Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
tive Extension addressed its uncertain identity and mission through fl exi-
bility and accommodation. Farm advising was intended to be local work,
and the institution has adapted to the particular conditions and demands
of specifi c places and farm industry practices. These factors shaped the
work of advisors just as much as their own work transformed the ecology
for farming. The story of Cooperative Extension in Monterey County serves
as an example of how state experts become enmeshed in local networks
of power.
Cooperative Extension Comes to Monterey County
The fi rst farm advisor came to Monterey County in the spring of 1918. UC
Extension offi cials worked with the Salinas Chamber of Commerce to
prepare for the advisor's arrival, securing the use of offi ce facilities in the
Salinas City Hall as well as a Ford car for the advisor's travels. 2 Despite the
fact that the county's farm bureau was still not fully organized, Thomas
C. Mayhew arrived in Salinas on April 15 and began work. An article from
a local Salinas newspaper, titled “Farm Bureau of County Gets Splendid
Start,” describes the formation of the county's farm bureau after Mayhew
had arrived, and it strikes an optimistic, progressive tone for future Coop-
erative Extension work in the county:
T. C. Mayhew, the new county farm advisor, was introduced and made a favorable
impression. The prompt organization of the county [farm] bureau the day after the
arrival of the county farm advisor speaks well for the future of the farm bureau. It
bespeaks effi ciency, energy and success. The farmers are showing a keen interest in
the progressive step and they and the farm advisor will co-operate heartily that the
most benefi ts may be obtained from the establishment of an advisor and a county
farm bureau; that not only the farmers themselves may benefi t but the nation also
at a time when increased food production is urgent and vital and therefore the
problems of the farmer are particularly important. 3
The writer is clearly tapping Progressive Era themes in this statement, with
the discourses of effi ciency and the need for increased production during
World War I.
After the initial meeting to create the Monterey County Farm Bureau
and elect its leadership, Mayhew began a busy schedule of meetings at farm
bureau centers, assemblies of growers in different areas of the county, each
with its own meeting place and regional director. One of these farm bureau
Search WWH ::




Custom Search