What is agriculture? Is it the industry of production of agricultural products, is it a way of making a lilving, or is it simply a matter of discussion? What is a farmer? By farmers we generally understand all those who cultivate the land. This definition leads us to believe that all farmers are alike. But this is not true. There are those who produce wheat and others who produce cotton; others are engaged in livestock and dairy production, or fruit production. We also have the ones who produce a little of everything. All of them, however, have a common characteristic, they work in the various and multiple occupations of one industry and have not as yet acquired, so to speak, consciousness of their industry as an industry.

The old time agricultural way, a patch of land and a homestead, was sufficient in itself. At that time the most important thing was to get something to eat and a place to sleep. The peasant did not actually think of making money. The few things he needed, besides what he was acquiring from his land, were provided through exchange for other agricultural products.

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Today, things have changed. The farmers buy their clothing, their homestead is no longer isolated. Having emerged from his isolated circle he came in contact with a larger number of people obedient to industrial laws. Today, the cultivator of the land maintains that his labor yields as much as that of the industrialist, insisting, furthermore, that his burden is heavier.

There is, undoubtedly, an agricultural problem. Nobody, perhaps, knows exactly what it is, but it is certain that so far as the farmer is concerned the problem amounts, more or less, of how to make a living. Some say that the solution depends on raising the price of the agricultural products and reducing that of other products.

Let us look at the agriculturist closer, with his seeds and a few animals. Gardening, dairy, pigs, cotton, fruit trees, etc., are varied activities. This medium size farm, managed in a moderate way, will include a few acres of land where the sowings will alternate in turn. There will be a small herd of pigs, some poultry, and sheep, perhaps.

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If the farmer is modern he will have but a few horses or none at all as he will prefer automobiles and agricultural machinery.

With the use of machines the sowing and harvesting would not require more than ten to fifteen days yearly. At most of the time required, (we are not considering gardening, here) would fill a month. The remainder of the time he would use taking care of the animals and in selling them or their off-spring. Inasmuch as he would not have a systematic born with good equipment, he would have to work by hand and do hard work.

Thus the agriculturist, who is expecting only one crop, has no more than a month's real agricultural work to do in a year. The rest of the time he is observing the work of nature. He is constantly conplaining about conditions under which he works. Did he reach, perhaps, the point where we have to reorganize agriculture as a whole?

Industry needs reorganization occasionally. The industrialist who does not follow current trends vanishes. Today we are confronted with an 4agricultural crisis precipitated by the war and its consequences.

We must consider, however, that the war has changed the mentality of the farmer more than it has this agricultural conditions. Indeed, ever since the war the man of agriculture is not contented to simply earn a livelihood, he wants something more. And just for that we have a problem of agriculture.