man w/ barn.tif

John Porter, great-grandson of the farm's original owner, is in charge of the daily operations at the demonstration farm in Terrell.

-- Staff photo by Montgomery

Demonstration farm to celebrate centennial

'Everything Extension does came from these beginnings at Porter Farms'

Lynn

October 16, 2003 -- The 100-year celebration of the birth of on-farm demonstrations and Cooperative Extension work will be celebrated the week of Oct. 19 in Terrell. In 1903, at a farm located north of town, the outcome of persistant efforts became fruitful - and would continue to reap beneficial information for the area's farmers.

The story begins with F. B. McKay, general passenger and freight agent for the Texas Midland Railroad. McKay had heard of demonstration farms being set up throughout the South by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). He wrote a letter to Washington requesting the project be located somewhere along the Midland route.

The request was sent to Dr. Seaman A. Knapp, a special agent for the USDA, who was stationed in Lake Charles, La. Knapp's reply was there were no funds available and therefore he considered the matter closed.

But McKay was persistent and wrote Knapp again saying the Farmer's Institute of Terrell was interested in pursuing the idea and would be willing to underwrite any costs incurred. The Farmer's Institute was made up of local farmers and businessmen. Knapp agreed to meet them in Terrell.

In February 1903, the meeting was held, and Knapp's opening remarks were: "If you want to help yourselves, I can work with you, but remember the best help always is self help."

The plan was to have a farmer provide 50 to 100 acres which would be used for cultivation, according to careful instructions. Any profit was to be the farmers' but the community would raise the sufficient funds to protect that farmer against any loss.

In the beginning, four farms were offered, and a local committee was appointed to make the final selection.

On Feb. 26, 1903, Porter Farms was chosen.

Porter Farms was a family farm established in 1877 by John Brooks Porter. In 1903, Porter's son, Walter, was in charge of the management of the field operations. Knapp called Walter C. Porter one of the most thorough and reliable farmers in North Texas.

The first on-farm demonstration had begun with testing varieties of seed, farm methods of cultivation, the application of commercial fertilizers, and other problems of the farm.

Seventy of the farm's 800 acres were prepared according to Knapp's suggestions, explained a Texas A&M News Service story. Since cotton was the principal crop in Kaufman County, the farmers anxiously waited to see if Kanpp's methods of cultivation and fertilization would increase yields, in spite of problems from the cotton boll weevil. The demonstration showed that farmers in that county could nearly double their cotton yields by using Knapp's methods.

"Everything Extension does came from these beginnings at Porter Farms," said Kaufman County Extension Agent Ralph Davis.

Knapp went on to open an office in Houston (by 1904) which employed 33 agents for "Farmers Cooperative Demonstration Work." Later, Kaufman County became the central unit, and in 1906, the first agent, W.C. Stallings, was appointed to work in Smith County.

The farm is still in operation today with John Brooks Porter's great-grandson, John, running the daily operations. Other family members are actively interested in the farm, and "plans are to keep the farm in tack."

"Like that farm, Cooperative Extension doesn't look the same as it did in 1903. We're still providing practical education based on local needs - real learning for real life - in communities nationwide. As communities have grown, Extension has grown too, to meet the needs of farm families, city people and everyone in between," Dr. Chester Fehlis, Extension director.

Events planned during celebration week, Oct. 19-25, are an antique tractor show, civic luncheon, Frank Reaugh "Dean of Texas artist" exhibit, county hay show, with Saturday's (Oct. 25) celebrations beginning at Porter Farm, the location of the first on-farm demonstration.

The Kaufman County Commissioners Court has designated Oct. 19-25 as "Cooperative Farm Demonstration Week," Davis added.

Keynote speakers at the centennial celebration will include Leonard K. Knapp, great-grandson of Seaman A. Knapp; John B. Porter, grandson of Walter C. Porter; State Rep. Betty Brown; and Calvin Pigg, former editor of the Southwest Farm Press and 1999 winner of the Texas Cooperative Extension's Knapp-Porter Award.

Knapp's words, "What a man hears, he may doubt. What he sees, he may possibly doubt. But what he does himself, he cannot doubt" are still holding true in Extension and throughout the world today.

For more information about the celebration, call the Extension office, 972-563-0233.