Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-05-16
Conservation of Soil and Crop
Address by A. M. TenEyck, of Iowa State COLLEGE. Al i. h.a,,.. .* 81.
18th annual convention Of the Western Grain pe,I.r., ,..a.;..:o :.
Sioux City, la. April II. 1918.

! 1T and enjoy its products almost ind,ti-
Hiteiy' which is fgurativelv. savin. our
"Ae gnu az the same time eating it.
Crop Conservation.
p CONSERVATION comes after and de-
lsn"s largely on soil conservation. be-
cause III the fertility of the soil is no,
maintained there will finally be no crnn ia
conserve. We have AN example of this
III the abandoned farms of some of o,,r
sas'eiii states and in the decreased Yields
resulting from continuous grain farn,in.
't"uslio"t large areas in our newer west
ern states. M
~ Is true that up to the present the
purpose OF agricultural education and i'm
s''ucti"h mas been largely to Increase pro
uuc'ioh Win little or no attention to the
use or saving of the crop In a recap, in
.e'Ne" our new secretary of agriculture
is reported to nave said, ''Th. ia r,n.r,s
problem is not limited to production ~.
must promote productivity: but fully as
important. III not more important. ara nh.
questloiis OF marketing. and distributing
anu hVihs. This indicates that the de-
paitfilent OF agriculture at Washington
VIII oeNole much attention during the
present administration to the problem of
crop conservation. including not pnly the
raising and saving of the CROP b,t its mar
kttlflS. distribution and final utilization by
the consumer.
crop conservation means not only to
producs largely and economical and to
save What We produce but it means con-
trolling the production. SO as to prevent
oNef-prodlction or INSTRUMENTATION: it
means sufficient production to s,,nnly the
consumer at d reasonable price which will
!e.ufh 10 the farmer a fair profit ON his
labor and a good interest on his invest
ment. after the soil fertility has been
maintained.
| CONSERVATION IL, -. ,-.- g.,
quantity and does not change much from
year to year. Production should he more
regular. The present habit of our farm
efs Is to go to the extremes in the pro-
ouction of certain crops. For instance,
II There is a shortage of corn this Year
ana the price is high. We will increase our
acreage next year, which is likely to cause
an over-productiOn of corn and lower
prices I'm 1914. Or if oats are plentiful and
relatively low In price this year farmers
win plant less oats next spring which
may result in a short crop and relatively
hiEh prices in 1914. In fact, under the
present system and lack of organization
IN the farming business the tendency is
fof the farmers to go to extremes and
usually to their own financial disadvan-
tase. because. they are apt to plant "A
crop IN large area when 1t is dear in price
ana are often obliged to sell the product
on a low-price market.
Organize and CORPORATE.
Inc local failure of crops in certain
areas Will affect production and influence
prices and these conditions cannot be con-
tfoi!cd, except to a limited degree through
the introduction of safer farming meth
o!s, nut 1t IL possible to organize and
op'fa'e our farms so AS to plant and pro-
duc'i about the same acreage of each crop
each Year. and this may be readily accom-
pushed by dividing the farm into a GER
/ LAIN M hoy ~ AL ne .lx@. .-..-v L--.
ana practicing a regular system of rota-
linh OF crops by which each farm will pro-
uuct' q UNIFORM acreage of each crop each
season. When a farm is thus organized
and cropped it may be stocked with the
proper number of live stock to consume
most OIL IN" forage and Il part of the grain.
ahu thiS condition will be maintained from
ear to Year. thus making the production
"l live stock more uniform and establish
ING more. stabl. prices.
ono Of the worst faults of our farming
teday is this lack of organization in the
iafini!ag business which leads to periodic
nV"f-i'roduction and .under-prOduction of
o'is' staple crops and live stock. This lack
al organization also tends tn promote con-
ii'l'i"i.' grain growing and the consequent
s~oil-fnin.ns which would be largely over
come by IL proper system of crop rota-
ton.
The crop naay be conserved by adoptinc
'''e ac'A'f w y dIlA SURFING
inc grain on the farms. The average
farmer is a hard worker but he is too
often Il poor manager. Successful farm
ing Is as much A matter of executive abil-
NY and management AS it is hard work.
The hard work is necessary but it should
he timely to give the best results.
A Wasteful Custom.
Much grain is wasted in quantity and
unnecessarily injured in quality by i'm
/ .uy,, nm. ra "A. lass. l,.r. :... ~s. .-.-.LL.
ing. The farmer who is a good producer is
too often "a poor handler of the crop after
1T is grown. Sometimes his methods of
handling the crop from the field to the
elevator are not only careless but show
absolute neglect. For instance in a part
OF our grain growing country l nave OH
served the custom which the farmers
practice almost uniformly of leaving the
grain in the field In the shock until they
are ready to thrash. While the climate
OF this area is generally favorable to such
a method of handling the grain, it is not
always SO and some seasons the grain Is
very badly injured by excessive rains be-
fore it reaches the thrasher. II the farm
ers of this section would adopt the method
OF stacking the grain in we'll made stacks
as soon as 1t Is dry enough. they would i'm
a series of seasons make q good invest
ment by this extra labor, yet the old Gus
tom continues.
IL ipdJority oi IafInefs. however. ] be-
lieve. know how to handle their crop but
are prevented by unfavorable weather. Or
by insufficient and inefficient labor. or
other conditions which they cannot over
come. Also. the grain dealer liz In part at
fault. The neglect of the crop. especially
as regards quality is encouraged by him
because he usually gives too little con-
sideration to the point Of quality in grain.
in fixing the purchase price. / nave stood
at an elevator in western Kansas and
observed the delivery of wheat which in