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Show 'a Apicclferal Yislds Per Acre Devoted, L. hsl Year, to tne Progress DLL Utah Raided First ia Sugar; Beets, Alfalfa- Seed and Spring Yfteat. ilRIt &Developneufc oj Agriculture EOOSEVELT, DUCHESNE COUNTY, in fie Qrent. Uinkah Basin UTAH, JULY 1, 1926. NO. 152. WHA TS THE MATTER? By J. P. May 2!2!!il!li:fiII!l!!:i!!:!III!i!;il Jtah Manufacturers . Association ired prizes for the best story on I subject, Whats the Matter h Utah? It is another way of Jng how may we help Utah? The ipaign brought forth several good ries. In reading them I was cibly reminded of the necessity of lilar work in the Basin. How may , with our limited means, help .3 Basin? May we not outline a ogram for both counties, essential-- a unit? The U. B. I. C. has brought us gether and convnced us that we re (both counties) bound up, as it ere, in the same package. In our oneering condition wa have near-- f everything in common. That is ir interests are quite similar. Let 3 examine some of the leading a number of propositions "t help to solve the questions, hat may we do? How may we Lsljf ourselves? How best may we help the Basin? (a) How may we make more money? b) how may we build better homes? (s) How shall we get more people? ifteen acres per capita you know 3 cannot handle, are not farming t, and another five acres for every in woman and child may soon be ide ready, all extra cheap. Before answering these questions t us make two or three observa-:n- s. Our interests may be devided to three groups, viz: farming, sstock, and mercantile. With the siness interests we may include onite, seed buying, wool buying, x Farmers all want, more farm-- i to come and join them. With stores our take a few ly exceptions 3 same view, and that includes sonite, seed, etc. The only group or indiffer-- t, it is rather care-fre- e is the livestock man. Our large epmen know that they must re farther back as people settle these desert lands. The large cat- -j man are now few, and they are ite well isolated. We know a mbcr of sheep men who dont care de-an- ds, . dam about & railroad. How may we make more money? at is the question we all ask. To ke more money, the power that lugs much we want, i3 the great -- Mem. In answering the three estions above let us omit the estock man, the big owner. The Iry man is not in that class, neith-i-s the small sheep owner, that ;n who handles a flock on his a ranch. Our farmers who have all numbers of beef, that they handle successfully on their own farms, are likewise farmers, not livestock men. Of course we ao not mean to imply that the big cattle or sheep man is not and has been a boon, a good builder. Now let us try to answer the first question: Grow more crops. That means we must have greater varieties. We must produce crops that will bring the money. Our isolated condition requires that our money-makin- g products be fed to livestock or be such concentrated products that they may be shipped out. Our freight to the railroad must be absorbed. What crops may we' produce in mor abundance? 1st More corn is needed for the cows, the pigs, and for sheep. Ten times our present corn production could be profitably used. - 2nd More wheat, and for the In same reason as stated above. this case we need even more wheat for man, for bread. Twice our present wheat production may be absorbed. A surplus would make low prices, but that would cause farmers to use more, the poor cow would soon show that she needs it, likewise pigs and poultry. 3rd More mangle sugar beets, root crops for the cows. (We are favoring the milk cow because she is producing over a million dollars' per year for us or $25.00 per capita, and she will make this $100.00 if we give her a chance.) 4th Better bams and sheds for the milk cow and for all livestock. This building is comparatively cheap Logs are near in the mountains, cheap rock is close at hand and any farmer may lay it up. Better sheds and bams will SAVE money and MAKE money. 5th Improve our grade of dairy cows. We have a mongrel mixture, as a rule. A low producer is a losing investment. Organize each precinct into associations for buying some good dairy stock. It will not be very costly if we get together so that we may ship in car lots, good bulls and cows. This means that trustworthy farmers, with the aid of our state department of agriculture and the Agriculture College, will he sent out into the markets with enough cash to get what we can afford. We cannot do all we want the first year. Our financial condition demands that we improve About our dairy herds gradually. wonderful a make will three years difference. Cth get a better grade of pigs. Utah is weak all over in the pig business. Our Uintah Basin is perhaps the worst of alL" Writer, three years ago, bought twenty young pigs. After eighteen months of alternate starving and good times for the pigs we finally decided that we could not keep them forever. But they were scrubs. A pig must grow Good up in six or eight months. blood and plenty of good feed will .accomplish the result. There is no ether way. Our population is large enough to justify some bold man putting in a plant for proper curing of pork and selling lard. We spend a large sum for these products, money that goes to Kansas and other states. If we cannot cure the meat and market the lard to and for ourselves we may surely produce Our the products for the market. freight to the railroad may be absorbed easily because we have cheaper land, water, climate and feed. 7th More cows and better barns and sheds, means more fertilizer. Feritlizer is the gold we bury to use as nature demands. Our lands The are all in need of manure. big cow man cannot supply it as we need it. The farm animals will do so, and the sheds assure that it will be spread out intelligently. Small bands of sheep, the milk cow, and even the pig and the poultry progive us this money-makin- g duct. 8 th More fruit, and in greater Currents, gooseberries, variety. strawberries, raspberries, and small fruits of many other kinds are needed. But we need more orchseveral Orchards require ards. years before they are producing well. Don't worry about getting too many fruit trees. By the time your orchard is ready to hear (the one you just planted,) we shall have three times our present population. for 9 th Trees for hard wood, etc. Trees for use, posts, general beautify the farm, make it more like home should be, like the wife and children want it to be. You have ample land. An acre in orchard, and an acre for frood Will be money s. makers, 10th Better attention to drainage conditions. Get the waste water off the farm. Don't use It twice on new land if you can avoid it. All new lands have same solvent salts. Water takes them up and carries them along. Let the excess, which new lands provide, go down to Green Let California use it. or river. , . smile-maker- jmnrnin the Pacific ocean. You cannot afford to keep the excess. If you have 'a water table, water eight feet or nearer the surface, then either drain it or shoot it. In this Uintah formation you will note that we have alternate layers of sand and rock and dirt. In a few sections we have a river drift, or the last glacial drifts or deposits, that have become cemented, with lime and gypsum, making water tables that carry water like cement floors. These water tables (really water floors) must be either drained where water comes to near the surface or we must shoot them. High grade powder rightly used will let the water through in the lower places, where surface Our drainage is too expensive. alkali problem is not serious, and it will all go away, but you can help yourself and save time in the few sections where it shows up. Our natural drainage is the best in the irrigated west, about twenty feet to the mile, or more. The ten paragraphs above will, to a large extent, answer the (b) and (c) questions, how to make better homes and how to get more people. But these deserve some special consideration. Better homes: 1st While more money is necessary, while you. are getting ready and while gradually increasing your cash, get out the logs. Logs make good houses, warm in winter and cool in' summer. You may plaster them over or use finishing lumber and paint them, when you get more money. But you can build the larger, more convenient house now, or, you may at least assemble most of the material. 2nd A home is not all in the house. The surroundings are possibly half of it. To get this other half you must have shrubbery, proper shade, flowers, vines. Your orchard and your tree plot will if rightly located, make this seem all the more necessary. Trees demand other pleasant cultural environment, we will do twice as much work when it is in harmony with our selves, our envotrenment, than we will otherwise. 3rd Water, heat, and light, are the three great problems that a But poor farmer cannot handle. comes start. Water first. you may If you cannot afford to get artesian wells, get a good surface well and (Continued on page eight) |