Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1915-01-07
Improvement and Profitable Farming
In the County Of Codington, South Dakota
by Joseph g. Hutton, Assistant Agronomisg Experiment Station, BroOhngs)

This also means, apparently, ina That the yield of corn ia Cooling
ton county might have been increased 81 per cent forthe yeaT
for corn is South Dakota, November !, 1914, was Soc PEI
Ibushel. This means then that the increase Id the corn yield
for 1914 is equivalent I'd $5S6spe acre, whereas the value Of
the crop on the untreated land was only $10s22 per acre.
Five hundred pounds of rock phosphate. was applied pei
acre and this contained phosphorus enoughto grow 437 bush
els of corn if the stalks are returned To the soil. THERE'S,
thus, in the soil as the result of the treatment phosphorus
enough to grow more than sixteen such crops as We're grown
this year. The history of the application Of rock phosphate
to soils shows that larger increases may be expected after the
first year. When the fact is taken into consideration that
after sixteen years the soil will be ii as good condition as II
|phorus is concerned, it may be seen that thoughrock phosphate
seemed to give a loss, it is IN the long run a money maker.
be laid down il Waterfowl fr $l6Oo Der ton "a carload lots,
whereas the cost of acid phosphate is figured on the basis IF
$3.50 per ton, the cost TO the farmers in small lots. At the
carload rate the cost of the application Of acid phosphate is
SLIGO for acid phosphate with manure and $1.20 per acre for
acid phosphate alone.
In the two hundred pounds Of acid phosphate applied
there was Isl pounds Of phosphorus. This is enough phos-
phoruss to grow 80 bushels of corn If the stalks are returned
|tofthe soil. Therefore, there Yet remains in the soil from this
treatment enough phosphorus to produce 665 bushels of corn.
In the form of acid phosphate one dollar will purchase
phosphorus enough to produce $40 bushels of corn while iii
the form Of rock phosphate one dollar will purchase phos-
|phorus enough to produce 100 bushels of corn. Rock phos-
Ephate is the cheapest form III which to purchase phosphorus.
During the year 1915 wheat will be sown on these trial
fields without further treatment. Glover will also be seeded
with the wheat for a hay crop IN 1916. The results from
these fields during the next two years will mean much to the
faTnersSo ct Codington county. OF course, only one years re-
suits. are at hand and they must be taken for what they are
worth, remembering that they were obtained under ordinary
farm conditions by practical farmers.
These investigations indicate two things, namely: that
organic matter is needed in Codington county soils and, sec
ond, that the element phosphorus. is also needed d Codington
soils. Perhaps it could notsbe said that these two substances
are needed IN all of the Codington county soils, ais it is not
known whether or not all soils Of CodiDgtonA county are like
those on the farms carrying on this Investigation, but IS the
farmers OF Codington county could have their soils compared
with the soils on these farms, the knowledge would be q val
liable asset In their farming.
IS the state Of South Dakotahad made soil and crop sur
|veyso of the state, this information would be iii the hands OF the
farmer in Codington county and all the other counties iii the
state Of South Dakota, the farmers would know what soil
treatment was best adapted to their particular type Of soil
to their soil and climatic conditions. IL should not be neces-
Ifsary for individual farmersSt to go to the expense of putting
Lon these tests on their land -.