The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1923-07-20
HERE IS A GOOD DEAL

ne ClleI uaS we were ldlkllS WITH
one of our prominent alfalfa seed
growers on the possibilities Of Mel
lette county, and in the course Of our
talk with him he proposed d plan that
appealed to Us as one that had great
possibilities III il, for the renter, for
the owner Of the land, and for spread
ing the fame Of Mellette county as au
alfalfa seed producing SECT CT In
briet here is the plan as proposed
Said he: Il believe that il ! lad
a quarter section Of land in this col;n-
ty, | would be willing to make a ten
year lease to some good reliable party,
on the following basis. Tie renter
must agree to break out 100 acres or
all the tillable land on the quarter
that it would be advisable to break
out, and prepare this ground 10 SOW
the same to certified alfalfa The sec
end year The owner of the land 10
receive the first cutting each year OF
alfalfa III hay, and the renter to re-
ceive the second or seed crop as his
share. The renter would also receive
the first years crop, which would be
corn OF any crop he would want to
plant on the sod. The lease Oh the
land would run ten years, giving the
renter one full corn crop, and at least
eight seed crops of alfalfa, while the
owner OF the land would receive about
eight hay crops in that time for the
use Of the land -
Ii the seed crop should average say
$50 per acre, which is a mighty low
average, the renter should receive for
his share in the ten years $40, 900 for
his labor, besides the corn crop the
first year. The renter could also en-
gage in the raising Of turkeys, hogs, |
bees and dairying and materially in,
crease the revenue he would derive
from the land on such lease. The
cost of breaking 10 0acres would be
about $500 and the seed to seed the
100 acres to alfalfa would not cost
more than 800, then there would be |
the labor of putting up the hay and
harvesting the seed crop each year.
The owner Of the land would have to
dispose of his own hay, would have to
pay the taxes on the land, and hel
would also profit by the increased val
ue of his farm when 100 acres Of the
land had been seeded to alfalfa. Tol
our mind this is a most profitable
and equitable arrangement for all
parties concerned, and it could be
made to pay.
Good alfalfa land can be leased on
suhc terms in Mellette county and II
there is anyone who reads this article
that would like to make this expert
ment We would like to get in COM
munication with them, and IN our
humble opinion, put them onto thel
road of real agricultural prosperity
right here in Mellette county In
growing certified alfalfa seed the
transportation problem becomes al
most nil, even this distance from the
railroad. Those who have been grow
ing alfalfa seed in this county have
been getting yield of from $50 tol
500 in the past, and what has been
done can be done, so our estimate OF
what the revenue frNm a ten-year
lease will bring the renter is by nc
means exaggerated. Here is an oppor
tunity for some of the poor down
trodden farm renters in Iowa, Neb-
raska, and eastern South Dakota to
come to Mcllette county and make
good in growing certified alfalfa seed
hogs, turkeys and dairyinng.