The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-09-23
SELLING vErcH SEED.
Almost as Good as chittim- The Stock
Exhausted-All Growers Made
Money This Year.

I
Exhausted-AI Growers Made
Money This Year.
The demand for vetch seed that
was SO marked last autumn. is on
with even greater activity this sea-
son. Eight or ten thousand bush
els of it has already been sold by
Benton county producers, since
harvest time. and prominent vetch
producer said Monday that he was
certain he could, if he had it. easily
market another 10. 900 bushels
j It was here that the virtue of
vetch as hay and as threshed
| product was first learned. Its great
value as a producer and its fine
quality as hay have within a few
years made it extremely popular
on all farms. and last season all
/ this popularity made itself felt in
an unprecedented demand for seed.
The demand came not only from To-
cal farms, but from agricultural
lists from all parts of the Willamette
valley and local producers were un-
able to supply the orders for seed.
The sowing of great area for this
season followed, and all the seed
threshed has found a ready sale.
In spite of the large amount of seed
thrown into the market by Benton
farmers the demand is on the in
crease. All but few holdings
! have been sold, and the market
will soon be bare again of seed,
with the demand only partly sat
isfed.
Vetch has proven this year a
most profitable crop. Even with
wheat at IS cents per bushel. the
vetch has far exceeded it as pay
ing crop. The ruling price is two
and quarter cents per pound, The
Weld in most instances has been
better than wheat. John Whita-
ker raised 2,375 bushels on 100
acres. Last year he got 81 bush.
els per acre. A small field in the
south end of the county is reported
to have made yield this season of
3o bushels per acre. At two and
a quarter cents per pound, 9 sixty
pound bushel brings price of 81
IS. Albert zZierolf sowed vetch
and winter oats, and got forty bu-
shells per acre of the mixed crop
which he sold at ninety cents per
bushel. getting $50 per acre off his
land. The oats is easily separated
from the vetch. and John Whitaker
expects in his next sowing to mix
oats and vetch, subsequently sep
arating them. By sowing the mix
ture the crop can be bound and
harvested like wheat. That gas
the method followed by Mr.. Zierolf
this season.
How long the demand for seed
will last is not known. Prominent
growers believe that the require.
ments for the seed are only in in
fancy. The state of Washington
they say is well adapted to growth
Of vetch. The same is true of
Southern Oregon, and neither have
seed, A Douglas county man
recently wrote John Whitaker and
offered to take his whole crop of
nearly 2,4oo bushels. He also |
offered to take the crop of ]. N.
McFadden of nearly 1000 bushels. |
Neither sold to him. A Vancouver
bank wrote Mr.. Whitaker and Of |
fered to buy his product A Lane
county man sent to Southern Ben |
ton for two wagon loads and paid !
$I.7 S per bushel for it. In Albany
a dealer displays sign in which
he offers to sell vetch seed at, So
per bushel, The need for seed in
in Southern Oregon,
and even in Willamette counties, +
growers believe, will tax the energ-
les of Benton farmers a year or
two yet to come.
Another feature of vetch as a
profitable crop is in the abundance
of its yield as hay. A prominent
grower says he could have made |
$40 per acre off his vetch field this
season by cutting it as hay, The
field would easily, : he says have
more than four tons per
acre, and on account of its excel
Ience as hay, it would have brought
$40 per ton. j. N. McFadden who
threshed 600 bushels of vetch cut
the crop green is baling the
straw, and has already refused an
offer OF So per ton for the latter.
The straw product alone will net
him SIS or$I6 per acre from his
vetch fields.
Vetch growers also have their
eyes on eastern states as future i
market for their seed. The seed