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Show jFreak Summer Rains Cause Alfalfa Failures is I Theory Advanced By Escalante Valley Producer (Continued from last week) ing periods for the bad years received a much greater part of the total yearly year-ly rainfall than did the same periods during good years. The average annual an-nual rainfall for bad years is the same or about one-tenth greater than that for the good years. This shows that it was not excessive rainfall, but rainfall rain-fall out of its natural time of occurrence occur-rence which caused the loss. Comparison for Uintah Basin In Uintah basin they let some of the first cutting go for seed and some of the second. This extends the blooming bloom-ing period over a much longer time. As a result, the figures for this section, sec-tion, although conforming to these found for the whole state, are not so pronounced. When the blooming period per-iod extends over a long time, there is more chance of some crops escaping some of the rains and making some seed. This accounts for this section making about 25 per cent of a crop, while Millard and Beaver counties made about- 5 per cent and Iron county coun-ty about 15 per cent of a normal crop. Climatic conditions and the allowing allow-ing alfalfa to bloom over a long period per-iod enables Uintah basin to make more seed on poor years than the western counties do, but also keeps them from making as large average yields as are secured in the west. When the comparison is extended to Idaho, just the opposite results were shown. Idaho had two of the best alfalfa al-falfa seed crops she has grown during 1929 and 1930, and the rainfall during this period was remarkably lower than that of Utah, and also is shown to be about the sarnie as for the previous prev-ious five years. Another feature of the rains during the blooming period as shown by the records is that very few large rains were recorded, but the water fell as small frequent rains or showers, and there were many days when the recorders re-corders put down only a trace of rain. A trace of rain or a small rain, if enough to wet the bloom, can do much injury. It was the frequency of the wetting as well as the amount of wetting wet-ting that caused the alfalfa burrs to fail to set. Rains Cause Loss These comparisons show quite conclusively con-clusively that the greater part of the loss of the Utah alfalfa seed crops of 1929 and J930 was due to rains during dur-ing blooming time. It should relieve us from much worry and let us realize real-ize that we still have the same old seed gambler's chance of making a crop. Worry over the losses due to other causes should be lessened until the loss for these causes are proved. Fears of a unknown enemey or of losses from unknown causes are always al-ways more discouraging than when the causes of the trouble are known and we know more about what to expect. ex-pect. In deciding how ntuch land to leave for alfalfa seed, we must remember that summer rains can fall during 1931. The fact that there has recently recent-ly been the greatest known drouth over most of the east, and that we have had summer rains-in Utah during dur-ing the last two seasons, show that, as far as climate goes, we are in an out of the ordinary times. It is possible pos-sible that these rains during blooming time will continue through 1931. Yet after the percipitation has been unusually un-usually high or very light for several years, there is a very strong tendency for conditions to return to the normal So if there is anything in the idea that changes in climate come in cycles of seven years, or of any given length of time, we should soon move out of these present conditions and again make good alfalfa seed crops. To try to get an idea of frequency over which failures may come, due to rains during the blooming season data on the rainfall during this period were compiled for as far back as records have been kept. By studying these in the light of past failures, 1.7 inches of rainfall during blooming time was taken as dangerous to seed production. produc-tion. These records were studied for Fillmore, Deseret and Milford. Upon ; this assumption, Fillmore can expect eight poor crops, due to this cause, in 30 years, or a failure one in every 4.25 years. Milford should have five failures from this cause in 22 years, ' or a failure once in 4.4 years, or a 1 failure once in 11.66 years. These es-; es-; timates should only be taken to indi- cate the most likely occurence of fail-' fail-' ures. - Deseret District Data Prove Claim In this connection it shold be notic-i notic-i ed that Deseret with the most favor-; favor-; able estimated proable number of poor I yields, only one in 11.66 years, is ir I the section which has been the great-! great-! est alfalfa seed producing area in the whole United States. It was this section sec-tion which gave Millard county foi By Chester G- Haskell . several years the average yield of about seven bushels of alfalfa seed per acre, when the average of the state was about five bushels. No doubt the average yield for the Deser-et-Delta section was several bushels more than seven during those years. The yields there: have greatly exceeded exceed-ed those of the eastern part of Millard county, of which Fillmore can be taken tak-en as a center. It is thus seen that Deseret, with the best set of growing conditions as shown by the rainfall records during blooming time has also been by far actually the best as show, by the yields of seed produced. In considering the same data for Milford back to 1909 and for Fillmore and Deseret back to 1893, the grouping group-ing of unfavorable years or the frequency fre-quency with which several unfavorable unfavor-able years come together, was studied. Milford has had during this time three periods of two bad years, each close together, and each period had one other year near it when the rainfall rain-fall during the blooming time was above the normal, and may have been dangerous. Fillmore had one two and one four years' poor periods, and Deseret had only one poor period, which is that of the last two years. If it were not for the four-year group of poor years at Fillmore, we could expect to have better conditions next j year. As it is, we can only hope that j the present is only a two-year period. It is interesting to note that Prof. Carlson Manager of the state alfalfa Seed Experiment Station at Ft. Duchesne, Duch-esne, Utah has found the greatest stripping of alfalfa blooms to occur j when the days and nights are very j warm and damp. The greatest stripping strip-ping occured during the days of greatest great-est humidity and highest temperatures. temperatur-es. This corresponds with the findings find-ings as shown by the weather records. Rain leave a wet condition and summer sum-mer showers and frequently followed by hot periods. Market is Higher Even in the face of increased production, pro-duction, the alfalfa seed market has been a little higher in 1930 than in 1929. This was largely due to the increased in-creased demand expected to come from the lessons taught by the great drouth of 1930. When the farmers from Dakota to Virginia and from New York to Texas could see alfalfa bright and green and making good yields, in spite of the drouth, while many other crops were failures, it was the best possible kind of advertising. adver-tising. The effect should be a large demand for alfalfa seed for planting back east during 1931. When we consider con-sider what has happened to prices of other farm crops and the large alfalfa seed crop grown in 1930, it is gratifying gratify-ing to see the price of alfalfa stay up. Even later reports of large yields in sections where little or no alfalfa seed is grown have not lowered the price greatly. We should always remember that the states east of the Rocky mountains are normally too wet to make alfalfa seed and that their average aver-age yields are far below ours. The price of alfalfa hay in those states is so much greater than in ours that they have more temptation to raise hay and only go for seed when conditions condi-tions are favorable. Also we are far from markets and must shit our farm products in the lightest and most valuable form, such as seed, meat, wool, butter and eggs. If we remember remem-ber these things along with the facts that the demand for alfalfa seed for 1931 should be good; that wet conditions condi-tions will surely in due time return to the eastern states, and that our recent re-cent rainy seasons during the blooming bloom-ing period are so extremely far above the normal that they will seldom come again, we will be encouraged to keep parts of our fiakl for alfalfa seed and to increase this acreage as we find conditions coming back to normal. |
