Franklin Roosevelt had always been a farmer in his heart. His father had cattle and timber on his Hyde Park land. He took the boy on inspection tours. Franklin joined the Grange as a young adult, after he had begun practicing law in Manhattan. When he served briefly in the New York State Legislature before becoming Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he specialized in agricultural and conservation matters. And when he was governor he gave high priority to farm matters. For instance, he set up an Agriculture Advisory Committee which reduced taxes on farms and increased spending for education in rural areas. He liked to boast about his knowledge of farm problems, even before he had firsthand knowledge of them, and he liked to tease his city friends about the growing gap between city and rural life styles. "Look, Grace," he said to his secretary Grace Tully once on a trip, pointing out the train window. "That's a cow."
From The Squire of Warm Springs

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