American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1917-07-06
RAISING SEED FOR rnE DRY FARM

with the prices Of our farm pro
ducts higher than they have ever
been and still soaring. We ind seed
stocks pretty we'll exhausted and se-
lected grain for planting almost inn
possible TO obtain at any price. Any
one can see that these conditions viii
last. for the same c-ontributOry causes
must exist for a Ong period. If the
war were 10 stop tomorrow il would
still be years before the belligerent
countries could be fully restOcked with
edibles. and the re-establishment of
antebellum agricultural conditions in
The enormous area involved would re-
Quire even longer.
We can therefore look forward to
high prices for a number OF years,
and IL Is a question as TO whether
they will ever return to what we have
come TO consider as normal.
The price of seed Is always from
so TO 100 per cent higher than the
market price OF the product itself aud
considering that more than rs per cent
and sometimes the whole crop may
bee sold az these figures. It is obvious
hat big profits are awaiting the seed
farmer.
We have always stood for the idea
that the farmer should raise his wi
seed Today we have no h~esitancy in
saying that he should not only do this,
but should take advantage of the time
which has provided a rising market
md raise every pound he can to sup
ply the public demand at premium
prices.
The Psychological Moment.
Right now Ia the psychological mo-
ment To start a business of this kind
and the future will take care Of itself.
Tor il IS becoming more and more rec
ognized that adaptation. and acclima-
tl1ation are big factors in evolution
and that seed which has been Injured
TO drouthy conditions for a number of
generations is the only kind safe to
plant in the semi-arid regions. And il
is not only dry farmers who are anx-
ious to secure these seeds. Among
the i~rrigating farmers are many who
have limited water facilities and who
are discovering that by making use Of
dry farming methods and dry raised
seeds. they require less water per
acre. and In some cases can. for this
reason. double their crop area.
In considering the possibilities OF
different crOps. Sudan grass at 40 To
so cents a pound seems the most al
turing.
Il is only In the warm plains
try. In the milo and kahr regions. that
this seed can be raised but there Is
plenty OF room there yet Al a con
s|ervative estimate a crop OF Sudan
grass which will produce three to four
tons OF fodder per acre. II allowed to
mature. will produce from 1000 TO
, 1900 pounds OF seed In the right soil
and climate. which would fetch at
present prices about $500. Can you
, beat IT,
The work Is easy. the labor expenses
, no heavier thar those OF a crop OF
corn. and It is not difficult to harvest.
for il can be cut with a binder and
b. threshed with an ordinary thresher.
b Shortage OF Seed Corn.
Unlike Sudan grass. seed corn can
, be raised almost anywhere In the dry
! farming country and the demand for
the best drouth resistant varieties has
never been fully met Every year
b there Is a shortage at planting time.
p and the lucky farmer who has saved
some. can obtain almost any price he
2 has a mind to ask for Il. In some OF
; our deep blowing communities a 30
I TO so bushel crop per acre Is becoming
4 a common occurrence ever at high al
tltudes.
p Just a boy. up at Calhan. $500 feet
above sea level. raised last year as
o. bushels on an acre. Anyone can do
p Il. Deep and thorough tillage and a
little humus In the soil with thin
planting are all that Is necessary The
D man who raises a 10 or IS hushel crop
can. by using another horse on the
pillow. just as easily raise a 40 bushel
crop. which at five or six cents a pound
p would bring him In about 5000 an
. acre. which Is ten times as much as
E we used TO be satisfied with but all
% signs point 20 the fact that the banner
4 days Of dry farming are here now
People are beginning to discover how
easy Il Is TO raise crops on our cheap