Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1910-12-15
FEED ALFALFA
TO YOUR STOCK
so ADVISES THE SHORT LINE
TO TWIN FALLS FARM
ERS
Greater Profits Realized From stock
Than From Alfalfa After Long
Freight Hauls to Eastern Mar
kets.

With alfalfa as the principal crop
of Twin Falls tract, with the market
price of this product down to $3.50
per ton, and with practically every
farmer of the tract depending upon
tie sale of this crop to meet the
running expenses of tire rancn for
the coming year. the question OF Sc
euiiLg a better and surer market for
the agricultural products of South
crn Idaho is becoming a vital one.
Thinking that possibly the .. 5.
j. railway company might be inluc-
cd to consider the seriousness Of The
situation and aid matters by making
a special freight rate on alfalfa, Sec
rotary Pearce of the Bull CONNER
cial club, under recent date directed
letter to the company in which the
matter was laid before the railway
officials in its entirety.
The reply was characteristic of a
railroad company responding to a
request for lower rates. but it also
contained a little advice to the farm
ers of the Twin Falls tract, which is
precisely the same argument which
is being daily used upon the streets
IF this city by men who have and
are making a decided success of farm
ing on the Twin Falls tract.
In substance the letter stated that
the company considered that already
they were making us a special rate
on alfalfa; that a better rate was
impossible as owing to the bulkiness
of the article. their cars are worth
more to them carrying other products
but they hit the nail on the head
when they concluded the letter by
saying:
1--WE have been giving your Sec
ton of the state a great deal OF
thought and have come to the con-
clusion that you must raise stock to
consume your bulky feed products.
instead of shipping them out of the
country for others to feed and make
a second profit on.
That the railroad officials are not
alone in holding this opinion is evil
dent from the fact that such we'll
known farmers as Kunze, sandmey-
err and Houghtelin are stocking their
ranches with dairy COWS or sheep
Lest some would say that alfalfa
will not fiji the bill for grazing pur-
poses and that this soil is not adapt
ed to mixed grasses, we refer them
to Mr.. Houghtelin of near Filler, who
last year pastured 1870 head of sheep
and 13 head of horses and COWS on
10 acres of mixed grasses
Showing the substantial profits of
dairying. figures will be gladly furn-
ished by Manager Gearhart of the
local creamery. demonstrating that
the few farmers now engaged in
dairying are receiving. net IS to s12
per cow More of the farmers are
realizing the profits of this industry
as the creamery's monthly output
has been steadily increasing and for
the past month 5000 pounds of but
ter were made as compared with 1900
for the preceding month. But the
industry is barely in its infancy, and
the dairy products do not begin to
equal the local demand. Butter is
now being shipped from as far east
as the state of Iowa onto the Twin
Falls tract. And then it is said that
we have ma market.
True. most of the ranchers of the
tract have practically all of theii
money tied up in high priced land ant
with poor prices for this years crops
it will be difficult for them to FIND
the where-with-all to purchase stock