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Show d Tow In California toorfesl By Publisher CJn EDITORS NOTE The following story of a trip taken last summer by a group of Utah Alfalfa Seed Farmers was prepared by Frank Beckwith, publisher and eiditor of the Millard County Chronicle at Delta, who was on tour with the group. The type and photos were loaned us by the Chronicle, a courtesy we are grateful to Mr. Beckwith for. It is being printed in your local paper because of the interest in seed growing in this area, and because of the information contained in the story. The following is the report on the tour of alfalfa seed farms In California on August sponsored by Moody Brothers, and USAC Extension Service, and attended by 31 men from Utah. The first overall picture was the spotlessly clean fields; the lack of fences so that farm machinery could be handled easily; absolutely no dodder; and the huge use of bees. California seed growers raise three crops of seed on the same plant and harvest all three of them at one time. They can plant in January and February and produce about a 60 crop that year. Second year production is the highest and at the end of the .fourth year the crop is subsoiled with a special machine that cuts off the plant about 6 inches under the surface. This is done immediately following the harvest. The land is put into cotton, which is their $ig crop, but under restrictions and alfalfa seed is a lesser crop of the two. Floating Two methods of planting were used, one was 12 ounces per acre in rows from 32 to 40 inches apart (the spacing they said was not important, they Just used the same spacing the machinery was set up to accommodate.) The other method was 1 pound per acre with similar row spacing, and after the d, first year the plants were cutting out a strip 2 feet wide and leaving 6 inches of plant, so that the plants were spaced roughly 2 feet x 3 feet, which to our country seems an exceptionally thin stand. An adaptation of Flatlet Junior planters are used, seeding 4 rows at a sweep. The fields are machine cultivated as long as the machines can be used in the fields without too much damage. This controls the cross-thinne- minimum amount. The Maricopa farm and surrounding growers hired an entomologist to determine when a farmer should spray and the farmer followed the recommendation of the entomologist to the letter. The Thomas ranch hired a full time entomologist who determined the amount and types of spraying. The Maricopa farm used wet spray and the Thomas farm dry dust, seeing no difference in the two methods. The fields were sprayed in the pre-bu- d stage using the equivalent of 3 quarts of 25 DDT and up to 75 lbs. of sulphur to control mites and spiders. Ground rigs were used for this spraying. In the bloom stage the fields were sprayed by plane with toxaphene. The fields were sprayed at night and the stands of bees left right in the fields. Spraying stopped at 7 a.m. on clear days and started earlier in the evening and ended later in the morning on cloudy and cold days. Toxaphene was used exclusively as it does no damage to bees and the lady bugs build up fast after the spraying. They pay no attention to aphids, as they climate refigure their hot-dr- y tards their growth, and the large field force of lady bugs take care of them. Later, on occasional years, they have to spray for green stink bugs. The spray for them is determined by the entomolglsts. A new spray, Systox, has been used for aphid control but not extensively, and shows much promise for use in our area. Parathion and its related sprays, such as Malathion, TEPP, and others, are banned by law as well as by the entomologists and none is used in any form whatsoever. They feel they would rather have some bugs and lots of bees than to kill off the bees as well as all bugs, both harmful bugs and those being helpfuL Parathion can be carried by the bees back to the hives to kill other bees. Dieldrin was another spray that was never used. It is thirty times more toxic to bees than DDT and not as effective as DDT for lygus control, and one must always keep in mind that California growers do everything possible to protect the bees. Two sprayings per year took care, in most cases, of their spraying. Aramite and toxaphene were used as the spray in the bloom stage. Toxaphene for lygus control and aramite for mites and spiders. weeds and cuts out the volunteer plants. After that the fields are hand hoed twice. Dodder is burned out with fuel oil. Later the plants are gathered up and burned by fire on the spot Dodder is not too much of a problem as the fields are only in 4 years and then put into cotton or barley for 2 years. Spraying Bees California growers are completely sold on bees for pollinating alfalfa seed. They admit that alkali bees and other types oil wild bees are far more efficient, but they do no have them and so use the honey bee as the best they can get under the circumstances. As soon as the first growth starts The spraying was done in a to bloom bees are moved in and stiung along through the fields at the rate of 1 hive per acre The next week the second hive is Under The moved in beside the first, and the TITLE 1 FJLA. following week the third hive is 38 Months To Pay moved in. Then the next week HOME LUMBER COMPANY replace the first hive with Roosevelt. Utah they Phene 15 a new hive, which stimulates the iemodelyour'hobS1 WHAT? NOT ALREADY other bees, which have become lazy. The bees are left in the fields until after the harvest and then moved out. The Maricopa farm hired bee' men to place hives in the lields and the average rate they paid the bcemen was $6.00 per hive The Thomas farm has hired a college professor, Herman Menke, who is well known to Utah alfalfa growers and beemen, and who has studied the alkali bees in Utah with the hope of introducing them in Caliiornia. The attempt was unsuccessful. Mr. Menke strongly condemned the use of parathion in this area, as he stated it was killing off dl our wild bees (as well at a large percentage of the honey bees) that are our most efficient pollinators. The wild bee? of the blospollinate about 95 soms they visit, whereas the honey bee only pollinates about The heavy concentration of honey bees in the end, accomplishes what a few wild bees could do. This also conforms to the findings of our own USAC, who strongly recommend protective measures, both for wild and domestic bees. Mr. Menke also stated that California growers looked to the Utah State Agricultural College in these matters of spraying and bees, for information. He said that USAC has the largest laboratory in the world for this research and had conducted more experiments than any other station in the world in the study of pollinators.. He also advised Utah farmers to look first ht doing damage is short. Their seed but not too shows fly blight, much. They also control the fly to a great extent by their extremely clean farming practices of destroying or removing the chaff. The one farm disced it under soon after the harvest, and the other picked it up with a hay hog and chopped it for cattle feed. It was defoliated chaff, but they had used it four years and said they saw no ill effects. The other farm felt it was tar more beneficial disced under. Near Bakersfiled in the hay areas evidence of damage by yellow clover aphids was plentiful, their fields looking very similar to ours. Just a few miles farther on in the to the material availbale through seed areas they had had no infestthe USAC as it was invaluable for ation whatsoever. They did. not alfalfa seed growers. This infor- know the reason. mation is used by California growThe Harvest ers extensively. (The USAC has 4. recently published a booklet No. Growing Alfalfa for Seed. which we can highly recommend to seed growers. It can be had by writing the college). The Thomas farm owns 2700 colonies of bees which are handled by Mr. Menke, and four other men They also rent 8,000 colonies at $3.50 per colony. They hope to use even more. Their honey harvest was good this year, resulting in 65 tons. 135, Th Plant Growth The first setting of seed comes on at an early date, with the plants spreading out to cover almost all the ground. FoUowing this comes a second setting on the same plant that lays down on the first, similar to shingles, not quite covering the first crop of burrs, so that the plant has the appearance of a first and second course 4 shingles. Following that comes a third growth that also seeds and lays down on the second growth. By this time the sparce plants have completely covered the ground, and the burrs are laying on each other in stages to resemble somewhat a pine treelike growth, with all the burrs out In the sun. The plants are loaded with burrs and ripe seed. Chalcid fly does some damage, but not enough to concern the growers. They do not spray for them, figuring that they are doing less damage to the seed than what the spraying would do to the bees. Also their seed sets on so fast that the time the fly has for -- prs: ! This group of thirty-on- e is pictured at the conclusion of the tour of the Thomas Seed Farm. There were twenty-eigfrom Millard County and three from Myton, Duchesne County. . . On the tour were: Don Cummings and Olaf George, of Kanosh Ed Nelson. Evan Anderson, Fillmore; Keith Stewart, Uriel Bushnell, Waldo Bushnel, Neil Stewart, Ben Stott, Meadow; Orson Christensen, Archie Christensen, Flowell; Ken Damron, Hinckley; Arnold Graff Pahvant; Deon Gillen, Lawrence Cropper, Oasis; Willard Stephenson, Dudley Crafts, Frank S. Beckwith, Carl Ashby, John DeLapp, Bill Mortens en, Clarence Gowers, Grant Snow, Fenton Gardner, Cutler Henrie Ward Moody, Joe Moody, Delta; Bill Murray, Ted Thomas, Jess Allen, Myton, and County Agent Rodney Rcitihnfk. 'H0 Combining after defoliation is the only method they use. The fields are defoliated by plane using fuel oil and a dinitro compound, 10 gallons of fuel oil and 1 quart of dinitro. (The USAC in the recent booklet recommends this dosage by plane defoliation, but recommends water be added if a ground rig is used. Ten gallons of fuel oil, 25 to 35 gallons of water and 1 quart of dinitro per acre). With no wires, fences lines trees or obstructions, the planes go down so low their wheels look like they are running through the alfalfa, when seen from the side. After defoliation has dried out the plants the combines move in for the harvest. With the seed buns laying almost on the ground they use four long guards to each row to lift the plants up before the cutter bar comes along. The Maricopa farm had 8 combines and the Thomas farm used 22, all specially built with perpendicular cutter bars at each end of the main horizontal cutter bars, so they can cut the plants apart, somewhat the same way we use the gooseneck. All certified seed is raised so that they plan their defoliation so as to harvest all one type of seed before having to clean up the combines to move onto another type of seed. Four rows are cut at one time. Harvesting is fast and there is no time for bagging the seed. The combines auger the seed into boxes that hold 3,000 pounds each, Qr into metal barrels that hold 2,000 pounds each. As soon as the com- - bine is through loading the containers they are taken immediately to the cleaning plants, that are owned by the individual farms, and dumped into the bins for cleaning. When it is cleaned it is stored in huge silo-lik- e steel tanks until it is sold, and then it is bagged. With the use of labor saving devices the cleaning plants are run with a minimum of labor. Both of the farms cleaned for other growers. The Maricopa farm sold for other growers also. The Thomas farm cleans about 4,500,000 pounds on the average. At the time of the tour only one man was needed to operate the Thomas plant All of the lifting was done by lift trucks or by air lifts from one cleaner to another. Following the harvest the bees are moved to another part of California where they can produce some honey, as they have a very short crop compared to our honey crop. The fields are heavily disced to cover chaff and seeds and to keep down chalcid fly infestation. The fields are landplaned and ready for the winter Irrigation. Irrigation g with the from the continual clean-ti- p barns during milking, was by troughs to pumps and directly to the fieds. Nothing is left to chance manure-carryin- Water is an extremely precious item on all farms In that area. The Thomas farm used 13 wells at an average cost of $45,000 each, 1800 to 2000 feet deep, with a lift from 500 to 600 feet. Pumping costs were $6.64 an acre foot The alfalfa was irrigated during the winter months when other crops water of the carried applied by the growers in California. Entomoligsts are hired to determine what to do about spraying bugs;beemen are hired to handle the bees; borings all through the growing sea- - UINTAH BASIN RECORD Thursday, October 27, 1955 son determine water content of the soild; extremely clean fields control the chalcid fly to a great extent; and they raise nothing but certified seed. The practices of the California growers are strkingly similar to those recommended by our own USAC, and they should, realizing that they look to our USAC for their lnforrryition.The booklet mentioned in the article should be a "must reading for every seed grower here. It is entitled "Growing Alfalfa for Seed, No. 135, and can be had by writing the USAC. The trip was highly informative and should another be arranged next year we can recommend it to all farmers. Is was very Inexpensive, considering the long distance traveled, about 1600 miles, with bus fare and lodging costing $29.00, with meals in addition to that. The trip produced both encouraging and discouraging thoughts; With high land costs ($900 per acre) and high production costs ($200 per acre) Calif, will have to go out of seed production if prices i get too low. Of course, they raise so much more than ws can that our costs in proportion will approximate theirs. Those on ths trip were shown that by clean cultivation In the fell chalcid fly was a very minor annoyance. Protection of bees had paid off huge (continued on following page) Consign Your Cattle to Our Annual FEEDER CATTLE UINTA SALES BARN Q V J L? f,7 I' rjovraimwam m 5th C mfj Yes, did not need the water. This winter watering was usually their only irrigation. Water was applied until borings, 2 for every 40 acres, showed that it had reached a depth of 15 feet. (There was no water table like we have). During the growing season if borings showed water was needed it was applied, but this was hardly ever needed. They have roughly 5 inches of rainfall a year, as compared to our 7tt, so rainfall did not enter the picture. Their summers are drier than ours. Alfalfa irrigation ends usuaUy in late January and then the wells are used for other crops. Power for pumping cost $90,000 a year at the Thomas ranch, and the wells produced a small stream that averaged about m second feet of water. These small stream are spread out in unbelievably long runs, and to Utah farmers they seemed exceedingly small streams for irrigation. The California idea Is not for speed In irrigating, but a thorough soaking of the land. An example of how precious the water was at the Thomas dairy farm, the streams from the hoses used for washing the cows, along - And Its true. THE NEWEST, . . . most ROOSEVELT, UTAH exciting SALE STARTS AT 10:00 A.M Christmas Cards These Sales Will Consist of Approximately 1000 to 1SOO Head of . In Town at Choice Calves - Yearling Steers and Heifers Roosevelt Standard Also Fat and Feeder Cows THE BEST ASSORTMENT WEVE HAD IN YEARS. . . FROM AUTERY BROS. We Have Samples In Our Office ENGRAVED - Youll like the price too to PRINTED Alone With Our Other Regular Consignments Choose From. . . - PLAIN from as low as 25 for $1.50 Come in soon for your Christmas greetings sorry you did! You wont be A a CATTLE TO BE SOLD ARE UINTAH BASIN CATTLE WITH AN ESTABLISHED REPUTATION AMONG FEEDERS OVER THE YEARS For Any Additional Information Inside view of the seed cleaning plant showing the maze of air lifts that reduced the manpower needed to a minimum. At the time of the tour only one man was operating the plant which cleans about 4,500,000 pounds of seed a year. ROY TODD Phono 307-- W Call DEAN TODD |