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Johnnie Graham, who resides near Midland and who terms him self an “average or below” farmer, was troubled this year along with other cotton producers with the scarcity and high cost of cotton pickers. With an eye to the 1944 crop, he recently began an investi gation into the practicability of “cotton slide pullers” which he had heard were being used with fair Face in the plains area near Lubbock. Graham recently made several trips to that area to investigate the cotton harvesters, and came back enthused over the machines. Stermined to prove their value to other farmers of this area who face the same problem in harvesting crops, he ordered’ one of the ma chines. It arrived this week and he expects to have it operating ‘within a short time. The machine, which is pulled by a Farmall tractor, will pick two rows in third or fourth gear, clean ing the rows and losing less cotton than field hands will drop in transferring it to their sacks, he said. The cotton on which he saw the machines operating had small stalks and all of it was open. Graham said the machine would handle any kind of cotton but it has to have dry bolls and must be open. Th works best on a storm proof cotton which is being planted in considerably quantities in the plains area. Purchases Seed Farmers to whom he talked said the storm-proof cotton would make from one-fourth to one-half bale per acre, and reported that about 1,550 pound bolls would give a 500 pound bale of 13/16 and 14/16 staph. Graham purchased some of the seed and plans to plant storm proof cotton next year. Graham believes the cotton pull ers will cut the costs of harvesting cotton from the 1943 prices of $25 to $40 per bale to $2 to $10 per bale. Because many farmers, still re membering their experiences of at tempting to raise and pick cotton this year, are undetermined wheth er to plant it next year or to raise grain instead, Graham invites them to see the mechanical cotton picker. He expects to have his machine in operation in about a week at his home, a mile north of the north east corner of the Atlantic Tank Farm.
Newspaper Details
Midland Reporter Telegram
Midland, Texas, US
Wed, Dec 15, 1943
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Patrick J.
USA 11 Sep 2026
Other Publications Near Midland, Texas
Midland Reporter Telegram
