American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1911-07-27
STOCK ON DRY FARM
Milk, Eggs and Meat Contribute
to Comfort Of Family.
companIonshlp of Animals i Great
Factor In Developing Spirit o.
Country Life In Young Peo-
pIe-No Idle Period.

nv pRor r. w. CLARK, Montana. in
The DIV Farming Congress Bulieuh-l
Dry. farming as carried on al Inc
nresent time is a cold business propo-
sition. A visit to the average dry
farm reveals a lonesome. somewhat
gloomy situation; there are many
things lacking that are necessary to
make this home q desirable, pleasant
place to live. The wife-the mistress
of the home-feels this more tnan
anyone else. If she were raised where
fruits, vegetables and live stock were
grown. the lack OF them to her o Is
keenly felt. No farm can be truly q
home without live stock. Milk, cream,
butter, cheese, eggs and various kinds
Of meat are necessary. These con-
tribute to the comfort and happiness
of the family. Furthermore, the COM
partnership of animals is q great FAC
tor in developing the spirit OF coun-
try life In young people. The lamb.
colt. calf, pig and chick all help to
make the country pleasant and at
tractive. The writer's most pleasant
recollection Of his childhood days was
the companionship Of the farm AMI
mails.
There are other reasons than the
one mentioned why live stock should
be kept on every dry farm. Grain is
the main dry crop. The farmers
eggs are all in one basket" Grain
Is his only source of income, and If
storm and insects take it, the expendi-
lures and efforts of the whole year
are lost. With a few mich cows, there
is an income all the time; butterfat
Is sold to the creamery every day,
and a few calves can be vealed and
disposed of to the local butcher. A
few hens will pick up a great deal Of
waste grain that otherwise would be
entirely lost, and the revenue there
from is usually sufficient to provide
the family with groceries. A few sheep
will furnish meat for the table and
cash at various times during the year.
when the farmer has no wheat to sell.
The same Is true when there are
horses, beef, cattle and hogs to sell.
They provide an income when the
farmer needs 1t, and he can pay cash
and thereby secure many advantages
that cannot be secured by credit.
When the farmer keeps live stock,
he can give employment the whole
year, but on the grain farm there is
a long period of idleness during the
winter season. Most desirable labor
cannot be secured when there is q
short period of employment, and con-
sequently the farmer has to put up
with a low class Of farm hands, which
is demoralizing to the young people Of
the community. On the farm without
live stock, production ceases during
the winter season, while on the farm
containing live stock it continues the
whole year. and because of 1t Che
community is more prosperous.
The question Of maintaining the fer
tflity of the soil is important. The
time will come, though slower than in
humid climates, when the productive
capacity of the soil will be greatly
reduced, unless the plant food now
being taken out is replaced. Some
crops remove a great deal from the
soil. For instance, one ton of wheat
removes 81 worth Of fertility. This
Is greatly in contrast to the amount
600 cents worthy removed in a ton Of
butter. In the raising of live stock,
the farmer must grow leguminous
plants that add fertility to the soil.
as peas. clover and alfalfa. About so
per cent. of the fertility constituents
OF crops Is retained on the farm when
live stock Is fed and the n re-
turned to the soil. BY growing legu.
minous plants and feeding live stock.
the fertility. to a large extent, is main
tained and depleted soils are rapfdly
built up. This 10 impossible without
live stock.
Before going into the Ave stock
business too extensively, the farmer
must learn what kind OF crops can
Do proftably grown. This varies great.
~ between and within the states.
some crops that can be grown s,,c-
cessfully in Kansas and South Dakota
would probably fail in Montana. and
some that a be successfully grown
IN one part of the state would fail in
another. Alfalfa. where 1t can be
grown, Is the best all around crop.
II car De safely pastured by hogs and
horses. and is a good feed in winter
ana summer for all kinds of animals.
even the chickens.