The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1906-04-13
THE FUTURE Of
THE RICE PLANTER
AS VIEWED BY ONE OF the LEADING
PLANTERS OF CALckSiEU.
RETRENCHMENT AND REFORM
Planters Must Curtail Expenses by
DiyersiflcatiOn and the Utilization
Of all Farm Products. Should Farm
Less and Farm 1t tter.-C0rrOlate
Stock Raising With Rice Farming.

vi All FhTm ETOuuCtSs -SnVuiu ~ h'
Less and Farm 1t Better. -CorrOlate
Stock Raising With Rice Farming.
Experience is a dear teacher, yet we
do not always profit by lessons SO
learned Most of the farmers in the
rice belt know the effects of an extra
heavy rice crop, in other words over.
production, especially when handled
by the toll milling system.
A year ago we were feeding rice to
our stock, advocating reduction OF
acreage, better farming Investigation,
more gardens and truck patches. All
this may have helped some to limit
the crop Of 1905-But for three of the
best reasons that could exist. The
crop of 1905 was unusually small.
First the low price of rice together
with the lack of ready money and an
unwillingneSS to mortgage their crops
put limit to the acreage to be sOwn.
Second--The weather during the plant
ing season was the most unfavorable
for seeding that there has been for
years, thus farther reducing the acre
age. Third-The poor stand caused
by excessive rains during seeding
time, the late planting and cloudy
weather during the growing season
curtailed the yield per acre.
The result was that the output OF
rice was scarcely 100000 bags, very
few crop mortgages were given, less
toll milling done and the crop was
sold for cash at the highest prices
paid for many years.
What is the effect? The wise saying
ga mule, cow or hog will eat more
rice than a man." isa thing of the
past. The strong resolution, never to
mortgage another rice crop is for
gotten, and today the mills are crowd
ed with applications for money on
crop mortgages. Mules have nearly
doubled in value since last year, yet
there was never greater activity in the
mule market than there has been
this spring. Seed rice has more than
doubled in VALUE, yet this spring the
demand is large, while last year there
was scarcely any demand. With these
conditions can we expect the same re.
suits in the fall?
Some of the same papers that were
advocating reduction of acreage, bet.
ter farming diverslfcation, are now
saying that lis good logic to say that
a 5000, 900 barrel crop can be handled
at a good price and that an increase
of acreage will bea good thing. Tha,
the market will be cleaned up before
the new crop comes in. So was the
crop OF 1902 cleaned up when the $1,000
600 bag crop of 1908: came on the mar.
ket. We all know the result. 1t was
necessary to reduce the price to com.
pete with foreign markets in order to
dispose of the crop, and the farmer
knows where the profit goes when il
come to raising rice for export pur'
poses. The papers tell US the demand
is increasing so rapidly that a six
million bag crop can be handled with
ease in 1906. While it seems that a
5000, 600 bag crop in 1905 with mil
lion and half on hand, making A.
100000, is going to be sufficient tC
last till the new rice comes in. THAI
demand and price for the last two
months have been weak enough tC
suit the mills that now hold the mil
lion and half vet to be sold this year
1t would take a prophet with the fore
sight of those of ancient times to ever
attempt to estimate acreage yield OF
price of the crop of 1905. Yet thu
farmer knows the time has come wher
he should be cautious and keep thu
cost of his crop within certain limit
for it isn't the man that raises thu
largest number of sacks of rice tina
has the largest bank account when his
years business 10 settled up. But ther
the question Is, how is this to be done
and how are we to realize an interes
on our investments?
First-Expenses must be cut dOwl
by raising, as far as possible, every
thing used on a farm such as grow
in gardens and truck patches, ant
enough stock of all kinds sufficient fol
the use of the farm at least, and onl!
SOW such an amount of rice as can b.
sown at the right time, wstered ant
harvested right. When we do this w