OCR Text |
Show Harves By ROSELYN KIRK Crop yields in Davis County this year are slightly below average, but are better than agricultural experts had hoped for. Darrell Stokes, supervisor of the Davis County Agricultural Extension Service in Farmington, said that the fear of a water shortage had appeared to change only a few cropping patterns. The result was the planting of fewer crops which required a large amount of water in the late summer and early fall. THIS YEAR farmers in Davis County did not plant as many acres in sugar beets, which require August, September and October watering, he said. Another change in cropping, due to the drought, was in the rotation of crop land. Periodically the land is rotated and planted in alfalfa, which builds up the land. This year less crop rotation was tried, since more water is required to get the alfalfa started. More acres were left in grain and were not rotated until better weather conditions prevail, Mr. Stokes said. While most farmers seeded all the land they felt they could water, the planting was slightly under normal, Mr. Stokes said. The exception was in the area of home gardens. People had been encouraged to go ahead with gardens and sacrifice the lawns this year. Vegetables for family food production increased. THE FRUIT crop was normal in spite of the drought, Mr. Stokes said. Sweet cherries and peaches were slightly above normal. He said the extention service has noted an increase in peach production over the last several years with more bushels available for sale in the area. Most of the fruit crop is sold locally either in Utah or Wyoming, he said. Although many vegetable crops are grown in West Bountiful, Woods Cross and West Layton areas, vegetable farmers are not able to supply enough vegetables to meet local needs. Many of the vegetables consumed in Davis County must be shipped in from outside of the state. DRY ONIONS is one vegetable crop that shows increased production. This crop has been increasing in the number of acres planted over the last four or five years, with the result that 1,200 to 1,300 acres of onions are now grown in Davis County. Only about 1,500 acres of onions are grown in the state, with Davis County producing the bulk of the onions. Although onions are a full season crop which require a lot of water, Davis County farmers continued to plant onions this year. The climate and soil is excellent for onion production, Mr. Stokes said. He said the raising of onions, in most cases, is a specialty crop for most farmers, who usually grow only about 10 to 15 acres. Some fanners may raise as many as 60 to 70 acres. ALTHOUGH ONION production is increasing, onion prices are not expected to be the bright spot as far as agricultural prices go this year. Mr. Stokes said that onion prices were high two years ago, but last year went down to $2.25 for 50 pounds, went down to $2.25 for 50 pounds. He anticipates that the market for onions could rise to $4 to $7, but probably onions will not reach the high of two years ago. Onions can be stored for 60 to 90 days, but onion farmers wont be able to keep their product any later than January. THE ONE bright spot in the prices for agricultural products is the price of alfalfa hay which is now selling for $60 a ton. The price of hay has steadily been increasing and farmers who raise this product will make a profit. On the other hand, grain prices are down. Mr. Stokes pointed out that this is a national trend. According to agriculture department statistics, the peoplt in the United States of the wheat that it can be fed on produced in this country. This means that of the wheat crop must be sold on a foreign market. When drought is not prevalent in other parts of the world, U.S. wheat is not needed on the foreign market, Mr. Stokes said. one-thir- d two-thir- DURING THE drought in Russia and China, those countries purchased U.S. wheat, but during the last two years, the supply of wheat has exceeded the PHOTOS demand. Much of the wheat must be stored until it can be sold. Mr. Stokes said that about 2,000 acres of wheat are raised in Davis County, but that those farmers who raise that product are seeing the price decrease from $5 a bushel in 1974 to $2.25 this year. He said farmers will continue to store the wheat as long as they can, hoping the price will rise. The livestock industry in Davis County has a broad base. The most recent agricultural census, taken by the U.S. Department of Commerce, shows a total of 163 farms raised over 7,000 beef cattle as opposed to the 91 farms that had in inventory 2,300 milk cows. But Mr. Stokes says that this pattern is changing. Dairy production is increasing since the price of beef cattle has gone down. Next to beef and dairy cattle, the third largest animal industry in Davis County is the production of sheep. ACCORDING TO Mr. Stokes, many of the beef cattle are raised and sold as feeder stock, while the milk from the dairy cattle are sold to larger dairies in the metropolitan areas of Salt Lake City and Ogden. Mr. Stokes said that although statistics show that the number of beef and dairy cattle has continued to decrease, better production methods have increased the yield of milk production from a fewer number of animals. Statistics in 1974 show that the livestock base in Davis County exceeded other products. Eleven million dollars in livestock production exceeded the seven million dollars production from other crops, including vegetables. MR. STOKES said that intensive agriculture increases the production in some acreage where farmers may get as many as three crops in one growing season. Three crops of alfalfa hay may be grown in one season. Some vegetable crops such as radishes may be grown on one plot of ground and then another planted after the first crop is harvested. The fastest growing agricultural enterprise in Davis County over recent years are the greenhouses which raise vegetables as well as flowers and green plants, according to Mr. Stokes. Vegetable production continues to grow in the county, although the varieties of vegetables continue to change as the market demands. The vegetable market is uncertain and is not one of the bright spots in agriculture in Davis County, he said. DAVIS COUNTY is one of the prime agricultural areas in the state. The county has more land under irrigation than any other county in the state. He said the texture of the soil, the slope, the well drained land and the climate make the county a prime agricultural land. Tut he doesnt know whether this agricultural use of the land will continue. Its difficult to tell. You cant ask a farmer not to sell his land for $15,000 to $20,000 an acre for subdivision development when he can only get from $1,000 to $1,500 by growing crops. HE SAID the trend in the county during the last decade has been for farms to combine. Although the census statistics show that farms decreased in number from 699 in 1969 to 680 in 1974, the farms with sales of over $1,000 increased from A combine harvests com in Davis County. Much of the corn is used in fattening feeder The livestock industry in Davis County has a broad base. 508 in 1969 to 580 in 1974. But statistics also show that total cropland decreased from 40,946 in 1969 to 33, 109 five years later. MR. STOKES said that much of the farming in Davis County is done by farmers who farm small areas and then work at other jobs as their primary source of income. The statistics show that there were 742 farms under 50 acres in Davis County in 1974 as compared to 48 farms of 500 acres or over. e farmers Mr. Stokes said most are farming more land than they own and are renting some farm land. He pointed out that agriculture is still the largest employer in the United States. HE DECLINED to predict what kind of water year Utah farmers would experience next year, but said that in the history of the state there has never been more than two dry years in a row. "Its like rolling dice to determine what the water outlook will be for next summer, he said. He predicted that if the water picture looks bright, more Davis County farmers will be planting alfalfa hay next year. full-tim- BY FRED WRIGHT The wheat silos show the overabundance of wheat on the market. Some of the wheat will be stored, if passible, until prices go up. The climate and soil in Davis County is excellent onion for production. Each year Davis County farmers continue to plant a larger onion crop. |