The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1919-07-15
RAISING CATTLE PR0F|TABLY
ON A PAL0USE WHEAT FIELD

Solving the problem of raising cat
tie and grain on the same farm and
making each yield a profit, is the
task that Samuel H. Breeze, of near
Pullman, set himself several years
ago.
He has solved the problem.
: He has won the reputation of being
one of the best wheat farmers in
Whitman county, Wash, and has
added fine herd of high grade cat
tie to his livestock on the farm Mr.
Breeze began several years ago trying
to solve this problem. He bought
steers and fed them on his farm He
would buy steers in the fall, feed them
hay and straw until spring and then
pasture them on his fall sown wheat.
He summer fallowed his ground we'll,
planted the wheat early and pastured
it in March, April or May, depending
upon its growth and the condition of
the soil, and then put them on the
market.
"But found it becoming more and
more difficult to buy steers" said
Mr.. Breeze. MANY people wanted to
buy and / saw that some one must
produce. Then came the question of
summer pasture. How to carry cattle
over 40 to 60 days in the summer after
4 spring pasture and summer fallow
pasture were gone until harvest, when
they could be turned into the stubble
fields, was the question that | under
took to solve.
Il had an average farm. If you
Will take the PalOuse country over
VII Nd tkn4 ol
average of low land to each 100 acres.
The country is hilly and there are wet,
low lying lands between these hills.
happened to have considerable
body of this low land in one place. or
so it could all be joined and [ planted
1T to grass. I have tried timothy. al
falfa, clover and blue grass. I find
they all do well on the low flat lands
that did not produce good wheat be-
cause of being too wet. I had noticed
thet some of this land did not yield
more that 10 bushels of wheat per
acre during some seasons and that cut
down the average yield of my farm.
so decided to raise hay and grass on
these low lands where they do better
than on the higher ground, and raise
wheat on the high ground that pro-
duces better wheat. In this way I in
creased the yield per acre of nv
wheat because had no wet places to !
cut down the average, and | raised
more hay because | had hay growing
on the best hay land, and after the I
nay was cut | had green pasture as a
mixed ration for the stubble and straw
to which l turned the cattle.
l had noticed that squirrels and
weeds always start next to the fence.
had to have fences between the grain
and the pasture and hay lands along
the draws and low places We cannot,
get close to the fence with a binder
or other harvest machinery and in
cutting out "backswath" around the
field the horses always trample and
waste lot of grain. We usually
cut this for hay before it is ripe
enough for grain. hit upon the
plan of sowin a strip 20 feet wide,
(four mower and two rake widths)
around each field next to the fence
to grass. use timothy and clover
for the lowest, wettest lands and al
falfa and blue grass for the higher
lands. The squirrels burrow in this
and we know where to find them and
it is easy to trap them there When
we are trapping squirrels and looking
after our traps we have chance to
find the weeds and destroy them.
Most weeds, including China lettuce,
Jim Hill, cockel and other weeds can
be destroyed and prevented from ii
going to seed by cutting the grass
which is ready to cut before the
wheat is ripe and the weeds have gone
to seed. We destroy them the first
time the hay is cut
"These strips yield large amount
Of hay, if the field is in grain and ,,
fine lot of pasture if the field is snm-
mer fallow. If it is in grain the s
green that comes up next to the fence s
after the first cutting, making splen-
lid pasture for stock and they do we'll
and are always in thrifty condition.
notice that no matter how much
green feed there is in field the t
cattle will eat some straw if there is /,
straw stack handy and | always
nave straw stacked so the cattle can
each it,"
Mr.. Breeze had been asked to write $
! description of his place and his =
'arming methods for he is known as :
me of the most successful farmers in
he famous Palouse country, but he 8
lesitated to do this Recently the T
writer spent Sunday at Mr. BreeZe'S \
arm and walked over the entire farm !.
# 740 acres and will say, without {
lesitation, it is the best kept farm
e has seen in years. No rose bushes t.
row in wild profusion along his
ences and there are no rank growths
f weeds to be found there or else s.
yhere on his land 1t is as clean sas o
new pin" but everywhere there is f
omething green. He has 100 acres of Z
rass, including 70 acres of bluegrass
l three separate pastures; 20 acres
alfalfa, most of which was cut and el
! the shock when the writer visited NJ
ne place and 40 acres of timothy and :,
over, the prettiest and best the .
ritter has seen in the west. Mr.. IL
reeze estimated some of it would W
ield four tons to the acre and that
will average three tons.
He has 40 head of high grade breed