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Show i. . - t.,t t . . . i. ... ,m ,.. - -- -- -- -- - . . . .... i.i. It- t f i Farm News-Notes By Lew Mar Price j Sevier Farm Bureau Successful After two year struggle during which a cocoanut cow was brought into action by the Sevier County farm bureau to get the merchants of that county to discontinue the handling han-dling of butter substitutes, the campaign cam-paign came to a successful conclusion conclu-sion last week. The major part of the merchants were agreeable at the beginning, but the refusal of about two to sign the agreement has held up the project. It is sometimes necessary to resort re-sort to boycot in such instances, but it is much better for all concerned con-cerned if the agreement can be amicably ami-cably reached without disturbing any channels of trade. Iron county seems to be in about the same predicament that Sevier has been for the past two years. We hope they will soon achieve success in their enterprise. Greater Yield at Lower Prices The meeting of the potato growers grow-ers of Beaver Valley with representatives represen-tatives of the Utah Fruit and Vegetable Vege-table Growers' Association held in the court room Friday night was poorly attended, but all those present pres-ent saw the benefits, and signed up to market their potatoes this year through the cooperative. The representatives repre-sentatives will be back later to sign up others who were not present but who are desirous of marketing their potatoes that way. No reference refer-ence as to the number of acres of potatoes to be grown by the eoopera-tor eoopera-tor is made in the contract. A problem that came up in the meeting was the matter of seed for the commercial crop. It is known that potatoes grown under commercial commer-cial crop conditions in Beaver valley will grow an average crop of potatoes, pota-toes, but a much heavier yield of No. 1 tubers can be grown from stock that is grown for seed purposes under un-der conditions that make for tubers of high vitality. Potatoes grown under un-der commercial crop conditions in the valley are not usually desirable tor seed purposes. The commercial crop is usually planted four to six weeks earlier than the crop grown for seed purposes. pur-poses. The potatoes grow to great size, mature, and in some cases lie in the ground for sometime after ripening. ripen-ing. Their embryonic energy has been largely spent. Good seed potatoes are grown from clean, well-treated iseed stock planted late and harvested before they mature. An S oz.' potato grown under these conditions has all the reserve energy and even more than if it had been grown to maturity weighing a pound or more. Yet the buyer of the seed potato is paying for S oz., instead of the pound, and a better crop results from his seed. An increased yield of 100 bushels per acre from such seed over the crop planted with aveage commercial commer-cial potatoes is neither impossible nor uncommon. One hundred percent per-cent increased yields through Uils practice have been demonstrated in Beaver Valley. We are told that greater acre yields at lower production costs are necessary under stress of present conditions if an adequate income is to be realized. Greater acre yields' invariably make for better quality products. Quality has a material bearing on price received. This is just as true in potatoes as in other crops. Greater yields at lower costs seems rather preposterous until , we analyze it further. Acre costs may be slightly increased by the use of better seed, increased fertilizer and labor, more intensive tillage; but the increased yield .more than over balances bal-ances the cost increase so that cost per bushel is lower. In other words, it costs less to produce 400 bushels of potatoes on one acre than on four acres. A supply of good seed is one of the first considerations in planning the crop for greater yield at lower cost . Give Turkeys Laying Mash For Egg Production Turkey production in Beaver County comes almost entirely from breeding stock selected in the fall before Thanksgiving birds are marketed, mark-eted, and kept primarily for egg production. pro-duction. The chief value of these birds is egg production and not incubation in-cubation of eggs. Incubation of the first clutch of eggs by the turkey hens is rather expensive ex-pensive and should be. turned over to the chicken hen or artificial methods, thus allowing the turkey hen to poduce a second clutch of eggs which she can well be allowed to hatch. Egg production by turkey hens, like chicken hens, is largely control-ed control-ed by the method of feeding and the nature of the feed given. They can be started late in the winter or early spring, or they can be held off until too late for the resulting poults to be of much valus. Too early egg production is usually not desirable because the eggs beurne chilled, lowering their hatchability as well as the vitality of the poults that may hatch for them. A good laying mash such as used for chicken hens should be given to the turkey hens two weeks to a month before the first eggs are desired. de-sired. Milk, too, is always valuable, and grit and water are indispensable. Feed all they will consume. Since the hens are kept primarily for egg production, pro-duction, they should be given these feeds so the greatest number of eggs will be produced. The early hatching poults grow and mature most satisfactorily having hav-ing greater vitality and resistance to disease. They fatten more readily and hence are more easily dressed for the Thanksgiving and Christmas markets. The Farm Garden With dollars scarce, labor more plentiful, and an abundance of fertile fer-tile soil as a foundation, practically every farm in Beaver county should have a well balanced home garden. This factor in an efficient program cannot be logically overlooked, and yet on most farms its benefits are not fully realized. The small area of winter vegetables vegeta-bles with no thought of late summer and winter varieties is the usual type of garden, but while beneficial and worth while, its benefits are negligible when compared with one in which the later more staple varieties vari-eties are the primary object. By furnishing a large assortment and continuous supply of vegetables throughout the year, many, many dollars that ordinarily go for canned and fresh vegetables will be released for other purposes. A farm garden suggestion usually usual-ly brings to the mind of the farmer a small intensely hand tilled area. If a third or half acre plot planted in moderately long rows is planned to be cultivated by horse-drawn implements, im-plements, the bulk of the labor can be shifted to horse-power, and the back-breaking labor materially reduced. re-duced. Yet this area will probably yield many times the value of an equal area in other crops. Bigger yields at lower costs are necessary to maintain an adequate income. Plan This Year's Cropping System Now It is not too soon to start planning this year's cropping system. This is one of the very important factors in the success of the farm enterprise, and should be given due consideration considera-tion at this time. On the average Beaver County farm there is room for a diversity of crops, and certainly it should be utilized util-ized at least to the extent of supplying supply-ing the home market as well as the farm family. A small area of grain on every farm would help to maintain a bank account, and the straw is valuable for maintaining stock beef cattle, or as litter for the dairy cow during the winter. Old alfalfa fields producing light crops of dandelions and grasses should be broken and cropped for a year or two before reseeding to alfalfa al-falfa in order that the maximum yields may be secured. There seems to be no question that a greater agriculture in Beaver County depends very largely upon the quite general adoption of a well balanced cropping system through the intelligent extension of diversified diversifi-ed farming. With dairying the principal prin-cipal project in the Beaver Valley and fast becoming so in the remainder remaind-er of the county, we should plan to produce feeds for the dairy cow. By feeds is meant the concentrates as well as the roughages, because we will never get the most out of our cows until they are supplied with some of the more concentrated feeds and pobably succulants. In these plans it is well to remember remem-ber that fertility cannot be maintained, main-tained, even by the addition of all of "the manures produced on the farm, so none should be allowed to go to waste. A well balanced home garden is one of the efficiency factors that will mark success both financially and in supplying a well rounded family dietary die-tary at a minimum coat. |