The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1914-02-07
GIVES
PROFITABLE YIELDS
THREE TONS OF GOOD HAY TO
THE ACRE PER SEASON IN
NORTH DAKOTA.
TWO CUTTINGS A YEAR
Good Success Reported With Grimm
AHalfa--lnoculation Very Bene- =
ficial-Methods Used In Pre-
pairing the Soil for a
Good Stand.
BY GEO. Il. HooPLE, Hoopie, N. o.

BY GEO. n. HOoPLE, Hoople, N. o
My father and ! work his farm to-
gether. Father is manager Of the
state demonstration farm for Walsh
county, established on his farm, and
1t was the superintendent of the dem
onstration farms, Mr.. Porter, who
started us raising alfalfa.
He had us seed the lanes between
plats to alfalfa. There is about three
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 is still a little alfalfa in
lanes, but 1T does not amount to much
as 1t Is too thin.
We cut the first field once the first
year getting about n ton per acre
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 1t the next
winter and ii partly winter killed, and
we disked it a little too strong in the
spring, | think. 1t did not look very
good SO we broke 1t and put it into
potatoes.
The seed was poor, having heated in
| the bin. We had bought the seed and
/ did not know about 1t till the pota-
| toes came up. | do not think there
vas half a stand but we got two hun
dred bushels OF Irish cobblers. This
| spring we put 1t back into Grimm al
falfa. The spring being SO cold. we
could not get the weeds started be-
fore it vas 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, but 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
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 ago. Ii Is a fine stand.
We inoculated with dirt from al alfal-
ia field. We cut one ton the first year,
about five tons in two cuttings last
year, and about four tom in two cut
tings this year.
We disked the field this spring run
ming the disk nearly straight so as not
to cut the We ran the disk
over 1t four times at one disking. Disk.
ing ii lightly seems to do 1t lots OF
good in the spring. We can almost
see it grow after we disk 1t. We got
about four tons per acre in two cut
tings this year as dry as 1t 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
plowed them up. The ground was
moist and we had a little alfalfa seed
so We seeded it. Did not inoculate
hio pieso' VIC gu d Soou StnnS, anu
the weather was cool and rainy all
fall, SO 1t got a good start before it
froze. Ii is pretty we'll inoculated this
summer. We got about one ton the
first cutting and one-half ton the sec
ond cutting. We just happened to
strike the right kind of weather or
| do not think w 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
nee this summer for hay and we hope
TO get a seed crop from 1t this fall.