Eastern Iowa Farmer Spring 2021

ulletins
thor, and his or her qualifications, along with a
list of content topics and page numbers preceded
the actual bulletin on page one.
These bulletins, and a myriad of other
specialized publications published by the U.S.
Government Printing Office, one of the nation’s
largest publishers, were a periodic target of candidates
bemoaning the annual expenditure and
ridiculing the obscure subjects covered.
Farmers’ Bulletin pamphlets were a snapshot
in time. The best recommendations based on the
available information or latest research at experiment
stations around the country. They were a
product of best practices and technical research
translated into laymen’s language.
Some of these titles became historic milestones
in the service of educating rural residents,
immigrants who struggled with their new
language, constituents who wanted to better
their condition.
In 1900 the USDA issued a pamphlet on the
Farmers Reading Courses initiative. They were
courses of study in scientific farming methods
made accessible through textbook curriculum.
In 1915, the federal department published a
bulletin on how farmers could improve their
personal credit by banding together
in support of a cooperative
credit association,
By the time I discovered them in
the 1950s Farmers’ Bulletins were
already an institution. The USDA
issued the first publication in June,
1889. Farmers’ Bulletins gave your
congressman something of value to
hand to constituents, and the publications
were a way to remember him
when elections came around every
24 months.
The bulletins were all business,
no-nonsense recommendations on
agronomy, plant diseases, rural living,
soil conservation and even sustainable
agriculture.
The recommendations and projects
family farm operators were counseled
to use reflected a distinct do-it-yourself
approach to problem solving with
efficiency always the ultimate goal.
An example, one of the bulletins
came with blueprints for building a
homemade loose hay stacking device
IRVʼS
REPAIR INC
TRACTOR, TRUCK AND LAWN MOWER SALES, SERVICE AND PARTS
2004 Camanche Ave. • Clinton, IA • 563-243-6400
4160 170th St. • Clinton, IA • 563-593-0643
701 Calvert Ave. • Chadwick, IL • 815-684-5131
Irvsrepairinc@yahoo.com
48 Eastern Iowa Farmer | Spring 2021 eifarmer.com