Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1917-06-07
FEED CONSERVATION.

Editor Enterprise:
Coincident with the little article |
wrote for the Enterprise last week,
Mr.. Frank N. Northrop wrote on
the same subject for the Independ :
emit HERE is a short quotation from
his letter:"It seems very clear that
the need is for more iced more
economically fed, and more ELL
cient use Of all animal foods.''I think
that is a good statement of the
oaes, especially for this locality. We
have especially good facilities for
the production of food essentials but
th one sure bet is on animal food.
We can produce a variety of AMI
NAL foods that can't be beat. Let's
! give less attention to perlshable
stuff and more to staple products.
Some have taken exception to my
statement that grass is the most
important crop we can grow, but
in view of the many products that
depend on the grass crop it seems
to me any man who will give his
gray natter a chance will have
to agree with me. The butter and
milk and cheese and meat that we
cat and the wool and leather we
wear are the products of grass.
Grass is cur best and surest pro-
duction. We are favored With soil,
climate and water. We need to give
the subject a little more study and
bring little more skill into the
business. | believe We can increase
our grass production 80 per cent
without increasing our acreage. Most
of our meadows need renewing. Crop
rotation" is as essential in grass
production as in any other crop. But
if you plow up your meadow and
raise corn, you don't want to leave
half your crop (the stalks) to go to
waste in the field. Get silo and
save it all. An acre OF corn properly
preserved in silo is worth about
twice what the husked corn would be
worth ] am sure a good silo will
pay a dividend on any farm in the
community if it is given a fair
chance. The road to thrift is by
way of economy, and the silo is the
food economiser. l am advocating
the use of our resources and enaTe
gies in the production Of the crops
to which our conditions are best
adapted, and then the economical
conservation of the same. We are
surrounded by great stretch of
grassy hills, capable of grazing a
large number of cattle, sheep and
horses. Our prosperity depends
good deal on these acres of grazing
land. We ought to strive TO pro-
mote the use. and prevent the abuse
!of these lands. | shall have more.
to say about these lands in some
future communication; just now
am trying to arouse greater interest
in the production and conservation
of animal food on the farms.
We have been swept into the
whirlpool of the most terrified and
cruel war OF all time. No use to
lament our condition now. We shoul
have been better prepared, but our
peace loving citizens thought we
would not have war unless we pre-
pared for it; and so here we are.
Every body realizes now, the nee
essity of speeding up, but it don't
necessarily follow that we are ac-
complishing much because we are
sweating. We will never win this war
by waving the flag and Dragging
about what our fore-fathers did. We
must get into the game and fish
or cut bait, fight or feed the fight
ers The world is furnishing for
fat. We can produce the feed that
lays on the fat We will soon be
mobilizing war munitions with the
hay rake. Big hay stacks will soon
dot the landscape around Payette.
They will play an important part
in the prosecution of the war, not
by bleaching in the sun, but by use.