Show AGRICULTURE IN I PROF LEWIS A M MERRILL Professor of Agronomy Utah Agricultural College and Editor Deseret Farmer I Ever Eer since the famous mento or Brigham Young that his 1115 peo Jeo Die should tm till the soil soU and engage in agricultural pursuits instead ot of seekIng the elusive hidden gods ot of th the hills ana mountains agrIculture has re received more attention in this state than au all other industries combined lure ture has always been the slowest oZ at in industries as well as the oldest and most fundamental EspecIally is this true in Utah In this state it has been followed very ery largely by men untrained for the work who had no sympathy with the soil solI men from the large crowded manufacturing centers ot of who followed agriculture here because there Was nothing else to do The new gen generation ot of U h tanners farmers however are awake and they have swung into the march of at progress which Is character characterizing izing agriculture ever everywhere where at no un Uncertain certain gait There are still sUll many farmers who plant their potatoes in the moon ninny many farmers who raise cattle with the hollow horn who think that grass rs and codlIng moths and smutty wheat are Providential Tribulations to be patiently endured but the great mass or of Utah farmers today are read reading ing progressIve businesslike professional men who see in agriculture the need of at Intelligent persistent Persist nt enthusiastic effort and who are giving to their profession the best that is In them It is to the corts ot of these men that the awakening of agrIculture In Utah has come Until very r recently the farmers In Inthis this region have not been awake to the immense possibilities ot of agriculture here and Idaho Wyoming and some parts ot of Canada have been by the young men the life and blood of this tate state and the develop development ment ot of those regions has been made at atthe the expense of at the development of at the agricultural resources or of our own state The Past Fast Year The past year has been one ot of un unprecedented prosperity In all lines ot of agricultural effort The dry farms have Yielded abundantly and the heavy storms at o last winter have furnished a continuous and abundant supply ot of water for the IrrIgated farms thus Insuring maximum yields The Yield of hay grain sugar beets lucern and other agrIcultural products was never better and the prIces as a rule have hae been very satisfactory The Thc lucern crop has Ims exceeded that ot of any previous year and there was such an enormous production of this crop that the market was glutted This is a fortunate condition for many far farmers mars mers are feeding their lucern this win winter tee ter instead ot of selling ita very ery desir desirable desirable able innovation and one worth worthy of 01 emulation by all lucern growers Lu Lucern Lucern cern seed also atso proved a profitable crop this year ear the average yield being near six bushels per acre and the Price be mg on the average about 14 11 cents per pound In the ot of wheat corn oats barley and rye the year just past has been an exceptional one Some considerable quantities ot of wheat were frosted In the tho northern part of the state but as this will be fed and as its feeding quality is I equal to that of the unfrosted wheat there will vilI be little loss 1059 lossIn In this direction The yields Ields were high and good prices have obtained There is a gradual improvement In the vane varlo grown and a disposition manifest d towards securIng improved varietIes and b by careful selection raise the standard of the quality of crops grown gron White heats were long In favor but both grower and miller are coming to realize that a superior grade of lour flour can be made from the small hard red wheals during the t year The These sp whets have been in greater reater demand than ever before Corn growing Is be becoming coming more popular each year ear and durIng this year the average yield ld has been better than thun for years past pait of tile the western states stales begins to corn coo pare In hi average ge yield our average 33 bushels of shelled corn per acre being 13 better than Colorado and amI 4 I bushels better than Arizona As our arid lands are developed there Is ia no doubt that the average of corn will be greatly Increased and the two great stock feeds alfalfa and corn win will make of Utah a famoUs stock feeding center Hay It is in the production of ha hay that Utah excels the av average ra e yield for the pam year ear being tons per acre No stAte In the union compares with this md and it ft is in this fact that many people base their assertion that Utah is des destined destined tined to become the greatest dairying state in the union Horticulture Leading horticulturists tell us that the pst MISt year has been au an unusually ful one in fruit Ninetyfour represents represent the apple pro production as compared a full fuli rop In 1903 the apple production was only 76 f per cent or of a full crop and In 1902 but 6 62 per cent However Utah apples were worm wormy this year in fact this has hasI I been beel about the worst year for tor the apple grower In Ills his fight with the co dUng F moth noth that the state has ever eYer known This seems strange In view ot of the excellent help rendered the fruit grow grower or er by Prof Ball of at the Utah Experiment ment station and the state board ol at horticulture The peach crop excelled all expectations lions and tons of beautiful well fla flavOred poaches rotted on the ground be because because cause of the failure of the grower to provide shipping eases cases in Many carloads of Utah peaches were sent to Omaha Kansas City St Louis and Chicago and the returns netted the a very ery handsome profit The people ot of the state have not as aset Jet et begun to dream of theIr horticultural tuna tural possibilities The soil climatic and marketing facilities all proclaim this to be a wonderful bortl cultural section When once the farmer 4 alizos that land under IrrIgation worth per acre is too valuable to irow fifty per cent wheat Some apple growers In thIs state have an acre from their apple crop this year In th the growing ot or ap liles pears peaches cherries iles ios grapes strawberries etc It is to realize hundreds or of dollars from a single acre and there is here iben n a practical solution for the lem ot of increasing population all an hundred fold The Tho Sugar Beet Industry All or of the sugar factories report a acry avery very cry prosperous year among the beet growers Notwithstanding the discouraging discouraging aging prospects early In the season BeMon the tonnage was very ery satisfactory Almost exception n beet growers throughout the state are wen well pleased With the returns from their sugar beets f and all are making preparations for an increased sod acreage next year There are arenow arenow now excellent for a new fac factory factory tory at Lewiston and another at Gun Gunnison Gunnison nison provided the required acreage can be secured The feeding ot of the beet pUlp has as assumed Immense proportions In the state and thousands or of cattle and sheEp are being fattened at the various factories durIng the present wInter The beet A pulp has hns been found to have a very 1 4 high feedIng value and the demand for tor forit it H now is greater than tL supply It is gratifying to note In connection with the sugar beet business that the ila la dons between the factory and na the I y yearly arb lJ mo more e co ia and d pleasant p and the industry from every standpoInt st Is In n a flourishing and pros prosperous I erous p condition writer has visited no noart part p art of the United States or Canada where here w the natural conditIons for daIry I Ing In g are equal to those of this region Be B ond all question Utah will be tamed famed some ome s day for the quantity and quality of o f its dairy products It is 15 an I gion g lon for dairying becaUse f ul climate the pasturage s sand and a nd the quantity and excellence e of the crops c grown for winter 1 teed ed There has bp been b een a marked Improvement during the past p ant year In the attention n given ghen to some ot o oI f the fundamental prIncIples of daIry Ing I ng such as securing a ot of cow ow c of at the daIry type feeding balanced rations r and greater care and diligence exercIsed e et in observIng cleanly tary t ary pr in the barn and in the dh dairy airy d Many of the milk producers I have h ave introduced the hand separator r on the he t farm and thereby eliminated the II wasteful w element in the old system of at I hauling b aU all of the milk to the creamer The T he hand labor on the farm tarm is ia more than han t offset by the increased value of 01 the he t fresh warm skim milk Two con d mIlk factories on Richmond and a nd the other at Logan have been erected e and put in operatIon during the year y ear This Is a new busIness for Utah and a nd it is a mark of progress to note that the products of th those factories are finding fi a ready market in our own and foreIgn f countries The demand for dairy produce was never ever n better and the markets and out outside side ide s demand have been so GO remunerative that at times our have been b een almost bare of products There are a re a great many farmers in Utah to toay day d ay who arc thinking more seriously or of the he t dairy business than ever b before fore and the t he idea of two cows g one acre of round ground g during the entire pasturage sea seaBon seaon Bon s on Is an attractive one many farm farmers ers e ns believing this to be one of the sur surest est e st and most profitable sources of in income Inome come ome c cd Unhesitatingly I say that the theay I day d ay 18 15 not tar far distant when the rIch f valleys a Ue s of Utah will make of her a dairy state of fore foremost forest I most st promInence During the past year ear thousands of acres aeres of sagebrush ground have been plowed and preparations made to grow crops on the waste land lands Idle since their formation except for the production ot of sagebrush and grease greasewood greasewood wood Farmers are beginning to r real al alIze Ize that small yIelds of grain on these cheap desert lands may be far more profitable than enormous yields Ields on high priced irrigated irrigate land I Ar Arid d Farming The state two years ears ago made an ap approprIation I to test the ot of theIr deserts and the Work which was assigned to the Utah experiment sta tion under the direction or of Dr John A ha been well done The mar yields of the first years work have changed the doubting timid faith ot of many farmers Into int a firm belle belief that It Is possible to grow crops on 11 throe lands and this belIef Is conVerting sagebrush and greasewood lands into beautiful fields elds Macaroni wheat some of our best known fall faU corn oats barley barey rye and even sugar beets and potatoes have been grown with great success Lucern and broom grass were so successful during the first finst year that we feel justified in encouraging the hope that even our waste mountain ranges may be made to grow grov these crops The work of the experiment sta station station tion in determining the best methods of reclaiming these lands the introduction of drouth resIstant crops the storage ot of all the available moisture etc ot great interest not only to the farming community but to every citizen or the state who desires to see our resources developed These are the questions whIch the experIment station is at attempting attempting tempting to solve EV li after the great increase in tillable soil due to the of our arid lands and the great increase In the our irrigated lands due to the increased water sup supply supply ply as a result of the work or of the na ira national government in building reser reservoirs reservoirs etc there will still be left in our state thousands of acres of alu bl lands landL at present barren barrett wastes I refer to the The These e are usually the fertile fields one time productive but noW ruin ruined d b by an accumulation o of salts The station in n with the bureau of soils solIs have durIng the past year reclaimed forty acres of this land near S Sat t Lake City and next year some marvellous results with this tract are confidently expected The land has been wIth and fre frequent frequent quent irrigation has wasl d the Injurious rious salts out of the soil solI The expense has b been en very sm small as compared with the value ot of the land where once re reclaimed claimed We have not space here her to speak ot of sensational dIscoveries and tar far 1 reaching results ot of the experiments In irrigation at the Agricultural college Suffice It to say that with the present water supply the irrigated area and the crop ou output putcan can no doubt be doubled perhaps trebled by a more rational and scientific use of water We Ve have not space to discuss ss the live livestock stock Industry the poultry and bee arid and silk industrIes but will content ours ourselves by saYing that an evolution Id fe gradually going on in Utah agrIculture whIch is affecting all phases and branches ot of the industry FInally the past year in agriculture has been an epoch making one a year of progress and Improvement The man who wha falls failS to see the silent onward up upward upward ward trend of thIs industry In this state is a dullard If its portent not dis disclose disclose close itself to every observant man this modest effort to compel comprehension will b fruitless on range grasses a 0 common si sight ht in Utah riI ff 4 y 74 r er c kP 4 i iI I 4 t I Ii i 1 t t J f 5 f I Ir r r r 7 ru cl 1 i r S S t t tS S S 1 S S S Sc 2 5 S J S S i S S 4 S S S S S S S S S ec S S S S I II IS S 55 o I S Why not grow hemp in Utah Hemp become may a rival of sugar S S beets under irrigation A famous Utah shee sheep barn S 55 tZ t S 2 i S 5 Br k i S I fit it 1 S S I II i I b t 4 5 S i J 5 ee 55 S h S 5 5 5 d TT r f Brome rome grass grows in Utah with out irrigation |