Cut Bank pioneer press. [volume] (Cut Bank, Mont.) 1909-current, 1917-02-09
TO BE
POTATO COUNTRY
EXPERT SEES BIG FUTURE
WITH STANDARDIZATION
OF PRODUCT.
r.. w. Clark of State Agricultural
College Cites Example of Carbon
dale, Colo, Where Acre Yield Is
About Same as in Gallatin Valley;
Average Price Obtained 75c 100,

Through organization of. effort
and standardization Of product,
Montana can be made one of the best
known potato districts in the United
States, in the opinion of R. w. Clark
of the state agricultural college.
Carbonate, Colo, is located
about $50 miles west Of Denver" he
writes. at is a famous potato Sec
ton and buyers ONE from all vel
the United States. The grower never
has difficulty in selling his crop and
he usually receives Is cents a hun
dred above the market price. Buy
ers took to Carbonate because they
can get all they want of a standard
variety. When the farmers in this
section began raising potatoes they
raised too few of them. raised too
many different varieties and did not
standardize them. Now they raise
potatoes by hundreds of carloads, not
more than three varieties and stan
dardize them by cull1ng out the poor
er mes and selling only the best.
"Many buyers come and look t
the potatoes while they are growing
and they buy them when they are
dug.
huSSeG BURBANK ROpulaf.
For variety the Russet Burbank
leads although there are many of the
Red Mcclure and Peoples raised. The
growers are giving lots of study tc
the potato and plant only on alfalfa
sod and raise two crops in sue
cession on the same land. These two
principles are considered fundament
al and are never to be violated.
about 1000 pounds of seed is uset
to the acre aud many of the grow
ers prefer to cut it by hand or t.
plant medium sized uncut seed. Thu
planter seems to be used the most al
the growers think it them
good stand. The Brown digger i
preferred by many growers as
seems to handle wet vines the best
zone strange thing is that Their
are no potato bugs In the Carbondal
district.
Every farmer raises potatoes il
this section and swears by them. TIL
interesting thing to me is that thi
part of the country is very simila
to Gallatin valley and the weathe
conditions are identical. The sum
mer nights are cool, the summer sea
o is rather short and the fall wes
Their is about the same as in the Ga
latin.
: Every farmer raises some pots
toes, not less than a carload, and
: not considered a grower unless /
e does.
! Production Costs.
s "It costs about AS cents a hundre
to grow potatoes and the averat
selling price is about rs cents a hui
= dred. In 1916 the price reache
v $3.50 per hundred. The acrea,
y to the farm or grower ranges fro,
. five acres to 1000 acres, the averat
being 40 to $50 acres. The averas
!: yield is about 800 bushels, presur
ably the same as in the Gallatin.
9 D. Sweet had 80 acres last year TIL
u yielded over 500 bushels to the &C
and he is now selling them at $2.t
4 a hundred. He has one cellar\th
is 100 feet long, 40 feet wide al
8 to 10 feet deep. Its capacity
Is carloads. Every grower has
big cellar or two. This write-up
lie potato growing in the Carbonda
I, district may be unbelievable to son
readers, but that is not stran
because We find a few of them rig
. in the Carbonate country"