Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-27
KANSAS WHEAT
FARMS IMPROVE
WITH DAIRYINC
Dean FarrelPs Message TO
Montana BrOadcasted
by The Tribune.

Farmers in western Kansas. where
the land and weather conditions re-
semble the dry land sections of Mon
tana, are finding diversification profit
able. This was the keynote of the
message of F. D. Farrell, dean and
director of the Kansas State Agrlcul-
tural college, broadcasted Wednesday
night from KDYS, The Tribune's sta
ton, through the courtesy of The Mon
tana Farmer, Montana's leading farm
journal, published at Great Falls.
Mr.. Farrell's message follows:
MANY individual farmers and some
few farming communities In the west
ern part of Kansas have made excel.
lent progress in the development or
Investigation. but the fact remains
that one of the big problems OF west
ern Kansas is still that of too great
specialization. We are advocating di-
versification here just as extensively
as it is being advocated IN Montana.
We regard this activity as one OF u
continuing responsibilities. Ihere Is
no question that it is having good re-
suits, but they come rather slowly,
considering the western part OF the
state as a whole.
Dairy Herds Increasing
"As indicated in the foregoing. there
are many individual farmers IN the
state who are successfully adopting
systems of Investigation. One com
mon feature of these systems is that
small herds Of dairy cattle are grad
ually being established on what hlther-
to have been practically exclusive wheat
farms.
AT a meeting of dairymen a few
months ago ] heard a man from one
of our western counties say that dur
ing the last two or three years he
and his sons, all of whom live On a
farm near a small town, have kept a
dairy herd in addition to their usual
wheat growing operations.
"The man is cashier of a small coun-
try bank as well as a farmer. he
says that his experience with dairy cat
tie during the last two or three years
had done for him two things: First,
it had brought him a very tidy income
each month, and second, it had given
him a direct, personal basis for telling
the exclusive wheat farmers, who come
to the bank for money. that the only
iCCSoh thNs "tic hhi Wy
they wouldn't milk cows.
"Other animal industries besides
dairying also offer excellent possibili-
ties in the way of diversification, and
some of these are being taken up with
fair success by individuals here and
there throughout the western part of
the state.
Find Dairying Profitable
"In his last statement. the banker
just quoted hit upon a very common
obstacle to diversification. One of the
principale benefits of diversification is
that it tends to provide profitable &C
tivity for labor throughout the year.
One of the principal difficulties in de-
veloping diversification in a region is
that many farmers do not wish to labor
throughout the year.
II have frequently heard farmers say
that they admitted the truth of all we
said regarding the desirability of in
Guiding a small dairy herd in the farm
organization in the wheat belt, but that
they would not go into the dairy bust
ness unless and until they had to. Some
other farmers who have n into the
dairy business in addition to their
wheat growing activities. have told US
that they entered the dairy business as
a last resort, but have remained in it
because they found it profitable and
also less onerous than they had ex-
pected it would be.
OiversifIcation Best Type
Another aspect of the situation is
that frequently. after a farmer has per
sisted in following a highly specialized
system of agriculture in a region like
the great plains where hazards Of pro-
duction are very great. he finds him
self so involved financially that be is
unable to finance himself in the pur-
chase of livestock and other things nee
essary to establishing a diversified
agriculture.
THAT is the case with a large mum
Der of people today. | suppose it is
a very common fact in Montana.
However, this fact does not affect in
any way the principle that in regions
like the great plains. diversified agri-
culture is the most desirable type for