Page 5 of 15 Nov 1917 Issue of Des Moines Iowa Homestead in Des-Moines, Iowa

Des Moines Iowa Homestead November 15, 1917 Page 5 old newspaper archives

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Des Moines Iowa Homestead (Newspaper) - November 15, 1917, Des Moines, IowaNovember 15, 1917 the Iowa Homes rot in that Way than to have it decay in the crib where one soft ear would cause the rotting of even sound Corn adjacent to it. Each individual will be Able to work out a plan for himself that will save the Corn our purpose at this time be ing merely to Call attention to the necessity of avoiding the wholesale rotting of it by piling it up in the crib. We May have a month of open weather yet. And should this condition prevail those who have done much cribbing before this Date will do Well if they save what they have by spreading it out thinly on barn floors or even in the open. It is not a difficult matter to improvise ventilators for the cribs. Up right ventilators May be used or the horizontal Type. It is a simple matter to make these out of 1x6 lumber fashioned into Square boxes with a space of two or three inches at each Corner. These May be inserted crosswise or Lengthwise of the crib and their Cost together with the value of the labor in constructing them will be paid Many times Over if they Are used rather than to pile up Corn ten twelve or fifteen feet High without any Means whatever of drying it out. Matter should Bear in mind some of the things pointed out by this sub Scriber. The gradual enrichment of the soil brought about by the Restora Tion of Fertility and the addition of humus making material Means greater production in years that follow so that pro fits that May not appear to be immediately in sight Are after All available providing one will stay in i the business so As to reap the Benefit of soil enrichment. Soil enriched by keeping Dairy cows. One of our subscribers brings up the question of soil Fertility and its maintenance in its relation to the main Industry of the farm. He Points out especially the change that is felted in soil productiveness on farms where Dairy cows Are kept. His letter follows Dairying is a constructive line of agriculture. Scarcely has there been a farm devoted to Dairying which has not had its productiveness increased. In a certain Corn Belt Community no table for its poor soil and run Down farms there is one Man who is secur ing fifteen tons of silage per acre. He is not Only Able to grow Alfalfa while his neighbors believe it impossible but is a Westing very handsome yields. Upon investigating the reason for the Success of this Man the answer was found to be very simple. The whole thing had been accomplished by twelve years of Dairying. In the beginning the soil of the farm was no More productive than the other farms of the Community. The return of manure to the Field the use of Alfalfa and Clover for Hay and the pasturing of paits of the Fields had accomplished very marked results. Any Good system of Dairying will re turn More Fertility to the Fields than is taken from the soil. This is because there is scarcely a Dairy that does not Purchase some feed either concentrate or roughage and because the amount of Fertility sold off in butter is very Little and even in whole milk the Fertility removed from the farm is conceivably Small. Such is the Case with special reference to chemical ele ments that go to make up Fertility. Humus which is decayed and decay ing vegetable matter in the soil is greatly increased by Dairy farming. In the manure this humus is returned to the Fields in great abundance. Heimus is very necessary to the soil. A Field might have All the Mineral elements of Fertility in great abundance yet were there no humus no production would be possible. The addition of humus to the soil has changed Many a farm from the unproductive to the productive and profitable class. With Dairying there is made available Large amounts of manure which go to in crease the Fertility and productiveness of the farm. In one of our Western states where fruit growing is con ducted on a very intensive scale and where land Sells for As much at per acre part of the farms of More progressive men is devoted to Dairy ing in order that the Fertility shall be kept up to a High state. Those who contemplate entering the Dairy business do Well to consider the possibility of keeping up or increasing the Fertility of the farm thereby. To Many readers of your paper the matter of keeping up Fertility is a new feature the necessity of which has not been made extremely apparent. Yet just As surely As Farmers in Eastern states have been forced to pay very careful attention to keeping up Fertility and have spent Large amounts of Money in so doing so must our Corn Belt Farmers finally adopt some policy of keeping up the farm Fertility. The for handed Man on our Rich Prairie soils will do Well to consider this feature of the Dairy business. Keeping up the Fertility is a by product of the Dairy business yet it is Worth hundreds and thousands of dollars to the Dairy farms of our land. Those who stay in the Dairy business regardless of the present strenuous conditions will in the future have a More Fertile farm. Dairying is to be recommended for the great work that it does in keeping up soil Fertility. We have passed through a period during the last few months when there seems to be Little direct profit in handling Dairy cows and those who Are Apt to become discouraged Over the consider the sire. In the Case of beef cattle Early maturity is essential for profitable production particularly on the farms of the Corn Belt where land is High in Price and when the Cost of feed is Buch an important item As it is at the pres ent time. Pure bred beef cattle As everyone knows who has had experience along that line mature earlier than scrubs. If we Are to feed Cora Worth Over a Dollar a Bushel to beef cattle Hay Worth a ton and other feeds in proportion we cannot afford to handle scrub cattle they cannot be made to pay under conditions of that kind. Never before in the history of this country has improved blood had such great value to the producer of beef As it has today. What is True of the beef sire is equally True of the Dairy sire. Cows that Are yielding Only 150 pounds of butter fat a year Worth Are unprofitable. At pres ent prices it costs every cent of that to feed a cow a year. It is the cow that yields More than 150 pounds that can begin to pay for taking care of her and yield a profit besides. We have too Many mediocre cows and that is Why so Many Farmers Are getting Dis gusted with the Dairy business and Are Selling out. Better sires must be used. It is wonderful what improve ment a prep tent sire from High yield ing ancestors will bring about in a Herd of Grade or scrub cows. An example of this is furnished by a Dairy bred Bull at the Nebraska Experiment station. Five of his Daugh ters last year yielded 823 pounds of butter fat More than their dams. This excess production at 40 cents a Pound had a Cash value of at that rate this Bull even when bred to Only ten such cows As mentioned would have a Cash value of because the extra income from his heifers would be equivalent to 6 per cent of the sum mentioned. It would not of course be advisable to buy such a High priced Bull for use on Only ten cows but when his service can be spread Over a Herd of 20 or 30 cows such a Price would not be excessive in fact it would prove a profitable investment. The Point is that from now on we must make greater use of registered sires if beef and milk production is to be profitable in the future. Feeding out the soft Corn considerable disappointment is now in evidence Over the condition of the Corn crop since husking began. Even Early planted Fields Are showing considerable soft Corn. The ears Are striking the throw Board with a Dull thud rather than with the characteristic staccato note that is so pleasing to the ear of the Man who knows Good Corn by its feel and sound. Even 150 Days Between the time of planting and Date of first Frost failed to bring about a condition of perfect maturity and As a result there has been a changed attitude on the part of Many growers As to what they Are to do with their crop. While it is unfortunate of course that the Corn crop did not get Good and hard before the fodder was nipped by the Frost yet in the end it May prove to be a Blessing in disguise be cause it will stimulate interest in live Stock production. By doing a Little sorting at cribbing time most of the Corn is dry enough to keep and it will feed out Well. Not that seventy pounds of partly matured Corn will equal in feeding value seventy pounds of Well matured Corn yet experiments have shown that the dry matter is just As digestible in one As the other so that Good results May be expected from feeding out Corn that is not dry enough to go on the Market. Since prices have been practically determined on pork products for the coming year by the food administration and As this Price is sufficiently High to afford a Good profit to the Man Why i m just old shot i can to out shoot a few rabbits i m to beat this High Cost o some was what in the work Are you doing the Home guard prepares for renewed activity official today were for increased artillery action on the Home guard front. General i. Cos of living s forces were expected to Bear the Brunt of the attack with heavy losses in the Rabbit division. This division is noted for its rapid retirements and the fact that it never surrenders. The morale of the Home guard forces is said to be excellent and they Are anxious to get into action. Who grows his own Corn there should be no hesitation about carrying through a relatively Large number of sows and gilts. The soft Corn fed to them along with a Little Tankage or Oil meal will bring them through the win Ter in Good shape and every Bushel they eat will be sold for a much higher Price when their offspring is marketed a year from now than will be paid for it at any elevator during the next twelve months. A Good feeder can produce 100 pounds of pork with 400 or 425 pounds of Grain and when produced it will sell next year at a Price equivalent to thirteen bushels of Corn for each 100 pounds of live hogs. The Man who will use the right kind of Stock to Breed from who will give them reasonably Good attention during the Winter and feed a balanced ration and in addition compel his Brood sows to take plenty of exercise such an individual will we believe get larger re turns next year from the produce of a Given number of sows than he has Ever received before. The nation needs the pork products and the Rais ing of a Large number of hogs Means the creation of Market for millions of bushels of Corn. This soft Corn can be fed also to cattle to Good advantage As there is every reason to believe that prices will be High enough so As to make steer feeding profitable. As in the Case of hogs so it is in the Case of steers that the Corn although Sappy is mature enough to feed out Well. It will possibly not be Worth More than or a Bushel to Market it and it May bring or even when fed out sensibly either to cattle or hogs. Those who now have on hand sufficient help to carry out a Winter feed ing program should not lose sight of the fact that this help should be kept right where it is at the present time because next year the farm labor ques Tion will be even More serious than it has been in 1917. There is no end to the number of arguments that might be presented in favor of feeding out a considerable part of the soft Corn rather then marketing it direct and thereby taking from the farm valuable Fertility that should be retained in the soil. Care of the Idle tractor. It is estimated that some trac tors passed into the hands of Farmers in 1917. In most cases it was the first investment Ever made by the Pur Chaser in this form of Power. As a re sult much must be Learned about the Mode of operation and also about the care of the tractor when it is Idle. On this Point Power farming As follows in a recent Issue usually when one buys an Automo bile his first thought is to have it properly housed. So the minute the ownership of a new machine is a certainty up goes some sort of a shelter for it usually a rather pretentious building As such buildings fro. And so a moderate priced May have caused another investment of Well up to half its Cost for suitable housing. And that is All right but what about the tractor one can get a pretty desirable automobile for the Cost of even a moderate size tractor but does the tractor get the housing some times it does. More often it is run into any old kind of a shed not infrequently it is left in the open to take care of itself. And yet a tractor will depreciate for Lack of Good shelter just As rapidly As an automobile. While the tractor has not the Satin finish in its painted spots that an automobile has. It is just As highly developed a piece of Mechan ism it needs just As much careful at Tention As the automobile does and it should be kept in a Well lighted Roomy garage with a Cement Moor it is not Only easy but pleasant work taking care of a machine when it is stored in a comfortable place to work in the reverse is True in any other kind of a shelter and the result is that the machine is allowed to Wear out and deteriorate much faster because of the inconvenience of giving it attention than would be the Case if it nor Erly housed. We have already seen enough trac tors standing in the Field or in the Yards about the buildings to convince us that there is need of agitation along this particular line. Though constructed mostly of steel parts it must be remembered that the elements act As effectively in working destruction through the medium of rust As is ordinarily the Case in destroying Wood by rot. It is shortsightedness to invest m a tractor unless one is prepared to get service out of it ranging any heir from seven to fifteen years and this cannot be done if it stands month after month

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