choice products of field or of forest, to the joy and comforts of living. ”

“ In this they are receiving help from the Government. The Department of Agriculture should be strengthened in this facility, in order to be able to respond when these marketing associations want help. While it ought not to undertake undue regulation, it should be equipped to give prompt information on crop prospects, supply, demand, current receipts, imports, exports, and prices. ”

“ I agree that there is reason for such belief by the Secretary of Agriculture and, therefore, I am requesting the Commission to make an investigation with respect to this matter pursuant to Section 22, and report its findings and recommendations to me as soon as possible. ”

“ At the meeting, about which we began to write, it was resolved to instruct a committee, appointed for the purpose, to negotiate with the citizens of the two cities for eighty or one hundred acres of land for a permanent location of the State Society. It was also advocated to call upon the Legislature for appropriations for the construction of permanent buildings.
Wayside Notes. BY A MAN OF THE PRAIRIE.
I can’t help remarking to myself as I read my two or three foreign agricultural papers, how great is becoming the influence of American agriculture upon the farming of Great Britain. ”

“ AGRICULTURE AND FREE TRADE (1845) . Source.—Hansard, Third Series, vol. 78, col. 785, March 13.
Mr. Cobden, having presented a petition in favour of his Motion for a Committee of Inquiry into the effects of the Corn Laws on Agriculturists, addressed the House: Sir, the object of this Motion is to appoint a Select Committee to inquire into the present condition of the agricultural interests; and at the same time to ascertain how the laws regulating the importation of agricultural produce have affected the agriculturists of this country. ”

“ The Secretary shall allocate acres to States for enrollment, based—
(1) primarily on each State’s proportion of eligible land to the total acreage of eligible land in all States; and (2) also on consideration of— (A) the extent and magnitude of the conservation needs associated with agricultural production in each State; (B) the degree to which implementation of the program in the State is, or will be, effective in helping producers address those needs; and (C) other considerations to achieve equitable geographic distribution of funds, as determined by the Secretary . ”