Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1918-04-03
Michigan Farmers
Are Urged to Sow
Spring Wheat

Spring Wheat
Farmers generally make a practice
of sowing their bean ground to wheat,
but the season and the extremely wet
weather delayed the harvesting of the
bean crop last fall, and, in several in
stances, they could not be harvested
at all, and were not, so large acre
age which would have been sown to
winter wheat under favorable condi-
tions was not planted, and while the
acreage actually sown in Michigan is
larger than usual, it is not sufficient
to produce the additional amount of
wheat Michigan should raise this year
to provide her pproportionate amount
of surplus required.
Stocks iof wheat over the country
as whole are the lightest they have
ever been proportionately. In fact,
supplies are so low that the United
States Food Administration has found
4 it imperative to compel the use of
substitutes, such as corn meal, corn
flour, barley flour, rolled oats, oat-
meal, rice, rice -four, buckwheat flour,
etc., wheat flour, the basis being one
pound of substitute to every pound of
wheat flour.
Under this arrangement it will be
possible to keep small stream of
wheat flour coming into the market
until harvest time, but stocks Will
have been practically wholly exhaust
ed by that time, and a crop failure
/ in America this year, or a material
underproduction, will certainly bring
the people of the United States face
to face with famine conditions.
/ The outlook is serious and it is up
to the American farmers to sow ev-
cry acre possible to spring wheat as
the wheat sown this spring will be
available next fall, while the wheat
sown next fall will not be- available
until year later and we need to pro-
duce this year a crop of at least one
billion bushels Of wheat.
| A large proportion of the wheat re-
quirements of our Allies in the war
must come from America, and their
requirements will be heavy. England,
France, Belgium, Servia, Roumania,
and even Russia are on the black
bread diet. White bread is practical
lily unkonwn, in fact, thousands of
people in Europe have actually star
we'd to death this last year for want
of bread, and every additional bushel
of wheat than can be harvested this
summer means one more life saved.
Every bushel of wheat wasted or fed
to stock means one more life lost
There are in Michigan approximate
ly one hundred and fifty thousand
farms where not enough wheat is pro-
duced to provide the farmers bread,
and, if five acres of spring wheat can
be sown on these farms this spring,
with only an average yield more than
ten million bushels additional wheat
would be produced.
OF course, it is not to be expected
that every one of these hundred and
fifty thousand farmers will SOW FIVE
acres of spring wheat, bat if only half
of them do five million bushels will be
added to the crop.
Inasmuch as the farmer is guaran-
teed a price of at least 1920 per
bushel at basic points for the 1918
crop, the amount of wheat produced
this year will not affect the price. He
is certain to be well repaid for his
efforts and at the same time will be
rendering his country tremendously
important service.
\ Spring wheat is being successfully
grown in certain sections of Monroe,
Alpena, Shiawassee, Charlevoix, and
county farmer produced a splendid
crop of spring wheat last year, Sc
curing a yield of FL bushels to the
acre of ercellent quality.
The Marquis and Blue Ribbon va
rieties of spring wheat are particu-
larly recommended for Michigan, and
early sowing is absolutely essential.
The best time is when the frost has
lgone out of the ground to the extent
of about three or four inches. OF
course, some soils are harder to ham
die than others, SO necessarily some
variation must prevail Farmers
should not wait, however, for spring
blowing to sow spring wheat. If they
will disc the ground well, setting the
disc so as not to leave any ridges, and
sowing broadcast " to 2 bushels of
spring wheat to the acre, depending
upon its terminating test, drag well
and cover with top dressing of about
four loads of barnyard manure to the
acre, they are pretty certain to secure
good yield of nice quality wheat.
Choice Marquis spring wheat can
be obtained and farmers should place
their orders Immediately through
their olcal mill or dealer to insure
quick service.
In times past America has been ex-
ceedingly fortunate in having the
American farmers to depend upon.
They have always lived up to their re-
sponsibilities, and there Is every rea-
son to believe they will do so in this
emergency, and the farmer who sows
spring wheat this spring will not only
be rendering his country tremen-
dously important service but will be
assured Of an excellent price for his
product as well.
The Banner has list of firms who
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