The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1912-08-09
Reduce the Wheat Acreage

Western Kansas Farms Unbalanced
Every exaggerated report OF big
yield costs the real wheat farmer a
few cents on every bushel Of wheat,
and 1t tends to encourage shiftlesS
farmers to increase their acreage,
and this always means poorer farm
ing. About every six or seven years
Kansas raises a bumper" wheat
crop, and then the Wheat Kings
who have not made common wages
for several years hrag about how
many thousand dollars they get for
wheat and straightway scratch in"
twice as many acres as they can har-
vest properly and gamble" on the
weather and talk about how many
bushels of wheat they will have next
year if The winds come and
blow out half the wheat, soil and all,
the winter is hard, on a fourth of
what is left and the drouth of May
weakens the remaining crop and then
restless ones "moye out"
There are fifteen counties in Kan
sas that have less population than
they had a year ago. Too much
wheat. Too little forage. Too little
live stock. ! believe in Kansas and
believe in western Kansas and l
believe | am a better friend of the
people and OF that part of the state
than the boomers" OF what avail
is it to gain thousands of people in
one FIAT" period If we lose them in
the first lean period? We would
not have these extremes if a better
balanced system of farming we're
practced The western third of Kan
sas is not, never has been and never
will be q profitable wheat country
for any ten-year period unless a rad
ically different method of farming is
adopted.
| want to urge a reduced wheat
acreage for the following reasons:
(D 1t will permit earlier and better
seed-bed preparation, and no blowing
for wheat should be done after Aug.
20, CD 1t will permit some rota-
ton Of crops and more forage crops,
and that means more live stock, and
that must be the basis of sound ag-
riculture. ca 1t will permit the
seeding to be done between Septem-
her 90 and October 10, (4) 1t
will permit men to harvest their
wheat with local help and to harvest
their grain at the right time, and that
is an aid to quality of wheat. Co
1t will enable the farmer to better
balance his farm and his equipment.
his help and also his own time. 60
1t will also mean for the western
one hundred miles the partial adop-
,tlon Of the summer fallOw method
Of growing wheat and that will mean
more bushels from half the acreage.
why not give this a trial? heT
other method for the last twenty
years has not paid team wages. This
recommended method certainly can
not be worse.
Reduce the wheat acreage to a
sensible basis and save the land.
Wheat is always soll-robbing crop,
and the time will come when the
Wheat King" will lie considered an
undesirable citizen" Three years ago
assumed the responsibility of urg-
ing the railroads to quit giving re-
duced rates for transient" harvest
hands. am this year asking every
thoughtful man in western Kansas
farmer, banker and merchant-to
urge q reduced wheat acreage and
better and earlier seed-bed prepare
ton, and in all counties in the west
ern one hundred miles | want to urge
the Importance of every farmer
adopting for a part of his wheat
acreage the summer fallow method.
Western Kansas has a great future
if it can be built up on sound asri-
cultural lines, with the idea of CON
serving the soil and its fertility and
the normal moisture. Let us de-
velop farming at home and reduce
the acreage and increase the total
yields The best thing that could hap
pen to the western fourth OF Kansas
would be for the state to buy all the
unOccupied land and sell it out only
to actual settlers who would be re-
qured to follow certain prescribed
methods of farming.
j. H. MILLER.
Manhattan, Kansas, July 80, 1912.
John l.. Boles, Sec'y Farmers Instt-