Clearwater Republican. [volume] (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922, 1920-11-26
Advise DiverSi-
fled Farming
AGRlCULTURALIST SAYS WHEAT
FARMING ON SNAIL SCALE
IS NOT PROFITABLE HERE

The recent decline in the price of
wheat is causing the farmers in the
Clearwater country to consider more
seriously the matter of diversified
farming as a means of making farm
ing more profitable During the
past three years when wheat sold
for good prices and livestock be-
cause of low prices paid for fat
stock and the eXhorbitant prices
paid for feed, was not profitable.
the farming operations developed en-
tirely into wheat farming propo-
sition. Now that the price of wheat
like all other farm Produce is COM
ing back to normal or pre-war basis,
the farmer is wondering what to do
and how to plan his future opera
tions
Just what the price of wheat will
be in the next few years is, at this
time, more or less guess with the
best informed, but IL is to be ex-
pected that the price of wheat will
be somewhere near what it was be-
fore the war. 1t is hoped that i'm
proved marketing systems will ena-
Bile the farmer to get better prices
for his wheat, but the question is,
will the farmer be able to raise
wheat profitably on small farms con
sidering the present value of his
land.
In my opinion there never was
time when the greatest profits on
farms from 100 to 12U acres in size
were derived by straight wheat farm
ing and with the present value OF
land wheat farming will be still
more difficult and diversified farm
ing more profitable Diversified
farming does not mean that the
farmer will quit raising wheat en-
urely, it simply means that he will
cut down the acreage Of wheat and
increase the acreage Of other crops,
SO that he will be in position to
Keep more livestock, 90 more of the
work on the farm himself; grow
prohtable crops on his summer fall
low land and increase the fertility
and productiveness of the land.
There are hundreds or farms
along the Clearwater river that
would produce twice as much as
they are producing if the owner
would build a silo, grow an ensilage
crop to fiji it and keep eight or ten
good dairy cows, few hogs and a
good flock of chickens. in this way
doing practically all the work them
serves. There can be no question
mat If Clearwater county had Ave
hundred silos and four or FIVE thous
and head Of dairy cattle. instead OF
having. as the records show. twenty
one silos and less than seven hun
~ lut
would be considerably more wealth
produced than is being produced on
.he small farms by the present sys-
tenn OF farming. II is true that
clearwater county is not natural
uairy country, but 1t has been prov
en- that by making use Of silos and
ensilage dairy farming IL profitable.
! have yet to flnd farmer In the
clearwater country who has stayed
win dairy cattle and hogs who IL
not making some money. not big
money. but they are making 1t con-
s'antiy. which after all IL the SUR
es' way Of getting ahead.
;, According to the assessors report
,he average sized farm In Clearwat-
vi county In only 90 acres which
would indicate that the great ma
lority Of the farms In this county
are best suited for diversified farm
On the larger farms of the Prairie
! believe farmers will And It proht-
anle to grow peas on their summer
.aliow land and hog them OF or
mfesh and feed to hogs and keep
,he straw for feed. This practice
mas already proven profitable In La
,ah county and other northern Ida
no and Eastern Washington counties
where farmers have been growing
peas for the past Ave years. Farm
ers In the Moscow country
nave demonstrated that they can
grow peas on Summer fallow land.
ulsc 1t up after the peas come on
sl1 sna get as big n yield Of wheat the
'o'iowing year and sometimes larg-