Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1904-08-31
WHEAT
BEING RAISED
Ranehers Of Fergus County Are Be-
ginning to Realize the Value Of
Their Land for Grain.
BUYERS PAYING GOOD PRICES
Growers Are Having No Trouble il
D%isposing Of Their Produce at
Good Figures.

Twenty years ago II anyone had
said that I.cwistown would some day
be- the center OF n of the greatest
wheat producing sections in the state
he would have been laughed at. II
hc had said that n Touring mill could
be- run in this city at a profit and a
first class grade of -four produced he
would have been accused Of having
eaten uf the loco weed. Furthermore,
had he said that the ranchcrs at the
country surrounding Lewislown would
In time quit the stock business aud
90 into the work of wheat raising he
would have been told Ia go back 10
the state. where he came from, for
lie knew nothing about the conditions
la Montana.
Who did not know that wheat could
not be- raised with profit in this see
tion III the country? Who could he
~ 'A'llN ''lu''N AZ w lHluh 'hdl w
~ If wheat could be raised here II
would be- good for -four? And. last
~, who 80 short sighted as not To see
that the cattle and sheep business
was not the only lucrative and scnSi-
bic unc Tor the ranchcrs of Fergus
county.
Could these same people who then
would have laughed at any PROPOSE
ton Ia raise wheat here cone here
now and see the waving fields OF that
cereal on the bench lands surround.
ing Lcwistown they would think a
miracl" had been performed. How
ever, II is but a natural step. AS the
country has filed up the fences have
become more numerous and the
ranges. which formerly gave ample
room fnr the cattle and sheep. have
become more and more contracted,
until now there Is so much of the old
range taken mp that il is a hard mat
ter 10 find enough pasturage for large
herds. Many cattlemen have had fore
sight enough 10 see this and have
taken 10 the farming Of land, which
heretofore they valued simply as
grazing lands. In many eases
the number of cattle and sheep has
been reduced and efforts made 10 i'm.
prove the quality. More thought has
been taken Ia the raising of hay and
grain aud the improvement is notice.
able?. While the number of cattle
aud sheep may be less the quality has
been raised. and as much Ii not more
money is realized than formerly.
Within III" last few years The
ranchers have been giving thought tC
the raising of wheat. and where II
was formerly thought that only wheat
for chicken feed could be raised. arc
now great fields of the grain, which
Is being sold as first quality al q
price far in advance Of anything here
tOl0re dreamed of. The Rock creek
bench is "A noticeable example OF this
On this bench there Is no possibility
Of getting water for irrigation, yet fOl
the last two years the grain raised
there has been the equal il not the
superior 10 anything in the county
This year the yield per acre all Over
the Rock Creek. Cottonwood ant
Beaver Creek benches will average il
the neighbOrhood Of thirty bushels tC
the acre. And this Is all good quail
lty wheat of curse except that which
may have been frosted. This yea
the yield Of wheat from the Rocl
Creek. Cottonwood and Beaver creel
country and that from Spring creel
and Warm Spring creek will approx
mate 100000 bushels. One rancho.
claims that his land will clear hin
S25 an acre this year.
The wheat of this county Is becom
ing well known all over the state, a
Is shown by the presence here for tn,
last week or two OF buyers from
BOzcman, which, up TO this time, ha
claimed 10 be the center Of the great
est wheat country In the west. VIII
have been buying up all the whea
they could get their hands on, a
prices that IL would be hard TO re-
fuse. Many Of the ranchcrs of IN.
bench have sold 10 these outside pan
ties, but a large number OF them hav,
disposed of their product 10 home Ia
dustries, which are paying as high
price for the product as can be- r.
ccivcd anywhere.
The Judith Basin Milling compan.
a year or two ago remodeled thci
mill in this city and increased It's ga
paCity TO Il great extent. but II ha
been found that still more room /
needed and more machinery must b
put in. The business has increase
frOm Il mere local concern 10 on
which exports great quantities Of ilou
made from Fergus county wheat an
ground In LewistOwn, This large IL
crease in trade has n.cessitated III
enlargement Of the plant and ncX
year the mill will be Increased {
three times its present capacity AN
an elevator will be built which wi
BE- capable of handling 2O0,000 busl
els. An elevator Is also being put u
at Moore by lcWistOwn people. tn u
known as the Montana Elevator con
pany. which viii handle large quanI
lies al grain.
All this shows that The ranchci
will have a home market for all M
wheat they a produce for some tim
10 come. The climate M this section
while II Is mol the best Tor Spriu
wheat, Is just right for The wi
ter wheat which can be BUwn at an
time between July and November an