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Show tt Are You Farming for Pleasure Or for Profit? Agronomist, Intermountain District, California Corp. al We have long believed that farming or ranching as a way of life is choice and unsurpassed. And certainly this is true. However, farming is more than a way of life, it is also a means of livelihood a way of making a living. Few indeed are the individuals who are farming or ranching purely for enjoyment. To most of us it is a means of cash income. If we may then take as our basic premise, that our farming operations are based upon the profit motive, we must agree that securing an income is o prime importance and that we ought to seek ways and means of increasing our income to compensate for the increasing costs of production. A group of young farmers spoke for farmers throughout the state when they said that the greatest problem they now face is the high cost of production and low return per unit of product Make no mistake about it, the squeeze is real and must be met. Prices paid by farmers for goods and services cost-pric- This average yield wai 23.S tons per acre, an increase of almost 1 ton of beets for each 100 pounds of fertilizer applied. If we assume 12.5 tons per acre are required to repay production costs, then the application of 500 fertilizer inpounds of hte opportunities to profit from creased the profit to the growers the wise use of fertilizer are from about $105 an acre to $146 greater than they have ever been an acre. Investing $25 an acre in before. fertilizer increased by 39 the Suppose for a moment that we income the growers realized from explore the possibility of using their sugar beet enterprise. Since we have agreed that we fertilizers as a means of increasing the margin of profit to the are farming for profit, not pleasincrease in income ure, a 39 grower. is something to be sought after. University economists have es- This is what the proper use of timated that it costs about $169, fertilizer is able to accomplish. exclusive of fertilizer costs, to Be it beets, alfalfa hay, posugar grow an acre of sugar beets and tatoes, corn or livestock on irriharvest it On this basis, about gated pasture, the net result is 21.5 tons of beets are required the same. Fertilization can be to repay production costs. A the means of producing a greatprofit is obtained only from the er volume of product per acre at yield in excess of this figure. In a reduced cost per unit three fertilizaion trials conducto ed by the Co. Sugar in 1953, the average yield per Tried a rnt-af- i lattrlv? acre was 20.3 tons of beets without fertilization. Where 500 THE BEAVER PRESS fertilizpounds of Ortho Beaver, Utah er was applied per acre, the FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 1960 emphasized by noting that the same amount of fertilizer that vou!d produce $1 worth of farm products in 1939 will today produce farm products with a market value of more than $2.60. Certainly then BY DR. ROBERT E. WARNOCK Spray-Chemic- any time In the past may be further e meeting in Salt Lake recently used in production have Increased sharply from what they . were in the period By 1959 the cost of motor vehicles had increased farm machinery prices were up building and fencing materials up 32 and wage rates 43. Meanwhile, sugar beets, alfalfa hay, potatoes and grains were returning little . more than they did in Obviously the margin of profit remaining for the grower has deand one begins to wonder clined, if ' whether he is farming for a profit or just a hobby. Faced with the prospect of dev v, clining income there are three avenues of escape open to the grower: 1, he may supplement his farm income by finding em job, or. ployment in a 2, he may extend his operation over more acres, hoping to secure 'A a living wage even at hte re duced. income per unit of prod uct. The third alternative is to increase the efficiency of pro duction on his own operation, producing each unit of product at a reduced cost per unit and thus securing for himself a mar gin of profit in spite of increased costs of production or decreasing selling price. And, interestingly w Keep in touch enough, whether he chooses 1 or by long distance 2, he may also take full advant age of route 3 as a means to ad NEW, LOWES LONG DISTANCE RATES ditional income. Now, for only $1.75 or less, you While prices of other items con call anywhere in the country, used in farm production have in and talk or Alaska Hawaii, except for three wonderful minutes ot the creased sharply during the last rate or nighttime decade, the price of fertilizer on Sunday (plus federal excise tax). This had increased by only a tool as that of course, means, Mountain States Telephone of production the use of fertiliz er is today more profitable than 0 20-20-- 0 Utah-Idah- 20-20-- 0 Guardsmen Play Active Role in Disaster Relief Guardsmen are prepared for their Federal mission to serve In time of war or national emergency alongside our active forces. They also have a State mission fo assist State authorities, on call, in maintaining peace, order, and public safety. In one instance recently, when the Governor of South Carolina got word that his State was squarely in the path of Hurricane Gracie, he called out a thousand of his Army National Guardsmen. They pitched in to evacuate citizens In coastal areas, sheltered and fed the homeless, provided emergency communications and power. They stayed at their posts through winds of 125 mph. After the storm had passed, they helped clear oway debris and guarded against looting of damaged homes and stores. 1947-49- 47, 53, f 1947-49- I 1 I ,L- h3f i non-far- ON THE ROAD? J station-to-statio- ,1 This Farmer 71 used 60 lbs., N, Harvested 17 tons silage corn Mich and Gene Fukui used 160 lbs. N Harvested More than 25 Tons Silage To get the most from any land, farmers must use proper ferti- Good Food Got 'Em!! s J 10 n Slots??-W- e ! - "s 6. Like '''1 f- - lization. ; "If we didn't use enough fertilizer, our yields would be so low that we couldn't afford to operate our farm," says Mich Fukui, and Bar Tate Hiway ' 21 and Ilave Fun - with ART and LIL BRUMBLEY Baker, Nevada Clean Comfortable Cabins irtitr..'i I ri it & Nitrogen Fertilizers v f" COUTRTWrW mi CA1ACE tmrmmmmmmL speaking for himself and brother, Gene Fukui, who operate a diversified, irrigated farm near Tremonton, Utah. For example, the Fukui brothers used 500 pounds of USS Ammonium Nitrate per acre on silage corn and harvested more increase over acreage not fertithan 25 tons an acre a seven-to- n lized in the area. On small grains, they applied 300 pounds of USS Ammonium Nitrate and harvested 100 bushels of barley per acre, more than 80 bushels of wheat. On tomatoes and sugar beets, they also used and their yields adequate amounts of nitrogen and phosphate were among the tops in the area. Successful fanners agree "It takes N, Men" and for nitrogen, there's no better source than USS Nitrogen Fertilizers made by United States Steel. Always insist on USS Nitrogen Fertilizers, sold by reliable dealers. Use enough fertilizer; harvest more dollars! lJOQttS Emm |