Red Dirt Groundbreaker: William Bentley

Cotton was Oklahoma's number one crop at the time of statehood, just as it was throughout the South. A few years earlier the cotton crop had been threatened by an invation of the boll weevil, an insect pest from Mexico that destroyed crops in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Because cotton was so important to the US economy, the US Congress set aside money to investigate ways to stop the boll weevil. The US Department of Agriculture appointed Seamon Knapp to be in charge of the investigation. Knapp believed farmers needed to change the way they farmed. He thought the best way to convince them was through farming demonstrations.

One of the farmers Knapp hired to conduct these demonstrations was William Bentley, a successful fruit farmer from Wichita Falls, Texas. Bentley had used diversification and careful management to become one of the most successful farmers in his county. Agricultural demonstration trains carried Bentley and other demonstrators, who conducted meetings in the leading towns along the railroad line. The demonstrators organized institutes at each stop and gave lectures on a variety of farm topics. This was the firs of what was to become the Extension Service.

As one of the first six Extension agents in the nation, Bentley spent long days riding from farm to farm signing up farmers to demonstrate the techniques he was teaching. The first programs consisted of instruction in seed purity, deep plowing, frequent shallow cultivation and growing of all home supplies.

Demonstration trains were part of Extension work for the next 10 years. In 1907, Bentley was appointed to extend his work into Oklahoma. He retired 25 years later as the first director of the Oklahoma Extension Service. Along the way he and his agents also started 4-H clubs in Oklahoma.

Activity: Put on Your Walking Shoes

Early county Extension agents travelled by train, horse and buggy or by foot to the farms where they provided advice and demonstrated the latest agricultural techniques. Students will pretend they are early county agriculture extension agents and calculate how long it would take to get from the county seat to various locations within the county, travelling by foot.

1. First calculate how long it takes to walk a mile or some other distance, or use a pedometer to determine the number of steps.
2. Identify the county seat of your county.
3. Select a town in your county.
4. Use a road map or online map tool to determine the distance between the county seat and the town you have selected.
5. How long would it take to walk from the county seat to the town you have selected? How many steps?

More Red Dirt Groundbreakers

Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom

Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the Oklahoma State Department of Education