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Show o THE UINTAH BASIN' FARMER ers SEED GROWERS now, If you Next season please are saying well make em all sit up and take notice. What about the future of the alfalfa seed industry here, anyway? is it going to prosper to the exclusion of other crops? Is it possible to produce so much seed that the markets will be glutted? There are approximately 270,000 shares of water proved up jon in the Uintah Basin. In other words, 270.000 acres of land that can be watered. There are not more than 27.000 acres producing seeJ this LESS THAN season OF THE IRRIGABLE LAND devoted to the production of the fcTOji that has already made the Uintah Basin rich and famous. In other words, there is nine times as much land available fojr increased seed acreage and for other crops as the seed crop is now Moreover, raising a seed using. crop does not require all of a farmers time so that he has plenty of both time and land available for other crops or farming enterprises Et seems quite likely, too, ;that after a few years the most of the seed will be grown on the second crop, making great quantities of fine tender first crop hay ideal -- The Alfalfa Seed Industry of The Uintah Basin By CECIL WILKINSON Tie first alfalfa seed was grought into Utah, by Brigham. Young. It was not many years thereafter until seed was being produced in. several localities. Many old settlers who read this will recall that they have sold alfalfa seed for four cents a pound. Of course, no great industry could be built up on such prices, so as other crops became more profitable. The production of alfalfa seed came to be centered in Millard county and a few other smaller dis- tricts where enormous yields made up for low prices. For a long time that the fields were so foul with weeds especially Large Dod- that seed men and their farm- er customers were afraid of Utah alfalfa seed. Tien,. In 1919 seed prices went unreasonably high and Utah alfalfa seed producers realized very high prices some of these for very poor because seed was quality seed scarce- - In 1920, the pool in which sever- al Uintah Basin farmers had per- - sonal experience, was organized, Owing to inexperienced management, a falling market, and the poor qualL ty of a large part of the seed in the pooL this plan of marketing did not prove successfuL Finally, late in the .prtog the J. G. Pepplri Seed company brought the pool on a guaranteed price and profit sharing basis- - Although some profits were realized, when the management of the pool got the expenses paid, there was very little money to return to the growers- Then, the leading growers in Mil-lard county began to cast about for a dependable means of marketing their seed. The plan finally accept- ed by most of the Millard county farmers was the one worked out by their representatives and the J- - G- Peppard Seed company-One of the first points In this scheme wa3 to make Millard county alfalfa seed a quality product.. Fields were inspected very carefully for weeds and the weeds removed.. Then the Peppard company built a big plant and warehouse at Delta in which the seed was carefully cleaned and graded and buying prices on the various grades posted on the black- board. The company's customers,, doubt- ful at first, soon learned that if Utah Alfalfa it was good The crop was sold, farmers received good prices, and the alfalfa seed industry In Millard county wa3 on it3 feet and rearing to go. Then, the J. G. Peppard Seed company received invitations from several producing districts to install the same plan there among them wa.s the Uintah Basin- The Uintah Basin had been re- garded for some years as the bargain counter of the alfalfa seed selling but like other bargain counters the quality of the goods wa3 not usually very high and the supply of really desirably seed was small. In fact, the Basin had never produced much more than a million pounds of alfalfa seed in any one year. The Peppard3 knew of these drawbacks but they were impressed with the sincerity and patience of people they found in the Basin with the nerve these peopl had shown in pioneering his country away off the railroad and practically without markets.They liked these people and as they travelled over the country investigating the land and water they saw visions of a tre-menduous alfalfa seed growing in- dustry that would make these benches and flats produce quantities of high grade alfalfa seed for the eastern farmers and wealth for the farmers of the Uln- seed- - tali Basin. of, THE knows FARMER JASIN uPiTJH ha3 PPened smce. How the company put its men in the field to ke5 raiae crop, how these m9n went about studJmg' conditions, offering advice and suggestions, pointing out bad weeds, and encour- aging the disheartened so that at the end of the 1922 season there was more than three times as much seed to be harvested as ever before and aa aeed too ,ter lacked money and But farmers equipment for threshing. The corn-aft- er PanY Was right on the job to make harvest loans and to help in bring-dS 111 tile. new threshing equipment which at first the maufacturers were afraid to sell on credit. Farmers lC er taresa tnetr crops taXf cEa Then the first plant the big one Roosevelt was built. Here the seed was cleaned and graded, stored und9r insurance and a daily posted miW,ke5 maintained, giving central farketa fa(nktiea ni?,ety tkree mile3 even railroad.. Moreover, of that first 3ea3m three-fourtNo- - 1 seed wa3 aIIJhe grad?d &rade; .Farmers began to see a way out of their troubles. They paid their hs able to buy better food and clothing for their families.. They regained tkeir self respect and their ebbing themselves, fura&9 aad said ONE-TENT- H growing seed has made the Uintah Basin prosperous. The crops themselves, grown in spite of the difficulties we have encountered, prove that the Uintah Basin is a real seed The cooperative feature, country. cooperation between intelligent, ambitious farmers and a COMPANY, strong financially, with long experience, with broad vision, with a reputation for selling GOOD SEED and the organziation to sell it, has built up a quality product, brought central market facilities right into the Basin, and increased the Basin income enough through better prices alone to pay the expenses. This big industry uses only about one-tenof the irrigable land so that farmers still have an abundance of land and time for other crope pnd for more seed. The demand for this th GOOD UTAH ALFALFA is increas- ing every year. With our possibilities for increasing the production all crops, including alfalfa seed and this ever increasing demand for our eed, the future looks bright ina deed, doesnt it? ALFALFA SEED MARKET IS OPENED IN BASIN The alfalfa seed market was op-eTuesday, Sept. 23, with the first offered so far this season. The dairy hay. price The matter of over production is J. G. Peppard Seed company, which a little more difficult to estimate. owns and operates seed cleaning The planting of alfalfa seed is inplants at Roosevelt and Duchesne, creasing in the east and central posted a bulletin of prices offered, west. They want American grown viz: No. 1 seed, $15.50 per 100; No. seed. Advertising is increasing the 2, $13.75; No. 3, $11.25, and No. demand for UTAH alfalfa seed. 4, $8 per 100 pounds. Then the big yields produced here For extra No. 1 seed the company enable the Uintah Basin growers to a premium of 5 per cent above offers produce seed for less money per No. 1 seed. pound than in any other district. the price for This fact alone will enable our growThe seed crop this year promises ers to make money raising seed long to be the greatest in the history of after growers in other districts have the Uintah Basin there being fifty-tw- o had to turn to other crops. threshing machines in operaThree short seasons of REALLY tion at this time. nd M And tkey d34 lt( ta0, Tb,e uad grasshoppers to contend with but the company got great quantities of mm IjfiijfiifiMfljfilfllflMIfilllinMfiilTiMlfllfiMlIlllllliljlilllMlTlliiMnMnPg p0iS0n materials and showted the um farmers how to use them- They out and tinished the season jgj jjj 0f 1923 with almost as much as in 1922 and about five times as much jjj 1921 bef0re they started jjj aeed as n cooperating with. each other and the G. Peppard Seed company to make the Uintah Basin the biggest and best alfalfa seed producing district in the U- - S. A. The company had to build a new warehouse at Roosevelt and another plant at Duchesne ito handle the crop. Going some for two seasons, wasnt it? Now, as harvest and threshing of the 1924 crop are getting under way, farmers are looking back over one of the driest seasons the Uintah Basin has ever known- - How- ever, they are getting to be real seed growers now. They started early in the spring to prepare for a dry season. They cultivated their fields and killed the weeds and mulched the soiL They burned off the fencerows and ditchbanks. improving the appearance of the farms and facilitating the handl- ing of the water. Then, during the season the com- pany, through its field men, has kept the closest possible touch with the farmers. This cooperative fort of the farmers and the field men has produced, in spite of the dry season, an alfalfa seed crop that promises to be even Iargir than last seasons record breaker, The Uintah Basin is now regarded a3 one of the moet prosperous farming communities in' dhe west. The hotels are filled wft.h men here to sell goods, of every des-cription from dry goods to thresh-th- e ing machines They want this bus-an- d iness because they know that Uln- tah Basin farmers can and will pay for the goods. The story might be told briefly thus: Uintah Basin farmers by intelligent cooperation with the J. G. Peppard Seed start company, from, poverty and achieve prosper- ity in three years by producing falfa seed. At that, WE, in the UINTAH BASIN, have JUST STARTED TO RAISE SEED. Already the farm- - j jjj ALFALFA SEED g jjj jjj m n jjj jjj jjj jjj jjj jjj M The Market Is Open !r On Tuesday, September 23, 1924 we posted the following H No. No. No. No. 1 - .$15.50 13.75 11.25 8.00 2 .. 3 .. 4 .. Extra No. jjj jjj jjj f. o. b. Roosevelt and Duchesne Mi jjj M jjj jjj prices: jjj jji 0 j jjj gn jjj jjj jjj jjj jjj jjj jjj 1, 5 above No. 1. These prices axe subject to change. m jjj jjj jjj ESJ Jjj jjj Sn uni WATCH THE BLACKBOARDS ail 'fin J. G. PEPPARD SEED CO. ai-gr- eat w Duchesne Roosevelt V emal ilni !i. |