OCR Text |
Show SPECIAL SECTION. TIMES, February U. LEADER-GARLAN- 1977. Page Bsji Ikzx km I - . s ;:; ft ',"5 f 4 .i-'- J " '4 ? ) I ? Hint of post survives time u at Garland farm operation Even though Boyd Munns of Garland has been running a successful modern dairy operation with all the motorized and electronic aids that assist today's farmer, there is still a hint of the past at his Garland farm. Namely, "Queen" and "Dove" two of his pureblood Belgian workhorses. At age .MOSS BELIEVES that communication is important in the Co-o- p and makes every effort to make himself available to the farmer. Here he talks with Glen Nelson of Elwood. . five, Queen is the biggest, but Qove, age eight, is commanding the attention while she is presently in foal.-Th- e rest of Munns' herd is wintering at Star Valley. "Oh, I just like to keep a added. "During harvest it comes in fast and we ship some by rail to Ogden. We usually employ about six or seven people at that time of Many Factors Are year." IfiioM By Craig Feller -- There-'af e" many "factors involved in the price that farmers get for their crops. For instance, the price of grain, like most commodities, is based on supply and demand, but is also affected by a protein count. The count is determined from samples taken from the load that is sold to the grainery or The cleanliness of the grain is also a factor," added Keith Moss, the manager of the Northern Utah Farmers Co-o- p in Garland. "The drought will most co-o- likely affect this year's prices too," Moss said. "Some say it is as dry as 1963, but I can't ever remember it being this dry," he complained. "We will know more about that price when we find out how the Midwest is going to do. If their crops are damaged because of too long a winter, then prices will go up. We will just have to wait and see," Moss sighed. The prices at tb?Flocal cooperative are dettnlhned at their regional headquarters in Ogden. At 2 p.m. each afternoon, the final market is posted, but if the prices fluctuate during the day, changes will be posted accordingly. The local co-o- p in Garland is one of many across the nation that offers local farmers a share of the profit on all grain that is sold. Elections in the organization are held every December and the current board is governed this year by Doug Holmgren, president; Sherman Earl, vice president; Owen Neilson, Rich non-prof- it In km ard Peterson, and Lee Fuhriman, boarcUnembers. Each farmer becomes a member when he sells his first bushel of grain and the regional office is owned by 18 different locals in the Utah-Idah- o area. When a farmer brings in a load of grain it is weighed on d scales by a licensed weigher. Samples are taken from the load and sent to the Utah-Idah- o Grain Exchange where it is graded. When the farmer comes back to take some of his own grain out for feeding, he is charged a handling fee. When he decides to sell his grain, a check is issued for the full amount delivered, according to the grading imposed by the exchange. All insurance and loss from shrinkage is paid by the state-inspecte- Pfiees "We handle two different types of wheat. The feeder wheat for cattle and the protein wheat for human consumption," Moss explained. The Fielding resident started out in the grain business back in 1939 when he got his first truck. He ran an independent operlong-tim- e through a remodeling project. -- A computer -- "will be " installed in the near future to aid in communication between the regional office and Garland. "The present facility will handle 580,000 bushels at its peak," Moss claimed. "We have about 6,000 members in the Utah-Idah- o area," he ation in the valley until 1959 when he started trucking grain in Montana. Then in 1972 he became the manager at the co-o- p in Garland. "I've seen the grain go from $1.20 per bushel in 1972 to $5.75 per bushel in 1974," Moss recalled. "Now it's back to around $2.50 per bushel." couple around the farm," Munns grinned. "You never know when we will have to pull a tractor out of the mud." Munns is young at heart but can still remember with the giant farming horses when he was just a boy. "Granddad built in 1915 just three quarters of a mile north of where my dad and I built. We farmed over 400 acres with teams in the old days, " Munns recalled. In those days most farmers couldn't afford grain and horses were lucky to get hay. The teams were pastured on areas that were too rocky to farm or they ate out of the ditch bank. On the Munns farm the corral was right next to the canal, so they could get water from there too. "Dad would wrangle the horses, starting at 4 a.m. and it would take about an hour and a half to catch field them in the and harness them up. We used to keep the harnesses and all right on the fence," he added. The hitches always depended on the work. If they were running a combine on the side hill, they would use 12 head, three hitches with four horses on each. "The wheelers, the swing team, and the leaders," Munns clarified. "It wasn't like working with a tractor," confessed the dairyman. "They would have to wind the horses 200-ac- re choosing. They receive a check in the future for whatever the current price is. Incidentally, all the records of weights, withdrawals and payments are inspected quarterly by Federal Warehouse Inspectors. Any profit made during the year is paid back to the farmer in proportion to what he brought in. Federal law states that at least 20 percent be returned, but the co-o- p has never given back under 30 percent, according to Moss. The balance goes into book credits Class A and B.This is credited to the farmer's name and is used to improve the co-oRecently the facilities in Garland have gone neighbors would work it so when it came time to wind their team they would always be by the fence so they could converse about the day's issues. Usually, the conversation got stronger than the horses did and the farmers were back to the job at hand in about ten min- utes. At noon the collars would be pulled off and cold salt water applied to any abrasions on the shoulders. "If there were any gaulds they would flinch for a while until they warmed up again," Munns remembered. The farmers would, on the average, take a 2'2 hour lunch break. The women would meet the crew with a full course dinner of beef or chicken and homemade bread. "I can still remember Uncle Fred Nye, my brothers, Gene and Eldon, and my dad, Frank, working that Holt combine in the afternoons," Munns laughed. "It would take one man for each hitch, one to run the header, and one to sew the sacks." The header didn't stand in front but was off to the side where the grain was cut. After it was cut it fell on a droper and ran to the end into a separator. The grain was then separated from the chaff. The grain went into the bags and when five were finished, they would fall into the windrow. The chaff was Cont'd on next page It's almost a year since woVe come to Tremonton. ITeVe enjoyod the m acceptance and patronage of all the co-o- p. Farmers can also deliver their grain and get paid for it at a later date of their every hour or so, but the residents of the Boar tor valley. |