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Show Till KSDYY Mllll. , .!, I 'ITT Extonslon Agronomist Alfalfa Testing Occupies Dr. McAllister 5 2rM ML'M MS y ; pl fa r t . . t y-- k ; ir ? '' . t. Soil Additives Not Good Fertilizer shortages are to bring on the market more new soil additive materials as farmers look for substitutes. Most of these soil medicines have very little economic benefit to farmers, notes Dr. Paul D. Christensen, Utah State University Extension soil specialist He cautions farmers and gardners to realize that if the ingredients of a product are not needed by the crop or the soil, or if the materials have little or no value, they are too expensive for you to use at any price. Usually, these products, promoted with phrases, include organic concoctions, fermentation formulations, and miscellaneous mineral materials dug from the make yield comparisons between treated and untreated portions on the same field, with the same crop and variety, under the same management, and subjected to the same weather, disease, and insect problems. He cautioned further, Dont rely fully on testimo-mials; seldom are they based on sufficient comparisons. Also keep in mind that distributors of new products of reliable value usually are willing to supply reasonable amounts of their materials for unbiased field trials. Dr. Christensen added, Scientists engaged in soils research admit that they have much yet to learn. But he said, Lets not forget that soil organic matter, manures, crop residues, microorganisms, natural minerals and commercial fertilizers have been investigated for more than 100 years. Their characteristics and their reactions have been intensively studied. Soil fertility and modern agriculture have progressed far beyond what is often inferred by distributors of many soil medicines Writer: Cleon M Kotter Frequently, they come and then pass from the picture with little benefit except to the distributors. Dr. Christensen pointed out that during the past 25 years many different such miracle soil materials have appeared on the market These products include minerlow grade coal-typ- e als, ground rock, microbial fermentation liquids, manure and clay mixtures, composts, ground limestone, and sulfure or gypsum-typ- e materials New names appear each year, but the basic types essentially remain the same No matter what the products are, they are supposed to work miracles in the soil. He said essentially the same claims for soil and crop benefits are included in the sales pitch for completely different types of soil medicines Each promoter usually claims that his product will do most or all of these: improve soil structure aeration, and soil-wat- relationships; increase root growth and penetration; reduce the need for chemical fertilizers; reduce the assumed breakdown in soils resulting from the application of chemical fertilizers; add trace elements m natural form, reduce or eliminate insect infestation in crops, and correct diseases in crops To avoid throwing money away on products of little value, Dr. Christensen urges that you use caution when you see these warning sigclaims are nals: cure-al- l made stating that the product is good for practically all soils and crops, and possibly even as a livestock feed additive; testimonials are used in place of factual research data when selling the product; the product is backed by experts whose expertise is not in soils, crops, or fertilizers; and sellers say that the product is so new state and federal research agencies haven't had time to test it or that they are biased and unwilling to test it fairly. Dr. Christensen said, We dont discourage farmers from trying out new things. But we do caution them to test in a way that is not too costly and that will give reliable results. He suggested: apply a new soil product of questionable value on well marked strips in a field; then ield on a per aci e basis The cuttings are then placed in windrows to facilitate harvesting by the grower must be related to stand life because it s expen sive to establish a stand and water is not always avail able Commenting on evaluation procedures Dr McAllister resistance to dis stated, ease may be more important than yield potential" and "an accurate evaluation of a new variety requires at least five years because of the delayed action, for example, ot stem nematode Bacterial wilt which is common throughout the state and stem nematode which is more localized are Dr McAllister is not impressed by varieties that establish track ecoi ds eai lv m the testing period The first year or two of evalun tion," he claims, may be of little value with a pciennial such as alfalfa What we're looking for are vai leties that maintain a stand foi six or seven years 1 Tonnage statistics says Dr McAllister, alone, are Utah State Universitys alfalfa evaluation program is actually a 1. Dr. McAllister activityprovides the planting pattern, the technical direction and the seed which is contributed by participating seed companies, 2. the various county agents assist Dr. McAllister and procedures with the grower, 3 the farmer provides the land and maintains the plot, the culture being identical to that of the surrounding fields The farmers are anxious to says Dr. as they can McAllister, observe different varieties on their own land and subject to local growing conditions. The test plots approximate 60 by 20 feet overall, are usually located in the middle of the growers field and may include 20 varieties replicated six times for a total of 120 individual rows. Dr McAllister synchronizes his growing practices with normal commercial production in order to minimize any disruption of the farmer's program Yarieties selected for test plot evaluation are those commonly on sale in Utah, rather than yield per crop or cutting, standabihty after the third year and resistance to disease. If time permits and personnel is available root samples may be checked to Rangeland Mattes Good Progress Significant strides have been made with the Western States Rangeland Development program since the conference on Agriculture held in Salt Lake City last year, W. Ben says Lindsay, Director of the Division of Development, Agriculture Utah Department of AgriEach state has a culture. representative for a Western States rangeland committee and part of the states have a rangeland development committee organized for leadership of their respective states. Landlords of state, private and federal lands are working together to facilitate a development program that will benefit all segments of society in developing watersheds and conserving valuable topsoil. The Western Governors Conference on Agriculture held at Billings, Montana, 1975, included a April wide range of subjects of primary interest to the econ- not the entire answer iiy fcrfnnn who are 11 and also by attending tanner schools sponsored hi seedsmen and aginultuial associations in allalla ing glow- areas rnfriv Hay is a major crop in Utah. Alfalfa yields of up to eight tons almost three times the state average per acre per year This variety, characterized have been produced with WL-30by fine stems and extreme leafiness, has wide adaptability for Utah growing conditions. f Good jobs... Good pay... Utah egg production exceeds 300,000,000 eggs annually. The state's egg type chicken ranches are concentrated in Salt Lake and Utah counties. There are approximately 1,400,000 hens and pullets of laying age in the state. Choose your skill and learn it while you serve your country Benefits include advancement opportunity, 30 days paid vacation, travel, job security, and medical care Earn good pay while you learn in the Air Force Contact your Call Air Force Recruiter. Ccflct Pro Salt Lake Ogden Spring Products for Home and Farm IFA 12 IFA Compare Quality & your best buy. Prices. Dollar for dollar Home Garden JL Seeds Yearly sales of cattle and calves injtah exceed $100,000,000 d and represent more than of total cash receipts from all agricultural commolitie8. The leading production areas for cattle, Utahs most important agricultural product, are Box Elder, Utah, Millard, Cache, Uintah and Duchesne counties. one-thir- Full line of Northrup-Kin- HERES PROOF... flower g Thor has both high and vegetable seeds Proven for excellent yield in this climate yields and staying Chick Feeders Opfimil Medicated high Galvanized 36" 10 Utah farmers plant Filcoat Pelleted Sugar Beet seed for even emergence and uniform-size- d crops. Pelleted seed provides the uniformity of size, weight and density required for precision planting. Sugar beet production is centered in Box F.lder County Photo tour,"r off in case lots S2.10 1972 field trials conin 10 states at 21 different locations Thor In ducted yields than Vernal And in a recent university trial, Thor ranked first in resistance to bacterial wilt over 43 other alfalfas And it beat Vernal (formerly the standard for wilt re- and sizes 4 lb. 20 lb. power. averaged 7o higher potency supplement tor nursing calves Cardboard 18C each 11 Wes- members of the Western Governors Conference. The bulk of western rangeland is owned by three landlords, namely: federal government, state governcitiment and private zens. This type of land ownership pattern makes it necessary for funds to be made available from all sources to simulate an orderly program of development and improvement of this vast renewable resource. Livestock production from these ranges can easily be Mr doubled, says "In addition, all Lindsay. other rangeland uses and value would benefit. With a greater variety of feed and habitat, wildlife and bird pop- - I1 corn This dairy cow is delighted with its ration of Funks silage, a variety possessing top yield potential and high grain content. In terms of cash receipts, dairying is Utahs second most important agricultural enterprise. d. Wyoming si ly ,11 it A ... One sub- tern States has over 67 percent of their area in range-lan- d and some states over 90 percent range. Political circumstances at this date suggest that the States of Hawaii and Alaska be considered separately from the 11 Western Staes of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and in, s 1 an obtain data e tolu Mi sti s ..Haifa test plot evaluations liom a leallet, Utalla Y'ai icties For I t.ih pub lished by Utah Slate I mi or - I, Pf ject of special significance was the Development of Rangeland Resources. According to Mr. Lindsay, the magnitude and importance of rangeland in the Western States is awesome to say the least. To gain the full prospective, we must look at 753 million acres with 75percentof 565 million acres classified as range-lanEach of the or even maintaining allalla yields in Utah Pea aphids and spotted allalla aphids although destruc live aie less nienai mg bet nose both an be oni oiled t In n k ill, Sr 3, omy of the West. sei ious threats to uu leasing They experimental Varieties are evaluated for g earth. determine the percent affected In bacterial wilt and the number of roots per unit aiea The latter evaluation (actor is also a measure of stand and often accompanies lesetreh on seeding rates The test plots are harvested at the same time as the glowers fields it at all Each variety is possible mowed raked, gathered and weighed in just a few minutes to prevent any diving that might affect the weights The green weights ate recorded, converted to dry matter and computations made to determine areas. KEITH CHAPMAN, County Agent for Millard County, a major alfalfa producing center, records weight data of WL-30- 6 alfalfa, one of the varieties being evaluated in the alfalfa test plot conducted by Dr. De Y'ere R. McAllister at the Duane Stanworth ranch near Delta. Photo, courtesy Germains, Inc. helping Testing and evaluating alfalfa varieties in their area of adaptation has been a major occupation of Dr. De Y'ere R. McAllister, Utah State University Extension Agronomist, since 1938 Currently he is conducting alfalfa test plots at eight locations in Utah: two in Millard County and one each in Wasatch, Salt Lake, Sanpete, Uintah, Box Elder and Cache counties The purpose of this testing, Dr McAllister said, is to determine the varieties best suited to a particular location Different test sites are required, he explained, "because no single variety is adapted to all growing sistance) by 70o No wonder Thor sold out two ye us in a row Don t be disappointed See us now Prices effective until April 15th Everyone is welcome to shop IFA Stores. cist Grmo,B INTERMOUNTAIN FARMERS STORES sells If IFA would increase. ulations Increased vegetation would reduce erosion and provide improved water quality, a commodity in greater demand each year as the need for energy, industry, agriculture and human consumption increases. Improved rangeland for present and future generations is vitally important to the person seeking scenery or open space; the recreatiomst seeking an en- joyable outdoor experience; the urban resident demanding a high quality water supply; the person interested in a healthy, viable wildlife population; the consumer who desires an economical diet that includes red meat products and the rural family and community which depends on livestock grazing for their livelihood and economic stability. American Foik 28 N M VW t it Price Utah Logan Utah U Nu M 0 ' you can depend on It. t ,40 W hi 0852 1st No Cedar City Utah N 200 Wt M tt Manti Utah vV 'nd No Provo Utah Delta Utah 408 W M tm Ogden Utah Richfield Utah UHL Kt So 808 Draper Utah 104S I l.UUi) 4h 7 1504 Payson Preston S i M So U) H v. . 08 Utah 1st W S Loa, Utah BO ill Av t b N Idaho SI It. MUM W Mh So U St George. Utah UO Industrial Ro id 071 1031 7880 t So West T tmpie 4b7 1504 Soda Springs. Idaho 54 1501 P O l4 ' Fork Utah Cat neiy Road 98 7418 Tremonton Utah 241 So Ird W 2 57 54 19 Spanish Salt Lake City Utah BOO Riverton Utah 880 W t 2800 So Roosevelt Utah to N ird ast Salma Utah 529 1011 Hwy 8P So Box (1)8)54 7 7 7b 2058 Sprinkler Irrigation Highway 89 South Salma 524 725 |