Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-08-11
FOR SANDY FARMS
Definite Direction for Rebuilding
Sandy Land Farms-sOy Beans or
COwpeas Furnish Practical Feunda-
tiOn for Building Up Soil in Indiana,
Michigan and Ohio.

A definite plan for building I'D the
sandy-Iand farm of northern Indiana,
southern Michigan, or northwestern
Ohio is outlined in Farmers Bulletin
No. 716 just issued by the Depart
ment. The Department specialists
have found a way by which the sandy
land farms of that section can be built
up, at the same time returning a pro-
mt. The remedy proposed for. exist
ing difficulties may be summarized
very briefly:
Grow soy beans or cowpeas--frst
for seed and later to feed 1--we stock"
The production of one or the other
of these legunes for seed is offered as
the first stage in development that
ultimately leads to profitable general
farming. The sale of seeds from one
of these crops serves to finance the
farm development while the founda-
ton of soil improvement is laid by the
legume crop itself.
"Soy beans and cowpeas,' says the
bulletin, "are profitable cash crops on
the poorest of these sandy lands, the
yields ranging from to 20 bushels
per acre, and the. present range of
prices being from $1.50 to $500 per
bushel. Aside from being a source of
immediate income, the crops furnish
the most practical foundation for
building up the SOIL"
Briefly, this is the system of farm
ing proposed:
First stage-Continuou cropping
with soy beans or eowpeas. One of
these crops is grown. for seed on the
for rSad- FOR
growing necessary hay and corn. A
catch-crop of rye is used between crops
of soy beans or cowpeas and ploWed
under in the Spring before the new
crop is planted. This program may
sometimes be modified with profits by
following two-year rotation of corn,
soy beans, eowpeas. In this event a
catch-crop of rye and vetch is sown
in the standing corn, OF rye after the
corn is out. After a year or two as
the condition of the soil begins to i'm
. prove, ground limestone is applied to
| at least one of the fields in order to
prepare the way for clover.
Second stage-After the first stage
has been passed and clover can be
. grown with reasonable certainty, the
system may be gradually changed to q
:. four-year rotation as follows:
r First year, Corn
Second year, soy beans or cowpeas
6 Third year, rye.
Fourth year, clover.
This rotation presupposes that 2 OF
tons ofground limestone or mari pei
!, acre has been applied to at least one
field of the farm, and that new felG
will be thus treated each year before
, an attempt is made to seed it to clover
> The catch-crop of rye or rye and vetcl
!, is sown each year in the corn as be
fore. This is transition stage il
: which. live stock is being introduced a
n rapidly as fences can be purchased ant
: built, and as the farm can be made t,
z produce the necessary feed and pas
e ture.
n From this point the way is open il
several directions for the free develop
J; ment of general farming through ;
J; gradual shift from the cash-crop to
livestock basis, or a proper balanc
IS of both. In some sections of the sand,
I. land country the system outlined ha
n been found to serve as foundation
D, for developing profitable hog-raisinl
n enterprise, while in other sections
IS where markets are convenient, it lead
L more logically to the development o
N dairying.