Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-03-14
IOWA BUYER RELATES EXPERT
ENcEs DURING PAST SEASON
OF HIGH PRICES.
IDAHO RANCH
WHERE GROWER GREW RICH
ono Man Added $4,000 to Hi. Bank
Account From 800 Acres Of Tubers-
Prediction Made That Potatoes Will
Sell Under 81 Pes Bushel Before
lons-cornsr in Colorado.

near the little town or hurley 20 Dc
exact, there's a man who owns some-
thing like 800 acres of land On these
800 acres last spring he and his help
planted row after row of potato hills.
Then he and his help took it easy for
a few months and waited. The help,
of course. was kept busy every now
and then doing a little cultivating-
such as keeping down the weeds and
doing other little odd jobs which are
preliminary to the harvesting of po-
tato crop.
Potato time came, the crop was
harvested and then the market began
to act in wild manner-to fluctuate
madly in fact. In Idaho, which is one
of the greatest potato raising sections
in the country, the grower doesn't sell
by the bushel. Everything (meaning
potatoes) is sold by the hundred
weight. The 9O0-acre potato ranch"
averaged 208 sacks hundred pounds
each) to the acre. While the market
was acting up and fluctuating. as it
were, the potato rancher'' sat tight
in the boat and waited some more. Up
and up the market went and when the
time came the "spud king unioaded.
He got something like s2,75 to IS for
each sack. AS George AIDE would say,
he unloaded heavy" and then counted
his money, His bank book showed
something like 100000 added to his
account, the revenue coming from this
little 900 acres Of nuggets"
The above account of potato raising
in Idaho and Montana was brought
back to Iowa by G. D. Hager. potato
buyer of Alton. Iowa, who was in
Sioux City Tuesday. Mr. Hager for
merry lived in Sioux City. Tie tells
some more interesting yarns about the
out of reach vegetable.
Says Spuds Will Be Cheap.
Once every three years potatoes
take shoot and go out of sight. This
year the car congestion had much tG
do with the high prices. When sum-
mer comes l predict that potatoes will
go as low as 80 cents or 81 bushel.
was in Idaho for several weeks trying
to buy potatoes. You could buy them,
but there was not much chance for
the small buyer to ship them east
after, he had bought Consequently,
off and allow the big fellows to come
in and get their pick.
1.-The potato situation this year was
serious. People this spring are going
to tear up their front lawns and plant
potatoes. This will result in the 'spuds'
being very cheap next year. Then two
years hence, the citizen, believing the
spuds will remain at low price, will
not plant, and as a result the market
will again advance.
Young farmers went to Idaho a
year ago and went into debt in buying
land They planted mostly potatoes,
and this year they have paid off all in
debtedness, built swell homes and have
good accounts in the bank.
Before I went west to buy potatoes
telegraphed Twin Falls and Helena.
l was quoted potatoes at s1.40 per 100.
bought. When I got out there the
ranchers were holding them from 50
to 1915.
While was in Twin Falls. buyer
from the east, angry at the manner in
which the Idaho growers were holding
out for higher prices, went to Poca-
tello, where the market figures are
made, and inserted several ads in the
local newspapers They read that
certain grower had 500 cars of pota-
toes which he would sell at $165
hundred. The market that day dropped
from 32.75 to s1.70. 1t was sweet re-
venge. Many merchants at Twin Falls
approached me and wanted to unload,
but I had no way to get 'em back to
lowe at the low price. Then, when
some one got wise, the market shot up
again.
Corner in Colorado.
I'm Pocatello, Twin Falls and other
towns, commission men bought all the
potatoes they could get. Then they
dug pits many Of which were half