in Europe to make an investigation of the use of electricity in agriculture in different countries. It was impossible for me to pay all of the expenses for these trips out of my personal funds. The university could not pay any of the expenses through either the university general fund or budget no. 890, referred to above, for my expenses outside of the United States on these two trips, and it would also have been difficult to secure permission for the payment of such expenses while in this country outside of the State of Minnesota.

The State committee on the relation of electricity to agriculture therefore did not turn over to the university all the funds which it had raised for cooperation with the university in carrying out this project. They had, however, contributed to the university all of the funds required under the agreement approved in April 1924, and also as much as had been required under this agreement, which was renewed twice subsequent thereto.

The funds retained by this committee were used to pay for some expenses incurred in connection with the project, which could not well be paid by the University of Minnesota, such, for example, as payment for plumbing and wiring which had to be done on the farms at Red Wing by hired skilled labor and which could not be charged to the farmers owning these farms because the installations were of an experimental nature. This total expenditure amounted to $708.76. The State committee on March 1, 1928, paid me a total of $199.63 to reimburse me for out-of-pocket expenditures incurred in visiting a number of similar experimental projects in other States, such as Wisconsin, Ohio, etc. Some of these funds retained by the committee were used to partially reimburse me for my actual out-of-pocket expenditures in making the two trips to Ontario and the trip to Europe to investigate rural uses of electricity there. On the trips to Ontario a part of my expenses were paid by the University of Minnesota, a part of them by myself and $388.07 was paid to me by the State committee on the relation of electricity to agriculture as instanced by checks to my order signed by the committee per Chas. F. Stuart, treasurer.

When the committee decided that I make the trip to Europe, it was necessary for me to be reimbursed for expenses on this trip, otherwise the trip could not have been made. The committee decided to give to me sufficient funds to reimburse me for a large part of my out-of-pocket expenditures in connection with my trip to Europe. A small amount of these expenditures on the European trip were paid by the university, some part of it was contributed by myself and the State committee on the relation of electricity to agriculture contributed a total of $1,485. I believe that these funds of $1,485 contributed by this State committee were given in their records as $500 per month salary for each of the 2 months and $385 as contribution to my expenses. In whatever way this may have been entered in the records of the State committee, the essential fact was that the contribution did not cover even entirely my out-of-pocket expenses on this trip and most certainly did not include any compensation.

I am also attaching to this letter a copy of the form of agreements made from time to time with the 79 different cooperating manufacturing companies, who contributed equipment for this experimental project.

To sum up the total of traveling expenditures in connection with this rural project, I will call your attention to the amount of expenditures, as listed in table II of the clipped sheet attached, amounting to $6,790.20. This amount was paid from the project funds under the control of the university. of the expense money which I received, as follows:

Payment for installations on farms___

Expenditures for visiting other State projects..

Expenditures on trips to Ontario.

The balance

$708.76 199. 63

Expenditures on trip to Europe__.

Total.....

388. 07 1, 485.00

2,781. 46

was paid to me by the committee directly, as it was for purposes which could not be paid out of the university funds, even though those funds had been contributed by the State committee, and, as I have stated, did not include any compensation whatsoever.

Let me add that the Minnesota State committee on the relation of electricity to agriculture, consisting of 8 members, had 3 representatives from 3 different power companies operating in the State of Minnesota, 3 farmers and 2 representatives from the University of Minnesota.

Yours very truly,

E. A. STEWART.

THE RED WING PROJECT ON UTILIZATION OF ELECTRICITY IN AGRICULTURE E. A. Stewart, J. M. Larson, J. Romness

1

INTRODUCTION

To study the possibility of meeting the growing demand for electric service on Minnesota farms, a State committee on the Relation of Electricity to Agriculture was organized in September 1923. The chairman of this committee was James F. Reed, president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation. Other members were W. C. Coffey, dean of the department of agriculture, University of Minnesota; Herman Schmechel, State senator and farmer; Isaac Emerson, State representative and farmer; A. C. Bryan, farmer; C. S. Kennedy, Ottertail Power Co.; Charles F. Stuart, Northern States Power Co.; W. S. Heald, Minnesota Light & Power Co.; and E. A. Stewart, division of agricultural engineering, University of Minnesota, secretary. The division of agricultural engineering of the university had been making a study of electric service and rates for Minnesota farms. The committee on Relation of Electricity to Agriculture was organized to assist in carrying forward the study on farm electric service and rates. The committee having been organized, the division of agricultural engineering of the university outlined a project on the Utilization of Electricity in Agriculture. Through this project it was hoped to determine whether electric service at reasonable rates could be used with profit on Minnesota farms. The project was familiarly known as "the Red Wing project" and was listed as project no. 17 in the records of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, and was approved by the administration of the station in November 1923. The object of the project was declared to be: "To determine the optimum economic uses of electricity in agriculture and to study the value of electricity in improved living conditions on the farm." Plans having been formulated and the Burnside community near Red Wing having been selected for the construction of a test line, a "high line" to carry service to the farms of the community was built in December and electricity was turned on for the first time December 24, 1923. It is believed that this was the first experimental rural electric line in the world. People in other States became interested and other test lines and experimental projects were organized. Twenty-three other States are now conducting investigations of a similar nature. Foreign countries also have taken up the work. According to the plans, the division of agricultural engineering of the university was to do the major part of the work, the divisions of farm management and of home economics cooperating in certain phases of the work.

In order to meet the expenses of the project, an agreement was drafted whereby the university was to assume the cost of office and laboratory space, office help, and general supervision; the Northern States Power Co., all costs of building the experimental line and supplying the watt-hour meters for measuring energy consumption, and the committee on relation of electricity to agriculture provision for a fund of $5,000 for the biennium ending June 30, 1925. This agreement, which was renewed twice afterward, was approved by the board of regents of the University of Minnesota in April 1924.

The experimental work was originally carried on on eight farms of the Burnside community. One farm was added later.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Financial support for the Red Wing project was derived from the Northern States Power Co., manufacturers of electrical and farm equipment, the farmers of the Burnside community, the State committee on the relation of electricity to agriculture, and the University of Minnesota.

The Northern States Power Co., which built the original line in 1923, later changed this to an all-copper line and in 1926 increased the voltage to 6,900. This company also lent the university more than 100 meters for testing purposes. Seventy-nine manufacturing companies placed at the disposal of the university equipment for use on the project. The farmers on the route assisted by permitting interference with their regular routine, by installing recommended systems of wiring and water supply, and by boarding extra help employed on the project. The contributions from the various sources are shown in table I.

1 Formerly associate professor of agricultural engineering, University of Minnesota. Formerly with division of agricultural engineering, University of Minnesota.

A map of the Burnside community, showing the location of the experimental line and the 8 origina arms, is shown in fig. I.

TABLE I.-Contributors to the fund for expenses of the Red Wing project to June 1,

1928

University of Minnesota_

Northern States Power Co. Line costs_

State committee on the relation of electricity to Agriculture..

Meters loaned..

79 manufacturing companies.

Cooperating farmers at Red Wing-

Total...

The uses made by the university of the funds listed in table I are given by years in table II, the fund supplied to the university by the State committee being designated as "Special fund, budget 890."

CHARACTERISTICS OF COOPERATING FARMS

The Burnside community is in a district of hills, fertile narrow valleys, and rolling uplands. It was selected for the experiment because it presented certain difficulties in line construction and in the uses of electricity on farms, which, it was believed if overcome, would point the way to the satisfactory use of electricity on the average farm in Minnesota. Both farms and farmers were considered fairly representative of Minnesota generally. Table III, IV, V, and VI give data as to the characteristics of the farms in the project, according to a survey made January 1, 1924, by L. F. Garey of the division of farm management, University Farm.

TABLE II.-Use of university and State committee funds, Nov. 1, 1923, to June1, 1928

TABLE III.-Original farm survey of Red Wing Farms, Jan. 1, 1924

7,058. 28

4,751.88

6, 066.75
4,888. 22

26, 874. 04

17, 500.00

2,306. 40

1, 178. 53

9, 374. 04

AGREEMENT BETWEEN UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, NORTHERN STATES POWER Co., THE MINNESOTA STATE COMMITTEE ON THE RELATION OF ELECTRICITY TO AGRICULTURE RELATIVE TO CONDUCT OF INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE THE OPTIMUM ECONOMIC USES OF ELECTRICITY IN AGRICULTURE

I. Character: The investigation and research to be undertaken under this agreement shall be conducted by the Department of Agriculture, University of Minnesota.

II. Purposes: The general purposes of this agreement are: To determine the optimum economic uses of electricity in agriculture, and to study the value of electricity in improving living conditions on the farm. This problem, therefore,

can be resolved into other problems having as objectives the following considerations:

1. To determine what field operations can be performed by electrical power. 2. To determine what operations on the farmstead can be performed by elec

trical power,

3. To determine what operations in the household can be performed by electrical power.

4. To determine what other uses may be made of electrical energy that will increase the production on the farm.

5. To determine the arrangement of equipment on the farm, and in the house so that electric power may be used economically to perform the above-mentioned operations and to develop machinery and equipment to carry out these operations. 6. To determine the costs of supplying electric service to rural consumers. 7. To determine a method of supplying the electric service to rural consumers. 8. To determine which of the operations and uses to which electrical energy is applied can be carried out economically, and under what conditions it is economical or uneconomical to perform these operations with electricity.

III. Parties of agreement: University of Minnesota per A. J. Lobb, comptroller and secretary of board of regents; Committee on Relation of Electricity to Agriculture, per J. F. Reed, chairman of the committee; and Northern States Power Co., per Chas. F. Stuart, assistant to the vice president and general manager. IV. Responsibilities assumed: In furtherance of the investigations to be undertaken, the College of Agriculture, University of Minnesota, agrees:

1. To provide through the staff regularly employed on university funds, direction and supervision of the investigations, to furnish laboratory and office facilities and to furnish such measuring and testing equipment as may be necessary. 2. To provide by means of the special fund herein established additional help necessary, traveling and subsistence expense of field force, expense of breakage and replacement, and such other expenses as may become necessary in properly conducting the investigation.

3. To secure from the Northern States Power Co. the data in regard to the cost of construction, maintenance, and operation of the line, and of such other service units as are necessary to supply the rural electric service.

4. To publish the results of this investigation, provided funds are available, when such data is approved for publication by the experiment station of the University of Minnesota.

5. To permit the publication by the committee on the relation of electricity to agriculture, and by the Northern States Power Co., of the results obtained, providing the results are first published by the University of Minnesota, or that such results released for publication by the university.

In furtherance of the investigations to be undertaken, the State committee on the relation of electricity to agriculture agrees:

1. To furnish such equipment and supplies as may be mutually agreed upon. 2. To publish the results of this investigation only after such results have been published or released for publication by the University of Minnesota.

In furtherance of the investigations to be undertaken, the Northern States Power Co. agrees:

1. To erect a rural extension beginning at the county poor farm west of Red Wing and to extend this approximately 5 miles; and to deliver electric service to the members of the Burnside Community at rates and under conditions agreed to by the department of agriculture, University of Minnesota, and by the State committee on the relation of electricity to agriculture.

2. To furnish free of charge electricity for experimental work that is to be conducted on the farms of the above-mentioned community. The operations that are to be called "experimental" will be agreed upon by the Northern States Power Co., and the division of agricultural engineering, University of Minnesota. 3. To furnish meters for measuring the electricity when such electricity is to be provided free by the Northern States Power Co.

4. To publish the results of this investigation only after such results have been published or released for publication by the university.

It is agreed that the funds to be furnished by the State committee on relations of electricity to agriculture under this agreement for the period ending June 30, 1925, shall be $5,000 to be expended as indicated in the project statement submitted herewith, said funds to be made available upon the execution of this agreement.