Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1914-02-27
ALFALFA GIVES
PROFITABLE YIELDS
THREE TONS OF GOOD HAY TO
TIE ACRE PER SEASON IN
WORTH DAKOTA :
TWO CUTTINGS 4 YEAR
Good Success Reported With Grimm
ADMINISTRATION Very Benz :
fsciai-Methods Used In Pre-
pairing the Soil for a
Good Stand.

BY GEO. n. HooPLE, HoopIe, N. q.
My father and l work his farm to-
gether. Father Is manager of the
state demonstration farm for Walsh
county, established on his farm, and
it was tho superintendent of the dem
o%nstration farms, Mr.. Porter, who
started us raising alfalfa.
He had us seed the lanes between
plats to alfalfa. There is about three
acres adjoining the demonstration
farm, for which he obtained Montana
seed for us four years ago He ship
ped dirt from the agricultural college
to %inoculate with. We did not get this
field and the lanes very well inocu-
lated. There Ia still a little alfalfa in
lanes, but it does not amount to much
as it Is too thin.
We cut the first field once the first
Of alfalfa and weeds. The second year
in two cuttings, we got about three
tons good alfalfa hay per acre. There
was very little snow on it the next
winter and it partly winter killed. and
we disked it a little too strong in the
spring, l think. 1t did not look very
good so we broke it and put it into
potatoes.
The seed was poor, having heated in
the bin. We had bought the seed and
did not know about it till the pota-
toes came up. l do not think there
was half a stand but we got two nun
dred bushels OF lNsh ccbbiers. This
spring we put it back into Grimm al.
falfa. The spring being SO cold, we
could not get the weeds started be-
fore it was time to seed alfalfa, and
so 1t is very weedy. 1t has also been
very dry here all summer. Just about
five inches of rain fell from April 1st
up to date, out we have clipped weeds
and we believe we have a good catch
of alfalfa. We will not cut what we
put in this year for hay,-just clip the
weeds.
We put in about seven acres OF
Grimm alfalfa on potato ground this
year. 1t is all good stand. We seeded
eight pounds per acre, and inoculated
with about two hundred pounds OF
dirt per acre, scattered broadcast and
narrowed in.
We have about two acres of Mon
tana alfalfa seeded on potato ground
three years 90. It Ia q fine stand.
We inoculated with dirt from an alfal
ia field. We cut one ton the first year,
about Ave tons in two cuttings last
year, and about foul tons in two cut
tings this year.
We disked the field this spring run
ming the disk nearly straight so as not
fr ont tho rr0UnQ Wa ran the disk
over it foul times at one disking. Disk.
ing it lightly seems to do 1t lots OF
good in the spring. We can almost
see it grow after we disk it. We got
about four tons per acre in two u
tings this year as dry as it has been.
We have about an acre next to this
piece which we put in In August last
year. We had potatoes on it. The
weeds got the start of them and we
moist and we had a little alfalfa seed
SO we seeded it. Did not inoculate
this piece. We got a good stand, n
the weather was cool and rainy all
fall, SO it got a good start before it
froze. 1t is pretty well inoculated this
summer. We got about enc ton the
first cutting and one-half ton the sec
ond cutting. We just happened to
strike the right kind Of weather OF
/ do not think we would have gotten a
stand of alfalfa by seeding that late.
We have about one acre of Grimm
we drilled in a year ago. We cut 1t
once this summer for hay and we hope
to get a seed crop from it this fall.