Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1920-01-23

URING the past two years the methoos
of production and conservation EN-
ployed by the farmers of this country
have advanced 90 years of peace times
1 - Prior to 1914, and even up TO the dec
- laration of by the United States.
I there were farmers in every communi-
ty who were not interested in county
agents. farmers institutes the agri-
cultural colleges or the United States department
of agriculture. But when war was declared anu
Uncle Sam asked the farmers to grow more food
stufs of every kind, those who had before assumed
attitude of Indifference responded to the CALL
Throughout the nation these farmers with spirit
of patriotism and additional nducement OF falr
prices and assurance of reasonable compensa-
tion for their expenditures, called upon the fed
eral department and other agencies that could
give them information. The attitude as well as
the spirit of the farmers changed from peace-time
to wartime farming
Improved methods and practices adopted and
being applied have come to stay. In future
farming methods there should be little question as
TO the practice of the who has treated his oats
for smut and has increased his yield the man who
has applied fertilizer to his wheat and has In
creased his crops five to ten bushels an acre; the
man who has sought information the feeding of
cattle and has found that by adding protein to the
ration he can produce pound of beef with nine
pounds of corn where the old ration required ID
pounds of grain3 the man who was encouraged to
build a SilO through which he is able to feed
carload of cattle with the crops from 16 acres OF
land when before it required 26 acres Men who
have learned these lessons, have seen the result
and have proited by them. are not going back to
oId-time methods. Farmers are reaching out in
broader way for additional aid.
Last fall farmers planted 100000 acres of
wheat and while the early prospective yield was
reduced to some extent by reason of adverse
weather and insect enemies, crop of approx
mately billion bushels is the result This huge
;c +bo n he o
farming that were employed in the fall of 1913.
There were more tons of fertilizer applied to this
wheat than during any previous year. There was
more early blowing There was better cultivation
There was better selection of varieties and better
treatment of the seed. There more top-dress-
ing of the crop with straw and manure than ever
was known in any other year. Part of the crop
was due to favorable weather in some localities,
some just to plain luck, but the big results
achieved in the wheat fields all over the country
was due to the improved methods employed by
farmers.
There is large and sufficient evidence to show
that agriculture has made rapid, sure, and sub
stantal advance If that is true, then agriculture
will not readily revert.
AT no time has the farmer been called upon to
give greater attention to the business side of his
operations In this day of high-priced land, labor
seed fertilizer machinery, and other materials
and equipment, careful attention must be given to
economical production. Industrial plants have
found it necessary to introduce the cost-accounting
system in order that the cost of each part manu-
featured may be determined. In the same way
farmers must conduct their business and know
more definitely the desirable and profitable lines OF
production.
Not every farmer has it within his power to IN
crease his acreage, but he can very materially IN
crease his income by judiciously increasing the
size of his business. There is one way OF doing
this that seems to be open to farmers In prac-
ticaIy all parts of the country. The simplest ana
surest way for the and-locked farmer to make
more money is 20 produce more and better I'VE
stock There is but limited opportunity for e1-
ansion in the production of the intensively grown
crops but there is great opportunity for expansion