Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1919-07-11
HIGH LAND VALUES
MEAN NEW METHODS
Must Adopt Improved Methods to
Make Farming Pay Says Dean II.
G. johnson Before Wheat
Convention

a wheat crop once in two years, leav-
ing the land in uncropped fallow the
alternate year, are reasons why
wheat farmers now are confronted
by the immediate necessity of adapt
ing their methods to new conditions,
said Dean Edward C. Johnson, Tues
day, when speaking to the summer
session of the wheat convention on
"A Permanent System of Agricui-
ture for the Wheat Belt" He said.
in part:
Wheat probably always will be
the leading cash crop of the Inland
Empire. The problem of the farm
er, therefore, is how to make wheat
growing a permanently profitable
business This will mean continued
work by experiment stations in de-
veloping, maintaining and distribut-
ing varieties of high standard and
the use of the best varieties by the
wheat growers. together with coz
stantly improved practices in tillage
and farm management And it
means more To be a successful
wheat grower in the future man
viii need to know also, how to grow
such crops as clover. peas and alfal-
ia. These, even if less profitable
than wheat in any given year, add
&c the soil and humus and the nitro
gen in which soils continually
cropped to wheat sooner or later be-
come deficient
Immediately on growing these
crops the wheat farmer is faced with
TIE problems of making use of them
to the best advantage; and thus he is
LED into the handling and maintain
ing of live stock. Mastering the de-
tails of the live stock business. no
soon finds that live stock not only
helps him to market these new crops
to advantage, but also, make profit
able use of the volunteer and weeds
in his fallow, the grass in the swales
and along the fence rows and the
straw from the wheat fields In
other words the live stock on his
wheat farm help him to market the
byproducts of wheat farming: and j,
be made a source of profit. just as
is the wheat"
Dean Johnson explained why the
maintaining of IN adequate supply
o. heterogeneous fertilizer is vital to
the permanence of successful wheat
growing.
Our experiment station here is
working to learn how rapidly the nj
trogen and humus supply of the soil
IS used up by the straight wheat
farming alternating with summer
fallow. We know, now. that land
farmed' to wheat alternately with
summer fallow for the the last 80
years has lost 23.1 per cent of the
nitrogen available in the surface two
feet of soil
II hear someone say that If it
has taken 80 years to remove 23 per
cent OF the nitrogen. il will take 100
more years to remove the other sc
per cent. ] won't be here then and
why should | worry?'
This point of view overlooks
very vital fact. The first 20 to -
per cent of the nitrogen in the soil
can be removed with little difficulty.
The next 20 per cent is removed with
increased difficulty meaning CON
stantly decreasing yields of wheat.
No variety of wheat now known
could possibly remove from the soil
the remaining so per cent of nitro
gen. The soil itself has far greater
attraction for this nitrogen than any
plants attempting to grow in the soil.
The nitrogen supply must. there.
fore, be replenished and maintained
al fairly high level if crops are ia
produced at a profit Just how this
is to be done is one OF the outstand-
ing problems in our wheat regions
and the Washington experiment sta
ton"
Summarizing the wheat studies
now being carried on by the expert
ment station, Dean Johnson said
that 70 varieties were under test at
Pullman, and. including the varieties
being studied at the branch stations
at Lind and Waterville, there are
1GO. At these stations. selection and
breeding from the varieties are being
done in an endeavor to secure Hight
Yielding, smut-resistant wheat Sev-
eral hybrid" wheats of superior
producing and milling qualities have
been produced and are widely grown
today in the Pacific Northwest. sey-
H. II a..