Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1912-07-05
Hogged-off Wheat

Harvest time is rapidly approach
ing, In fact, il is now at hand in
some parts of the Inland Empire.
During the harvest season farm
work is usually very pressing and
il is desirable to so manage that the
stock of the farm will require as lit
tie attention as possible. In the
case of hogs this can be done to
good advantage by hogging-off
wheat. The hogs are turned into
the standing grain when the kernels
are in the stiff dough stage. This
will be several days before the crop
is ready to cut with the binder. If
provided with water, salt and shade
the hogs then take care of them
selves until they have cleaned up the
field. A soft variety of wheat must
be used. Turkey Red is too hard
when fully ripe for the hogs to eat
II readily.
On farms where hogging-off wheat
is common practice, small field
is usually prepared especially for the
purpose. Farmers who have never
used wheat in this way can do so by
fencing off a small area OF the main
wheat field. Some of the farmers
who are cooperating with the Of
flee of Farm Management are using
wheat in this way this year. When
the grain is in the stiff dough, near
ly ripe enough to cut with a binder,
the hogs are weighed and turned in
to the field. When they have cleaned
up the field it is measured and the
hogs are weighed. This will give the
gain per acre, or the worth of the
crop when hogged off. The rest of
the wheat crop is threshed and mar
keted. This gives a comparison of
the profitableness of hogging-off
wheat and harvesting and marketing
1t in the usual way.
At first thought one is inclined
to say that this is a wasteful prac-
tice. 1t is not, however, under good
management. Where the crop is
light there is very little waste.
Where the crop is heavy the waste
is most marked, especially if the
grain is allowed to become over
ripe. Where the crop is heavy the
hogs should only be turned into
small areas at time, that each area
used in this way may be cleaned up
before the hogs are turned into the
next. This is done by the use of
movable fence-either wire or mov-
able panels.
Where the grain is hogged-of there
is saving of approximately the
cost of feeding and harvesting. This
Is no small item, for it costs from
l5 to 40 cents per bushel to harvest
and market wheat in the Inland EN-
pire, the cost varying with the
yield, the method of harvesting and
threshing, and the distance to mar
hCL' III MUCH Vi the dryer pOfJlOnS
of the wheat belt of both Oregon
and Washington the yield of wheat
is frequently as low as to s bush
els per acre. The cost of harvesting
and marketing such a crop is from
30 to 40 cents per bushel The APP
proximate cost of heading, threshing
and marketing a 20-bushel crop of
wheat is 20 cents per bushel. When
the hogs are so managed that they
thoroughly clean up the field, hog
ging-off the crop practically saves
the cost of harvesting and market
ing. When the hogs harvest the
crop all of the waste is in shattered
wheat This is covered by the
tramping of the hogs and it germin-
ates when the fall rains begin.
Where the wheat is cut in the usual
way the waste consists principally of
heads of wheat lying on the surface
of the ground. This does not ger
inmate so readily as the shattered
grain and for this reason the field