The Mobridge news. [volume] (Mobridge, Walworth Co., S.D.) 190?-1917, 1912-09-13
ALFALFA is BETTER
THAN WHEAT CROP
Kansas Yields Show Up More Profits
Oklahoma Also Gaining
in Production.

Kansas wheat king has to take
back seat now while the alfalf;
seed monarch gets into the spot
light. Alfalfa seed is the newes
Golconda in Kansas. A whea.
field that yields $40 an acre is
bonanza but it is poor picking.
compared to an alfalfa ield.
Henry NJ. Masche, of Stafford
vile, has just harvested the seed
crop from a field Of 17J acres OF
alfalfa where the stand wasn't
particularly good, and will get
something like 81, 900 for the crop.
Masche already had cut two crops
of hay from the same field, which
brought him $l5 an acre. In all,
his return from the hay and
seed will bring him an average Of
SOS an acre.
Lots of fields will run 30 per
cent higher than last year. Dell
Park, of Elmdale, has the largest
yield reported this year, getting
$50 bushels off an e~ighty-five acre
acre field, which will bring him
top price in the market, or about
$50 an acre. With the hay that
will come from the field, he will
get a total of between S75 and 800
an acre.
Dozens of other reports showing
yields of three to four bushels TO
the acre on fields of from 100 to
400 acres have been received by the
state board of agriculture, and it
is estimated that the alfalfa seed
crop this year in the whole state
will be worth close to 81, 600, 900.
BIG CROP IN OKLAHOMA
Cherokee, Okla, Sept. 10.-Al-
falfa colnty grows more alfalfa
than any other county in Okla
h0ma. Custer county stands Sec
ond. This year alfalfa county had
1000 acres planted to this crop,
and the planting is being heavily
increased. Conservatively, the av-
erage yield is three-fourtks ton to
the acre at each cutting and there
are four, sometimes five, cuttings
In a season.
This gives close to 20, 900 tons
for the total crop, which sells
steadily at an average Of $40 a
ton. In city markets during the
pinch of cold weather and feed
shortage last winter as high as $50
ton was paid for alfalfa hay
But hat may not happen again in
long time. In addition to the
hay, there is an average yield of a.
bout four bushels of seed, which
brings the grower close to Sc a
bushel net. This makes $4S, 600
for seed that goes into the pockets
OF Alfalfa county farmers.
AT this place is an alfalfa meal
mill that runs night and day dur
ing the season. The hay is run
through the mill when dry and
brittle and comes out in a form re-
sembling corn meal. The meal is
sold everywhere in the United
States. This meal has the same
feeding value as wheat bran.
FIFTEEN MEAL MILLS IN STATE
There r fifteen alfalfa meal
mills in Oklahoma, but only four
running this year. The local mill
when it ceased grinding had ground
half as much meal as the entire
output west of the Mississippi
river. It's output was 1000, 900
pounds. At the height of the
season wagons loaded with alfalfa
hay stood at the mill night and
day for their turn to unload. 1t is
safer to ship alfalfa as meal than
as hay. Local growers were paid
$40 a ton cash upon delivery.
The first heavy planting of alfal-
IA in this county was in 1904. AL
falfa enriches instead Of depicting
the virtues of the soil, as it stores