Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1924-01-30
Wisconsin Plans to Keep Its Lead

NdQlSOU, w DISCRIMINATING GI0
agricultural field in 1923, Wiscon-
sin is making plans to hold that
same position during the year
1924.
The general agricultural pro-
gram for the Badger state as out
lined by H. L. Russell, dean Of the
Wisconsin College of Agriculture,
makes provisions for happy homes,
efficient marketing, farm records,
a close study of the markets, pro-
duction of quality products, grow
ing Of more legumes and an eff
fort to make Wisconsin self sup
porting.
Reduces Cash Outlay.
First, and foremost, it seems
necessary and wise in these days
of high labor costs, and high
freight rates, to make our farms
just as near self-sustaining as pos
sible. When we realize that farm
labor costs, though they may not
have scared to the heights which
urban industry is now able to Sc
cure, are yet far above pre-war
figures, and that every finished
farm product is made up in large
measure of labor, it is obvious
that the farmer should keep his
cash outlay for labor at a mini
mum. In this way he can convert
his own labor and that of his fam
lily into tangible cash return be-
fore he is forced to disburse his
returns for hired labor.
"On our farms in Wisconsin
where livestock and it's products
already make up over 80 per cent
of our farm income, it is doubly
necessary that we free ourselves
as far as practicable from cash
outlay for the purchase of such
feeding stuffs as roughage. Some
concentrates we will always have
to purchase, for Wisconsin pro-
duces neither wheat, cotton or
flax, the by-products of which
make up a considerable part of
the feeding stuffs that are used
with our dairy and livestock. To
continue, however, to import such
coarse forage crops as alfalfa hay
that could be so readily grown in
our own state is anything but a
sound business policy. Alfalfa
laid down in Wisconsin never gets
down in price to a cent a pound
and often is not far below the
farm price of some of our stand
ard grain crops. To the railroad
goes more for freight on such
bulky, coarse commodities than to
the farmer in the west who pro
duces the crop. Surely costs Of
production can never be lowered
to the point of maximum profit
when we pay out millions of dol
lars for such feeds that can be
raised at home" Dean Russell de
clares.
A Legume Campaign.
This year, as never before, a le-
gume campaign should be put on
that would replace hundreds OF
thousands of acres of low protein
timothy with such high protein
feeds as alfalfa, clover and soy
bean hay. The drought of last
summer proved to many farmers
that alfalfa, by virtue of it's deep
er root system, was able to stand
the weather better than clover
With lime, incubation, and right
strains of seed, alfalfa can be Sc
cured even on our acid soils, the
soy bean makes a most excellent
growth These high protein hays
with silage meet the needs of our
live stock when supplemented with
moderate amounts of concentrate
ed feeds.
Quality Pays.
He goes on to say, another fac
tor of primary consideration in
these days of debated prices is
to realize that quality must re-
place quantity in agricultural pro-
duction. When prices were at the
high peak of war initiation, quail
ity was of little moment; quantity
was what was wanted with little
regard as to how it was produced.
but in these times of defation, in
fact even under normal conditions
low cost of production is more
important than mere production.
If the 1000 pound cow will but
rarely pay her board, why continue
to board her, and use high priced
labor and feed?
Pedigreed seeds outyield the av-
erage seed that is sown, yet too