Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1909-08-27
FARMING IN
IDAHO PAYS
Returns From the White Ranch
on Little Wood River Shows
the Possibilities Here
$4,000 FOR A LOAD OF OATS
One Instance Out of Many That Tells
Story of Plenty and Prosperity
For Present and Future

Gilbert White, besides being cashier
of the Lincoln County National Bank Of
Shoshone, is also manager of the White
estate, one of the assets of which is a
ranch located on the Little Wood river
Just north of town.
Noticing the sale of a load of oats
on the streets recently, the writer
asked whose they were, and was infor-
med that they come from the White
ranch Stepping into the bank, he was
shown the sale slip which totaled $500
for the single load Further inquiry
ELECTED the information that this load
was from a field of so acres that aver
aged SO bushels to the acre and sold at
&c per pound
These oats were raised on an old
alfalfa field that had been in cuItiva-
ton for 20 years. Another field of
barley of Is acres yielded IS bushels
per acre and would market at 3 cents
per pound.
On being asked how many acres
were still in alfalfa and about what
yield per acre might be estimated for
this seasons crop, Mr. White stated
that the acreage would amount to 200
acres and the yield at from to 6 tons
per acre on the average, or at least 5
tons.
With present prices prevailing which
are $40. per ton, the gross income per
acre would amount to $50. at the very
least, and 200 acres would represent
the sung little sum of $40, 0OO., and the
chances are that the price will go
higher rather than lower as the season
advances.
1t is not the intention of this article
to estimate the profits of the White
ranch this season. Any one knows
that there is profit in raising 93 bushels
of oats to the acre on large field
when the price is 2 cents per pound
right from the machine. And any one
knows that barley can be raised at a
profit on even a small field when IS
bushels pans out of every acre and the
market price is not less than IL cents
pound. And any school boy can
figure profit out of two cuttings of
alfalfa that yield over five tons to the
acre and sell for more than 5000 for
every one Of 200 acres in the field.
But there are certain lessons that
may be derived from the general meth
DDS of cultivation employed on the
White ranch.
In the first place it will be noticed
that the oats and barley were raised on
land that had been in continuous culti-
walton for 20 years. But many of those
years had witnessed alfalfa growing on
it. This verifies the contention that
alfalfa enriches sage brush land and re-
novates any worn out soils that win
grow it.
But much OF the 200 acres of alfalfa
was grown on land that had been culti-
waited only 5 or years. 1t is well
known here that old fields of alfalfa
get weedy and often winter kill so as
to leave the stand very thin and unpro-
fitable while new fields are uninjured
by winter frosts.
These old fields of alfalfa should be
plowed up and seeded to grain and the
weeds killed out by cultivation. or
nrop,sr treatment The land will then
raise tremendous crops OF grain for
several seasons and after being re-
seeded to alfalfa viii raise bumper
crops of hay and alfalfa seed which is
the most valuable crop the farmer can
raise.
It might be remarked in passing that
there is Carey Act land selling today
within sight Of this ranch for from
s35. so to $50. 50 per acre for both land
and water right and the soil is as good