Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1907-01-16
IN THE SADDLE AND RIDING EASILY
Wisconsin Tobacco Farmers Reap Five
Million in Profits.

No community in all Wisconsin shows
more business activity than Viroqua
and surrounding section. Highways
leading to this city have been crowded
with vehicles loaded with bundle to-
bacco and the deliveries have taxed the
receiving capacity of all the warehouses
and those who have received and ship
ped to other packing points. The local
banks have paid out larger amounts for
the weed than ever before. Some re-
markable financial yields have been re-
ported. These conditions will prevail
for several weeks to come. Farmers
are very anxious to comp',te delivery
before severe weather anG hard roads
are upon them. There is scarcity of
help for the local warehouses. This
condition prevails elsewhere in the state
o. H. Helgeson and son Oliver were
in Trempealeau county during all of
last week receiving tobacco crops pur-
chased there in early season. The
gentlemen report fine returns to farm
ers of Trempealeau, where they are
rather new in the industry. They re-
ceived several carloads that is now en-
route here. The elder Helgeson tells
the CENSOR that some of the tobacco
received weighed as high as 1900
pounds to the acre One farmer received
81, ,200sfor the yield from four acres.
Mr.. Helgeson tells some Inequalities
in freight charges. From Whitehall to
La Crosse the charge is % cents per
hundred, while to Viroqua from La
Crosse, about the same distance, the
charge is 81 cents. His shipments
frxn La Fargo to Viroqua, via Wauzeka,
Madison, Portage and Sparta, distance
of PSI miles, is II cents.
The Edgterton Tobacco Reporter
writes Interestingly Of last years profits
to the farmers of a limited number of
counties in the state. Read it:
The year just closed will pass into his
tory as the most prosperous one ever ex-
perienced by the growers of tobacco in
Wisconsin. Whatever there is in store
in the future for the dealers who now
practically own the 1906 crop-whether
it earns them a profit or d loss need
not concern the farmer, for his posi-
tion is secure. He is already counting
his profit, and it amounts to something
phenomenal when viewed in the light
ofrecent statistics regarding the acre
age, yield and price paid the producer.
ASSUMING AAidb tilI SldNlbilCS Vi lHe dE-
ricultural department are reasonably
correct, let Us estimate what the profits
of last seasons tobacco crop were to
the growers of Wisconsin. 1t is gen-
orally conceded that the 1906 crop am
ounted close to 40, 900 acres. yielding
1875 pounds to the acre, while the aver
age price paid growers is given at 13A
cents by the government report. In
other words the gross receipts of each
acre would amount almost to $l72. r.
Deducting the cost of raising, which
under the most conservative stimates
cannot exceed $40 per acre, and it is
generally believed that most of the to-
bacco of this state is grown at a cost of
less than $50 per acre, we have at least
a profit of $132 on every acre produced
in the state. This would mean an en-
ormous total of IS, $50, 900 of clean,
cold profits to be paid the tobacco grow
ers of this state In few weeks now
this amount viii have been paid the
farmers of only about a half dozen
counties and thrown into the channels
of trade again. No such profits were
ever before paid to so small a number
Of producers in the west. The figures
are unprecedented and almost challenge
the credulity of the general public.
Think of more than five million dollars
in profits pocketed by less than 10000
farmers! Surely the tobacco growers
are in the saddle and riding easily.