The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1895-11-21
WHEAT GROWING.
An Article Read by Capt. Lewis
on Nov. 2.

From Hoard's (Wis.) Ddiryman
We have q great number of farmers
in the United States, east of the Mis-
sissippi river, who cannot see any
thing else for themselves and their
farms to do that is better than to
grow wheat. They are men who got
into beaten ruts and have been in
them so long that they cannot see out
and over the sides. It is impossible
to get them to look out over the broad
world and make any study of their
relationship with the rest of the
world. They don't think they have
anything to do with the rest of the
world or the world with them. So
they continue in the same old rut of
wheat growing. Talk to them about
making a change in their farming;
about dairying, pork making, poultry
raising; about considering the farm
as a factory and themselves as manu-
facturers, where the course, crude pro-
ducts of the soil are worked up into
products of less weight, greater value,
and consequently of much less cost of
transportation to market. All this
looks like a dream of romance to
them. Those are book farming
theories. No matter if wheat is only
so cents a bushel. No matter if their
land will not produce half as much
per acre as it did thirty years ago,
they must continue to grow wheat.
For the special benefit of such farm
ers, if they happen to read this, we
wish to call their attention to the de-
velopment of wheat growing in the
Argentine Republic and then we hope
they will ask themselves the question
how long intelligent American farm
ers had better continue to fight newt
able fate with such odds against them:
The Argentine Republic produced in 1894
more than 100000 tons of wheat. In 1878
it imported s1O.OOO,OOO worth of wheat.
These two statements will show at what
pace the country is being developed. A sin
gle railway that fifteen years ago did not
carry a ton of wheat now transports 427.-
600 tons a year, and others in proportion,
Il &c f1a
country will deny but that small fraction
of the land has been sown even in the wheat
belt; so that if all should be sown which is
adapted especially to wheat the 100000
tons would be 100000: indeed, it will not
be long before 100000 per annum is
reached. We are speaking now of the north
western belt, but we must not forget the far
south, where nothing has yet been done in
the way of corn growing, which is as fertile
country as that which has been planted.
These figues are from the Buenos
Ayres Herald. That paper expresses
great hope for the country and adds:
All we have said of wheat would apply to
barley, oats. rye, and maise, and we may
with confidence look forward to the time and
that not a distant one, when Argentine will
export more cereals to Europe than are now
sent from the United States. The great
wheat sections are none of them more than
$50 miles from ships which will carry pro-
duce abroad, while in the United States the
wheat fields are 1000 miles from shipping.
The cost of transport, handling and loading
is here less than in the United States, so that
the latter may well regard Argentine as its
most formidable competitor in feeding the
millions of Europe.
The American farmer must stop the
production of these crude, bulky farm
products. He cannot compete with
India, Argentine Republic and Russia
in the worlds great market. He
should produce grain, but only to
work it through animal machines into
higher and more elaborate form OF
food. Think of the fearful tax he
pays on transportation. A dollars
worth of wheat transported 1000
miles to the seaboard will cost &c
cents; dollars worth of potatoes will
cost 10 cents; dollars worth of but
ter will cost cents;a dollars worth
of cheese cents; of eggs 8 cents and
so up the scale through the finer
grades of meats. The more value
there is in product the less per cent.
of cost in transportation it bears.
American brains and American
gumption on the farm ought to see
that the only salvation for the Ameri-
can farmer is to condense the farm
products into more refined forms and
of higher values. y
Then let the American brains and
gumption study the finer economies
of such production; show to reduce the
cost. A penny earned in reducing the