Arizona republican., 1919-10-04
pA|RY INDUSTRY FACES RUIN BY
 BAD FARM POLICY
Cannot Survive Two More Years Like Last Two Is Opinion Voiced at Meet ing - Crop Rotation Is Named as Remedy

Pushed to the wall and doomed to early collapse, the dairy industry of the Salt River valley cannot possibly survive another two years as disas- trous as the past, according to the unanimous opinion of prominent cotton growers and dairymen who met in conference yesterday afternoon at the chamber of commerce. Thirty repre- sentatives of practically every indus try in the valley were present.
 Substitution of crop rotation for the present ruinous one-crop policy is the only hope, it was said.
 How alarming is the dairy situation my be understood readily, when it is known that the number of dairy cows in the valley has slumped sharply from 55,OOO in 1917 to 22,OOO at tae present time
 Fewer Cows Than in 1914
 There are $500 fewer dairy cows in the valley today than in 1914. when business men and leading farmers first launched the movement for in creased milk and butter fat produc- ton. Eight cheese factories in eXis- tence 15 months ago. representing a
 
 milk a day. have ceased to exist
 That the price of whole milk will shortly rise to prohibitive figure un- der present conditions is the frank prediction of W. A. Barr, state dairy commissioner. who declares that even today there is not enough milk and butter in the Salt River valley tc supply the local demand.
 " PhnpDiw bagu'f opouob Y,af1ty to supply our people" he declared las, night.
 At yesterdays meeting at the cham Der of commerce the gravity of the dairying situation was regarded with as deep a concern by big cotton men of the valley as by owners of dairy herds. These freely recognize that tc plant cotton on tract of land year in and year out is short-sighted policy, ruinous in the end
 The Southwest Cotton company. for example, has only 5000 of it's 1S,0OC acres in cotton this year. The rest oi the land has been seeded to other crops. such as alfalfa, maize, corn anc forage crops which will sustain dairy herds.
 Launched Crop Rotation Campaign
 To combat the one-crop idea, an ex. tensive campaign of publicity has beer launched by leaders of the two indus tries. Articles may be expected to ap. pear in the daily and weekly news. papers of the valley for the next si, months, bearing advice and enlighten- ment to the inexperienced. and warn, ing to the avaricious tenant farme who, appropriating the after us tn, deluge' idea. openly declares his in. tention tO skim the cream from tht valleys land and skip to greener field. when the soil is stripped of it's fertility
 Owners of land will be advised {, cooperate in fighting this selfisl policy. The tenant who indicates b, his refusal to plant anything but cot. Pon that he plans to chamber out whei the bottom falls through and Ieav his landlord 10 sustain the financia Jess. will be invited to surrender hi! Slease at an early date.
 J.. F.. Galbraith, emphasizing tn, foregoing at yesterdays meeting, sai, in effect:
 Suggests Uniform Lease Form
 "l believe that the adoption of uniform lease form throughout the val Icy will go far towarl a solution O this most serious of questions. Tht lease should cover a relatively lonl period and should contain specific pro visions for a crop rotation plan tn Keeping of stated number of live stock and the limiting of the acreag which may be planted to any one crou cotton or otherwise"
 MT. Loomis Of Scottsdale well know | merchant and land owner proposed solution of the problem, stating tha [ he has made a careful check of profit made on his dairy ranch at Scottsdalf [ and had found that his herd of 4 ! grade Holsteins have netted him tel { per cent on his investment, estimatin ' his land at $350 an acre and his COW ] at SlOO each. Mir. Loomis whose pla | has the enthusiastic support of W. A Barr. dairy commissioner, proposes f ! cut this herd in half. retaining tn better cows, and to put the other hal Of his acreage in cotton.
 Need Not Depend on One Crop Il Rentals and land values have reache ] an unprecedented figure, according { | Mir. Loomis. but he cites his own ex ' perience as proof that the averag farmer by maintaining a dairy her( need not depend on year of excep | tional plenty with one special crop { secure sufficient return on his invest uAnt.
 Tn the absence of E. w. Hudson, az ricutural advisor of the Southwe. | Cotton company, who was compelle 4 to be present at a meeting of tn A executive committee of the Arizon \