The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-09-17
UTAHN'S SUCCESS in
ABERDEEN COUNTRY
JAMES G. DaU5tFtFFIN
Snake River Valley the Best in the
World, He Says u Farmer Must
Live up to His Opportunities.

Snake River Valley the Best in the
| World, He Says Palmer Must
Live up to His Opportunities.
James G. Duffin came from Salt
Lake last year and after looking over
the country made some Investments
in farms and is improving them. MIR.
Duffin has engaged extensively In
dry farm work in Utah and has also
engaged in buying and shipping
fresh fruits on large scale. Mr..
Duffin pronounces the Snake river
| valley the biggest and richest belt
of irrigated land in the United States
and says that if Utah had such a
| giant in agriculture its ambitions
would be complete. He says the big
men OF the intermountain country
are all convinced that the Snake
river valley, in Idaho, is the coming
country for the young man with
pluck or capital, or both Mr.. Duff1n
states that he has dealt in real
estate In several Of the intermoun-
tain states and considers the oppor-
tunity for investment in the Snake
river valley something unusually
good. "The price of land" he said,
is fixed by the amount of produce
which the farmer can produce on it
and the methods of the average
farmer on our big farms in the Alb
erdeen country are not the very best.
As the methods improve the farms
will produce more and the price of
land. will go UP, because it pays in
lterest on the larger investments or
the larger price.
| at is not question of what will
grow IN the Aberdeen country, but
| a question of what crops can be
grown the most successfully and the
most profitably. Agriculture is run
ming to specialties now days as never
before and one of those specialties
- raising SID for the big seed
houses to sell to the people all over
the whole country. 1t has been
found that nearly all kinds of seed
grow best in the intermountain
country, with moderately high alti-
tude, a great amount of bright sun
shine, dry air and cool nights. For
these and several other reasons the
Snake river valley can and probably
will be made the greatest source of
seed supply in the United States.
And by this is meant not only alfal-
ia and clover seeds, but peas, onions
and a great variety of garden seeds.
These industries, when carefully
handled, produce small fortunes
from the farms each year, and If the
industry is properly pushed in this
valley the farms will be subdivided
more and more as time goes on and
land values will keep raising to COR
respond with the profits made from
them. Much might be said of the
natural advantages for fruit growing
in the Snake river valley, but with
my extended observation Of the prof
it, as compared with the risks ac-
companying that industry l recon-
mend people to let fruit growing en-
tirely alone as commercial indus
try, but to raise all they need for
home consumption. There are other
things that are more profitable, and
involve less risk, than the fruit
growing, and they are so perfectly
adapted to this valley that people
should give their attention to them.
The best farmers in the Aberdeen
country are proving what can be
done and what the soil is capable of I
producing. The average farmer is
not living up to his opportunities at
all, and after years Of poor farming |
then comes to realize what he has
lost by his poor methods. When /
came to the Aberdeen country
studied the soil for sometime and
was at first doubtful about the light
chalky soil being very good. had
seen so much soil in other states
hat had the same appearance in the
lower stratas, and which was not
'ich in plant food, that I was afraid
If this. But any student of the soil
IAN go out along the ditch and canal
banks, where the dykes have been
quilt up from rather deep borrow
bits, and he will find that wherever
here is moisture there is something
regardless of how deep the
oil came from, and the growth Is
Llways luxuriant. What we need
most, or probably more than any
hing else, is a campaign of educa-
ion to teach the farmers how to
arm. They should pillow deeper and
hould prepare the soil for seed beds
,etter than. they are doing. They
hould all keep in mind that seed
ed well prepared is a crop half
,rown, and this Is especially true
f dry farming. Dry farmers do
nost of their blowing here at the
yrong time in the year to secure the
est results. Flowing for all SOW
ngs of wheat should be done one
ear in advance of the time for SOW
ng the crop. Ground that is plowed
a the fall should be left loose all
inter and be narrowed and worked
he following spring and summer to
etain the moisture and kill the
reeds and the wheat ought to be
rilled in late in the summer or
arly fall-then it will have good
upply of moisture which is neces-
ary to sprout it. 1t will then enter