Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1912-01-18
Diversified Crops
THE IMPORTANCE OF CROP ROTATION FOR
THE IRRIGATION FARMER


Train Lecture.
100 feet deep, making innumerable i
lperforations, while storing up nitro
gen, and when these roots decay they |
leave not only a generous supply of |
fertility for any desired crop, but mil
lions of openings into which the airs
and rains of heaven find their way,
and help to constitute an unfailing
reservoir of wealth, upon which the
husbandman can draw with little rear
of protest or overdrafts.'
Professor Buffum, some years ago
at the wyoming Experiment Station,
made a test showing the gain on al
falfa ground for small grain and po-
tatoes over the same type of soil
where alfalfa was not grown. His re-
suits obtained are here given.
Wheat, gain in bushel per acre,
70; gain in value of harvested crop
local prices). $1,000.
Oats, gain in bushei per acre, Al;
gain in acre value of harvested crop
(local prices), $1,000.
Potatoes, gain in bushel per acre,
20; gain in acre value of harvested
crop local prices), $1,000.
Therefore get the land into le-
gume of some kind, alfalfa, vetch OF
field pea as soon as you can that it
may be better prepared for success
full and profitable after crops.
In case the farmer is in doubt just
what crop to put in, he will make no
mistake to seed down to alfalfa while
he is planning out the crop rotation
that his environment would seem to
indicate best for him to adopt.
Rotation Destroys Weeds.
The elimination of weeds is eff
fectually accomplished by the intro
I duction of cultivated crops like po-
tatoes, stock roots, sugar beets. field
, beans and truck gardening crops. The
; irrigation ditch is even greater car
rier of weeds than the winds. Where
an entire irrigation district adopts the
practice of crop rotation and cutting
, ditch and canal bank weeds, they can
be- and are, exterminated Most of
t our worst weed pests are annual and
: when all users of a given ditch prac-
r tice a good crop rotation the weed
, qeustion is solved.
Get Station Bulletins.
Because weed and insect pests as
. we'll as fungus diseases are fully dis
g cussed in Station bulletins which can
be had by addressing the director of
your state experiment station. | shall
pass up any discussion of them.
:, Rotation Fundamentals.
:, Let us now consider the fundamen-
tails which we should concern our
n selves with. in adopting a rotation for
. our irrigated lands. where we cannot
9 afford to grow many cheap forage or
% grass crops, unless upon said farm
n We can convert these cheaper crops
into more remuneratve meat, dairy
% or poultry products.
h. l. All plants tend to exhaust the
soil They abstract some one or more
- food elements to the full amount of
n availability.
4 . All plants do not exhaust the
- soil in the same way and manner
n equally.
g. Plants grown constantly or con-
~ tinuously on the same field favor the
- spread of insect pests and certain
70 plant diseases.
4. Some plants, by methods of till
~ age. are favorable to weed growth,
Z. while others are not.
e ;. Plants differ in habits of root
10 growth.
* 6. All legumes are soil bull icrs
c ana SOIL renONatOrS.
- I. Some form of stock raising
20 combined with crop growing. will fur
:, nish manure for making humus and
: building up the soil. The old English
70 adage NO grass no cattle; no cattle
-. no manure; no manure. no grass is
40 true everywhere.
ne Rotation on Irrigated Lands.
I'd Every rotation on the irrigated
e- lands in this region should contain:
We list. At least one money or cash
in crop;
st end At least one cultivated crop;
1t. Srd. At least one legume crop;
st 4th. At least one live. stock or feed
&c ing crop;
5th. These should he so grouped a:
,e- 10 most economically distribute farm
ee labor throughout the year
li- 9Th. SO arrange the rotation tina
u the farm can turn cheap and bulky
m feeds into milk. poultry or meat pro
q? ducts.
ly 7th. Thus make factory methods OF
lc- the farm, turn ordinary waste pro
rs ducts into profits.
I'M The meat packer so utilizes tn
IS, calf, lamb and pig that now there Il
ar nothing lost but the blat and thu
,ir squeal.
ro- The adoption of a definite crop nc
ee tation and the practice of factor,
Id methods on the farm will stop III
Ill leaks which now reduce the profit
and tremendously improve the quait
ep while it increases the quantity of tn
in output of every farm in this district
he know an irrigated farm in tn
Rockies where the suggested metho
is named above is followed and the re
TO turns for the period of their crop RI
ne tation of six years, which ! checke
,ir up last year. averaged 500 gross pc
nv. acre crop per season. DO not be sa
or isfied until yOu feel you have worke
mt out crop rotation adapted to you
Sc. soil, climate and market environment
DTS and that rotation is averaging you
nv. gross return of $50 per acre crop pc
or season.
Mother Goose up to Date.
- y.