The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1919-12-06
WHEAT ACREAGE
IN COUNTY CUT
BY HEAVY RAIN
Weather Conditions Prevent Many
Farmers from Preparing Ground
for Seeding; 22,5oo Acres This
Year; 10000 Last.
ScME. OF LATE WHEAT
rs JUST COMING UP
Not Great Deal Ready for Pastures;
Part Of 1919 Crop Still In Shock;
Straw Stacks Good for Wind
Break and Feed.

Grady countys wheat acreage
planted this year is small, being only
about 22,5OO acres, according to j.
w. Owens, county farm agent. Last
years acreage was approximately
10000 acres, he says.
Weather conditions, Agent Owens
says. at plowing time were such
that the farmer could not break his
land; when rain fell it came in such
large quantities that the farmer was
unable to get into the field to PIE
pare for seeding. This condition
alone, according to Mr.. Owens, has
regulated the wheat acreage for this
county, and as a result the acreage
is small. TIE condition of the crop
is poor, lie says.
Much OF the late wheat is just com
ing up and the pasturable acreage
is small, due to the condition of the
crop, the farm agent asserts. La It
year at this time, thou sands of acres
planted in wheat were being used fer
pasture. Speaking of the countys
wheat crop, Mr. Owens said
Wheat Lost in Shock
"A singular condition exist rarely
seen anywhere That is we still
have considerable wheat in L stack,
unthreshed Not a great deal, how
ever, but it has damaged more or
less according TO the way it was
tackled in the fall. Con derable
wheat WIS lost in the shock, esre-
clally is this true of acreage where
thresAers had never gone before.
81 mean there were a great many
farmers who planted wheat last fal
in the outlying districts of the coun-
ty and no threshers were provided
for hese districts Consequently
the excessive rains caused the wheat
to sprout and rot the grain while in
lhe shock
$50 far we have had no damaging
freezes to affect the present cror
and every warm day only adds to the
growth of the crop. The only dam
aging effect the rains have on wheat
is possibly to prevent pasturing.
Il would like to impress upon the
farmers that great deal of feed
value is in every straw stack, and if
they have not sufficient rough feed
for their stock, nothing more eco
nOmical can be found than good
straw stack Open up the south side
of the stack so that the stock will
nett make a mistake in opening up
the wrong place By this assistance
considerable shelter and protection
can be had and it will not be neces
sary to drive the horses and cows to
the barn for shelter during bad
we1ther There is bound to be a
short wheat crop in ly2O. Every
wheat growing section OF the west
has a reduced acreage, brought about
by the same conditions we had here
in Grady county OF course this will
bring about higher priced wheat j.
the government does not continue its
regulation of the price.
What | would try to impre IS upon
the man who has a good prospect fcr
4 wheat crop is this: Take care that
you do not damage lit by pasturing
in wet, buggy weather, and do not
pasture too heavily where there is
net a good sod. If you do there will
be some bare places next spring and
this will lessen your acre production
more than anything else"