Imperial Valley press., 1922-08-23
BANKER SEES NEED
OF ENCOURAGING
DAIRYMEN

According to +. B. Fuller, manager
of Imperial valley branches of the
Southern Trust & Commerce bank,
there is lack Of interest in dairying ou
the part Of number of people, who
are unaware of the important place it
has always held and will continue to
hold in the industries of this commun-
ity.
every COW that leaves this valley, y
Mr.. Fuller says, "unless sold as beef,
or scrub, is q distinct loss, not only to
the dairyman who sells it, but to the
entire community, for the quality of
herds is thereby reduced until eventu-
ally. there will be nothing but scrubs
left.
Gone of the most urgent needs of the
dairyman mt the present time, is more
land planted to alfalfa. Too many
ranchers are being led away from one
Of the steadest and best paying crops
ever raised in the valley. Alfalfa is
always in good demand and com
lnands topnotch prices, yet at the pres
ent time, there is a woeful shortage
Of this crop in the valley and 1t is for
Athis reason, also, that dairymen are
gradually selling off the best of their
herds.
Alfalfa Wealth Producer
oBv raising sufficient alfalfa to feed
the dairy COWS and encourage building
up herds. the rancher not only puts
himself in the, way of making nice
profit out of his crop, but increases the
wealth of the ,entire valley and incl
IDENTIFY the value of his own land, for
there is no better crop for enriehing
the soil than alfalfa.
sAt present $4,000 acres are planted
to alfalfa and the demands of the
dairyman show this acreage should be
twice as large. Plenty of ranchers
when they go out of the valley brag
about our alfalfa crops, but refuse TO
plant as much as they should. What
we need is less talk and brag, and more
work. The rancher should by all
means cooperate with the dairyman.
Only Producing Cows Pay
''Butterfat production, of course, is
the chief item in keeping the dairyman
on the right side of the ledger. Here
again is room for improvement. By
paving attention to their herds, weed
ing out the undesirable and retaining
only the best blooded stock, the dairy
man is often able to build up herd
which win average $50 pounds of but
terfat per year, whereas many OF them
are content to average 10 pounds. This
latter condition means they are feeding
two COWS and spending their time and
labor on them, for results that one
really good cow can produce. In other
words. it is possible for them to cut
their costs practically in two and stiil
maintain the same average OF produc-
tion, by using n little common sense.
"At the present time, the net quota
tion for butterfat in the Los Angeles
market, is IL cents per pound. In l9lI
or in prewar days, it was 3lHs cents
in july and August and 40 in Septem-
Der. In 1927 the price was 81 to f3
cents in July and August and ~ cents
in the fall so it can be seen the pres
ent price is higher than a year ago.
There are 100000 more pounds of but
terfatt in reserve in Los Angeles at
present than at the same time last
wear. and 1853, 900 more in San Francls-
co. There is shortage however, IN
the eastern markets, particularly New
York, and undoubtedly the western re-
serve will have to be drawn upon 10
relieve this condition.
Cooperation Will Solve Problem
CAN things considered, the outlook
is particularly promising for the dairy,
man in Imperial valley. If the rest OF
us Just give him the cooperation and
encouragement he needs, ranchcrs by
planting more alfalfa and the merchant
by becoming interested, he will remain
in the valley to add to our wealth, and
not leave disgruntlcd, rs many have
done in the past to spread evil report
about conditions down here. We need
him and he needs us; his problems are
our problems and when he is not max
ing, very few of the rest OF use are.
Get the dairyman on the road to pros
perity, and many other lines IN the
n 4 II L..