Salt Lake Telegram | 1936-05-02 | Page 9 | Utah Official Warns About Weed Danger

UTAH OFFICIAL WARNS ABOUT WEED DANGER Menace to Future of of Agriculture Is Stressed By JOHN U. U TERRELL If It you own a farm or ranch that you think Is clear youre you're mistaken In all probability theres there's a mortgage mortgage mortgage mort mort- gage o of 50 an acre on it and that mortgage is increasing in amount each year The insidious thing about this mortgage is that its it's neither tangible tangible tangible tangi tangi- ble nor payable in dollars and cents No banker keeps keep'S it in his vault no mortgage company asks for interest inter inter- est Yet it is threatening to ruin you ou and the next generation will wil bear its burden Removing Weeds David F. F Smith commissioner of ol agriculture will explain that the only way to clear your property Isby Isby is isby by hard work r removing moving the weeds For it is weeds of ot a thousand thousand thousand thou thou- sand varieties that have placed this Invisible mortgage on the geographical ical cal surface of ot Utah Mr Smith paints a gloomy pic- pic ture ure The assessed valuation of ol agricultural agricultural agricultural ag ag- ag- ag and grazing lands in the state tate is dropping dropping- at an alarming rate ate because the weeds control control con- con rol it itA A glance at approximate figures reveals a somewhat amazing situa situa- situa tion S The total acreage of the state is acres About 5 per cent of ot this total is listed as agricultural lands or acres With an average weed mortgage of 50 an acre on tillable lands the farmers of Utah are carrying a total mortgage of ot 00 I doubt Mr Smith declared that dollars would be enough to eradicate the weed peril in Utah And there is no money for tor such sucha a a. purpose Novel Solution Millard county may attempt a somewhat novel solution So much land Jand is being abandoned here that the county may offer to give tillable tilla tilla- ble land to anyone anone who will contract I to rid it of weeds But what if one county removes removes' Its weed mortgage and others ignore ig nore nore noro the problem Weed seeds travel far and wide on on the winds The free area soon would be Infested Infest Infest- ed again Mr Smith is going to call a meetIng meeting meeting meet meet- ing in the near future of landowners landowners land land- owners county and state boards railroad officials and others who are arc affected by the peril It is his contention con con- that all aU these bodies must work together if It the state is to be freed of danger if Jl agriculture is isto isto isto to progress and develop He speaks sadly of the condition in Davis county saying If It a man contracted to eradicate weeds there for a million dollars he wouldn't be able to make a dime on th the thu job Davis county stands on the threshold threshold threshold thresh thresh- old of disaster But its it's not unique in this respect I might say the entire state is so situated And unless unless unless un un- un- un less something is done the future of at Utah agriculture is black