The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1924-08-29
New Experiment Station AT
Miles City Will Solve The
Problems of Stock Grower

(By r. B. Millin, livestock spe
cialist, Montana State College Elk
tension Service.)
I'm THE middle of the last hal
of the Nineteenth century the
range cattle problem in Montana
was largely one of bringing enough
cattle through the winter to be able
to make favorable report to the
owners in the spring. Today the
margin of profit in the cattle bust
ness even under favorable price con-
ditions has narrowed down to the
point where the tremendous winter
losses that cattle men were accus-
omed to 35 and 40 years ago would
prove ruinous What was considered
a favorable report then would be the
first step toward bankruptcy today.
Thus the cattle industry in Mon
tana is confronted with problems to-
day which the old timers didn't even
think of, and strange to say, up un-
! til few months ago, the United
States did not have a single place
where these problems of the range
cattle business could be studied and
solved. While the general farmers,
dairymen, fruit growers, and men en-
gagged in other lines of farm business
/ had their experiment stations in every
state, and in some cases more than
one, the range livestock business
which involved many millions of dol
lars was receiving little more than
such attention as was possible for
the western experiment stations to
squeeze in along with their regular
work. Such work was limited be-
cause the ordinary state experiment
station was not equipped to consider
the range problems.
At last, however the United States
government, cooperating with the
state of Montana has started a range
experiment station and in so doing it
has come about as close as possible
to the biblical instruction to beat
the swords into pruning hooks. The
military establishment in Montana
known as Fort Keough has become
an experiment station for the study
of range livestock problems, the first
of its kind in the United States.
That the rest of the United Staes is
interested in this project is attested
by the fact that eastern agricultural
colleges are already planning on
sending special classes to the con-
verified fort to study the work that
will be done there. Further national
interest appears from the following
story sent out by the United States
Department of Agriculture, announc-
ing the new experiment station and
discussing the work that will be
done there. The story follows:
A want that has been felt for years
for a suitable place to study and
solve the problem of the western
stockmen has at last received atten-
tion. The United States Department
of Agriculture and the Montana Ex-
pertinent Station are preparing to
tackle some of these problems on a
huge scale. The old Fort Keogh
Military Reservation at Miles City,
Montana was recently transferred by
congress to the Department of Agri-
culture for experiments in stock
raising and growing of forage crops
in connection Herewith" The sta
tion is considered ideal for the pur-
pose. 1t contains $4,000 acres of
grazing land and 1000 acres of ir-
rigated land. Two railroads and the
Yellowstone trail cross it. Its geo.
location and topography
will make the results obtained useful
to many sections of the country.
Although the station was trans
ferred without special appropriation
by congress for its operation the first
year, fund has been created from |
money that has been saved from |
other appropriations and work that
could not safely be delayed has been
begun.
The reservation is being gradually
from a military camp into
an agricultural experiment station.
Hay that used to feed cavalry horses
is now being harvested for beef cat
tie and sheep feeding experiments,
and soldiers barracks will be occu-
pied by farm laborers. The animal
husbandry division of the United
States Department of Agriculture has
been made responsible for the man
agement and operation of the sta
ton, and the experiments will be
conducted in cooperation with the
Montana station and other divisions
Of the federal department. 1t will
Oo Cdlleu IH6 united states ItdHSS
Livestock Experiment station. e. w.
Sheets, assistant chief of the animal
nusbandry division, who recently
spent several weeks at the new sta
ion organizing the work, reports ex-
'ellent progress made.
The complete hay-making outfits
we're purchased and 500 tons of ex-
'ellent quality alfalfa hay was made
md stacked during ideal weather
fifty acres of corn has been planted
md is doing we'll. Two silos were
quilt. The pumping plant that
pumps water from the Yellowstone
liver was put in operation in order to
protect the buildings from fire, to ir-
r1gate the crops and to provide water