Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1913-03-28

S1.Vf IL, anu tue toImCi PaoAae NUS
come from selling at higher price
than this. As the average yield in
the wheat belt is below 20 bushels,
and as the average price for wheat is
less than s1.OO. the raising Of wheat
alone as a single crop becomes a liza
bility and not an asset.
This is something that we cannot
get away from. AS a matter of fact
the reduction of soil fertility is rare
ly taken into account in computing
the cost of wheat production, but
there is no other fair way to reckon
the cost of a bushel of wheat. If
We do not take this into account We
are travelling under false colors and
Haunting present prosperity by discount
ing the future.
The wheat farmer who does not re.
turn anything to his farm is selling
his farm by the wagon load. He is
not making money because he is SELL
ing his capital, and the only reason
he can stay in the business at all is
because of the vast quantities Of
plant food which are stored in the
soil. Every corp taken off the land
decreases this plant food, and the
bigger the crop, the greater the de-
crease.
There S only one solution. The
wheat belt of the West must grow
live stock. Live stock is necessary
on every farm, but in no region Of
agricultural America is it so neoes-
sary as in the wheat belt of Oklaho-
ma, Kansas, Nebraska and the Da-
kOtas. Live stock is the only thing
that will turn present losses into fu-
ture gains.
The advent Of the silo and the gen.
eral cultivation of kafir instead of
corn have made the solution of the
problem practicable, profitable and
easy. Two acres of kafir or Of corn
converted into silage will feed eight
COWS as long as two acres of pasture
will support one COW. Here is the
economy which permits the farmer
to concentrate his work on fewer
acres and get bigger returns while
he gives over the remainder of the
farm to live stock.
Live stock gives an economy in Ia
Dor as it is producing wealth every
month in the year. Live stock is not
affected by climatic conditions as are
wheat and other garin crops. AS
nearly half Of the actual cost of pro-
ducing a bushel of wheat comes from
the reduced fertility of the soil, the
raising of live stock will practically
eliminate this much of the cost, be-
sides increasing the intrinsic value
Of the land.
The high price of beef and dairy
products which now exists and which
must continue to exist for years to
come is sufficient argument in favor
Of live stock when compared with the
uncertain yield an, uncertain price
Of wheat.
Wheat must be raised. Bread is
just as necessary as meat, but wheat
should not be raised exclusively and
year after year on the same ground.
The farmers of the wheat belt are
possessed of some of the finest land
on this earth, but they are not max
ing a proper use Of this land in any
system of farming which does not in
clude live stock as its most import
ant factor.
With the aid of live stock and crop
rotation, the wheat belt farmer can
raise as much wheat as he now does
ard on a much smaller acreage. He
can have whatever profit this wheat
will bring and the added profits Of
other crops and of live stock, and
these will be vastly more certain.
There never was a time in the his
tory of this country when the work
Ct the breeder Of good live stock
was more needed or ought to be
more highly appreciated.