The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1915-12-10
SOME OF THE LEAKS IN
BINGHAM COUNTY FARMING
By l.. c. Aicher, superintendent Alb
erdeen Experiment farm

it very necessary for farmers in this
county, and in fact all southern Ida
no, to produce those products which
will stand a high freight rate and
bring margin of profit to the pro-
Queer. On the other hand a special
lied system of farming is dangerous
proposition for the great majority of
farmers. Much money Is made or
lost in specialized farming and it is
more or less of gamblers game be-
cause of the lack of steady markets.
Diversified farming must be prac-
ticed to insure steady income. This
diversified system of farming includes
livestock, hay and grain for feed,
beets or potatoes or both, and seed
crops such as alfalfa and clovers.
/ Most farmers in Bingham county are
practicing this general system of
| farming with most of the above ac-
| tivities included in their style of
farming. The great problem most of
them have however, is the one of
properly co-ordinating the various &C
tivities that more profit, for labor
expended, be realized. In other words
stopping the leaks.
The two greatest leaks at this time
on irrigated land are caused by grain
farming and improbable cows. Grain
farming as a cash crop is not re-
munerative enough to permit the
farmer to pay out on high priced
land. In addition, plant foods are
continuously being taken away from
the soil with very little if any being
returned. Improbable COWS are caus-
ing considerable loss in income. This
is due to two things, primarily: Lack
of cow testing to eliminate the I'M
profitable ones, and the purchase of
cows at auction sales without pre-
i vious knowledge of the producing
.capacity of the COWS. Several car
loads of cattle, which have been
auctioned off to farmers in this and
other counties of the state, have been
| inferior cattle culled out of dairy
herds of nearby states by the use of
the Babcock test and pair of scales
! In other words, these cattle were
culls from other states, dumped into
this state because the bars are down.
The farmers bought them because
1 they could get them on long time,
apparently disregarding the high mi
tial cost, the very high rate of in
4 terest on these long time loans. and
the ultimate outcome of the venture.
| Unscruplous individuals, with enough
money to buy up this cheap stuff
| brought 1t into the state and sold
| 1t at auction, where the highest of
prices usually prevail This crooked
work is now causing heavy annual
loss to many farming communities of
this state. Several bankers are on
IhAS iloC, WhCIuCl LnlOuSu lSuOTduCS
of COW value or for exploitation is
not known. However the banker
should be the friend of the farmer
and he is in a position to put stop
to such nefarious practices if he but
raised his hand. Many bankers have
already done much to bring better
stock into the state, by hiring COM
petent men to buy good stock in the
east, ship it to Idaho and sell same
to farmers at cost, figuring that in
the long run they would profit there
by.
Cow testing associations are to be
recommended wherever the dairy in
dustry is prominent enough to war
rant it and Bingham county could
well afford to start in this direction.
The lack of economical feeding
Of dairy cattle and the lack of storage
facilities are other sources of leaks
which can and should be prevented.
To many cows are lost due to bloat-
ing on alfalfa pasture and alfalfa
hay. The natural increase of herd
is of much profit to the farmer and
losses of this character are serious.
Grass pasture instead of alfalfa pas
ture, for summer grazing, can easily
be provided. and careful feeding Of
alfalfa hay in the winter will over
come this part of the trouble. 1t is
usually the best cow which Is sub
,ject to bloating, because cows Of
large capacity and of large production
are heavy feeders. They eat so fast
that the gases formed normally in
the stomach cannot pass off in the
natural way. The method Of control
for this trouble is to feed smaller
amounts and feed oftener. The best
feeders will provide stalls to that in
dividual feeding of cows, according
to the needs of each COW, may be
practiced. 1t is not good and safe
practice to allow these cows to feed
at rack in a lot where hay in large