Country Corner
by Steve Fairchild
Celebrating 100 years of Today's Farmer
In 1908, presses in Columbia, Mo., turned out the first issue of this publication. Back then it was called The Missouri Farmer and Breeder. The paper carried the tag line “better farming,” and was the beginning of a long-term commitment to delivering news about the practice of agriculture and the issues that affect the trade. A couple years later, the publication’s title was shortened to The Missouri Farmer, a moniker it kept until 1967 when, to reflect the growing trade territory of MFA, it became Today’s Farmer.
You might think that Today’s Farmer has always been a house title of MFA, but it has a different beginning than most company publications. When the Missouri Farmer and Breeder started in 1908, there was no MFA. In fact, the idea of a statewide farm cooperative had yet to enter most farmers’ minds. However, the paper’s publisher, William Hirth, had a vision for cooperative agriculture as a way to bring bargaining power to the common farmer. In those days, farmers were at the mercy of the mercantilist on the buying side and sold into a dispersed and fractured market. There wasn’t much price discovery. Hirth envisioned local farmers banding together to buy and market goods. He used his farm paper, The Missouri Farmer and Breeder, as a tool to build support for that idea. It was through his exhortations in these pages and his evangelical drive for better farming and rural life that farm clubs began forming across Missouri. Those clubs lead to MFA.
From its earliest days, the publication marched in leading step with agriculture’s progress, often calling directly on the blossoming local Land Grant college to deliver what was new on the scene. The publication led the way in explaining the importance of soil fertility and the fact that commercial fertilizers could boost farm productivity. It brought new findings in animal husbandry to light and pressed farmers to fight against livestock diseases that wrecked herds and livelihoods. Farm mechanization, the Great Depression, hybrid corn, wartime austerity, the advent of the chemical and biological age—name any event that shaped agriculture, The Missouri Farmer and now Today’s Farmer have been on hand to provide context and deliver expert advice.
As much as agriculture has changed over the years, the mission of the magazine has stayed the same. It is a place to gather up the issues of the day—whether they are the technical aspects of farming or the social issues of farm life—and deliver them to your mailbox. Today’s Farmer also serves its function as a pillar of the cooperative model by delivering news and updates about MFA Incorporated. In many ways, Today’s Farmer has kept its unique role of a hybrid magazine. While many company-owned magazines deliver mere press releases for products and services, we strive to deliver real news and sound technical advice. As it was when the hot lead was poured into type for the first issue, we remain, simply, for better farming.
Throughout 2008 we will celebrate the magazine’s centennial by looking back at our reporting from the beginning and bringing you excerpts and comments from the past.
Looking through the archives of a farm publication, one notices some lessons are timeless. We begin sharing those lessons in this issue with the story of William Hirth’s farm paper.
Editor’s note:
Seeking The Missouri Farmer and Breeder 1908 Vol. 1, No. 1. If you have a copy or have seen one, contact me at sfairchild@mfa-inc.com.
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