Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1923-12-26
j. B. KEENAN,, COUNTY AGENT

J.B. KEENAN,, COUNTY AGENT
Honorable Members of the Grant
| County Board of Supervisors:
! l hereby submit for your approval
| a short report of my work as County
Horticultural Agent for the period of
| time from March LIST to November 1st,
1923. Eight months in all.
This report will be brief and is pre-
pared to show those things that have
been accomplished by this office in the
above stated time.
| Realizing the need of Grant county
soils for lime, considerable time has
been spent in advancing the crushing
/ of the high testing limestone that Is
found in all parts of Grant county.
The results of the efforts are summed
up below.
| One hundred and fifty limestone
quarries have been tested to find II
they are fit for agricultural use. 1t
has been found by these tests taken
from nearly all parts of the county
| that most Of Grant county limestone is
high testing, ranging from 80 up to
! los per cent Calcium Carbonate
Equivalent After finding that our
] limestone Is SOOUS LAC QuCOCAOA ~OAA~SN0
| up does our soil need it?
J Soils have been tested from 90 diff
ferent farms and the results show that
nearly all Grant county land needs
from 21a to tons of lime to the acre
to correct the acidity. With these two
| facts confronting us we have, there
fore, tried to find a means OF getting
the high testing lime rock in SUCH
shape that it could be used for our
| lands.
Through the efforts of this Office we
| have today ten limestone crushefs
ready for work and working in Grant
! county. To date something like 1900
tons of limestone have been crushed
the past summer. The use of lime
stone on our soils is just in its child
hood. and another year 80 percent OF
our farms will be using lime to some
| extent. Lime makes sure alfalfa and
| clover, and so cuts down our feed
| cost The 1000 tons of lime repre-
sents a saving of about $3.50 per ton,
or $4,000, not counting the advan-
tages that will be derived from the use
of same.
| We hope to increase the acreage OF
alfalfa as hay from 500 up to $500
acres for 1924, as result OF the work
with lime.
| Another phase of the work has been
! the selling of Grant county produce IN
the form of dairy cattle. To out-of-
state and out-of-county buyers, in the
past seven months there has been solo
| from Grant county, thirty car loads OF
dairy cows The largest out-of-state
| buyers have been, Maryland, Califor-
mia, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. 1t
! will be noted that Grant county cattle
! have gone to both coasts in the past
| few months. Figuring thirty car loads
of cows at Is head to the car load
means 750 head. They have sold at
! various prices, but putting it low, at
| $4,000 per head average, means in
dollars and cents to Grant county
farmers, $4,000. Fifty percent OF
these cattle have been sold directly Or
indirectly through the County Agents
Office A county that is known to Wis
consin men as beef and swine coun-
| ty, it speaks quite we'll.
| Other things In which time has
been spent in livestock work is getting
12O herds or better to come in under
the Federal Accredited herd test for
tuberculosis. Figuring 120 herds st
20 hear per herd would mean $40 per
herd, saving $1,000 to those who test
ed. in veterinary fee alone.
Some work has been done in re-or-
ganizing of breeders associations and
more will be done in the future.
In Club work Grant county has
made very good progress. At the
Baby Beef Show at Madison, in Octo-
Der, % calves were shown from this
county, Grant county tieing with 1Owd
county for number Of calves shown.
The Grand Champion Steer was fitted
and shown by Grant county girl. In
dairy calf work some interest was
shown in sections of Grant county.
More is hoped for, for 1924.
The Ton-Litter~ Contest received
considerable attention. Thirty-three
litters were entered in this contest.
Two competing in the State Roundup
in October, making very creditable
showing and finishing in third and
fourth place.
Some time has been spent in hold
ing Stock Judging Contests for boys,
that they may be better able to select
livestock. These contests were held
at the Boscobel, Bloomington and
Lancaster fairs. About so boys conf
peted in the various places. This
means that so boys have received
knowledge on the better class of live
stock, and how to select them.
This Office has been able to accom-
plish considerable in distributing the
war explosives in the past seven
months. The following amounts have
been distributed: Picric acid, 5000
| pounds. cost per thousand, $11S.50, as
against dynamite at $500 per thous-
and pounds, represents saving OF
S9O2.5O. Two car loads of Sodatol. a
new war explosive have been ordered,
which amounts in all to 10000 pounds
and represents a saving, figuring dy-
Mantle at $50 per hundred, of $3.50