Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1924-05-31
AGRICULTURAL NOTES
By Dan ohatfeF. County Agent

agricultural prosperity OF the county.
It IS not national problem Of too
much cleared land or too many
farms but a problem that every in
di1idual farmer must consider. We
have in Iron county approximately
500 farms partly under cultivation
averaging about % acres cleared
This cleared acreage must furnish
al hay crops, part Of the pasture,
grain crops and the cultivated or
cash crops. We are trying to feed
about $500 head of cattle and 1900
head Of horses exclusive of young
stock and sheep on these clearings.
We have an average of about 8 head
Of mature cattle and two horses per
farm. Experience tells us that a
horse viii consume approximately
az tons Of hay year while a COW
viii eat about pa tons during the
feeding period of about 200 days.
After a few minutes Of figuring we
find that our live stock viii consume
about 1860 tons Of hay year. Our
assessors report to US that the hay
raised in the county totals only about
II ,000 tons. In other words we are
short about 5000 tons of hay every
year, and at $40 ton we are paying
out the big sum of $4,000 every
year for hay alone This is an aver
age of 1925 per farm. Some farmers
are raising enough feed for their
live stock, therefore a large number
Of farmers are purchasing nearly
$500 worth Of hay every year. The
amount paid out for mill feeds, oats,
corn, and other feeds will probably
amount to another 100000. Why?
Simply because we have fallen down
on our land clearing work.
We are sure that many of our
farms are overstocked with the
wrong kind of cows. Many farmer
would be better off with four or five
good COWS instead of ten or twelve
scrubs. Nevertheless our real prob
lem is one Of cleared land.
Travel any road in Iron county,
north, south, east or west and you
will find the same condition. Fields
partly cleared, some not cleared at
all, others with half the area taken
up by stump and rock piles. Five
stumps per acre will reduce the
potato yield at least five bushels.
Sold at a reasonable price these five
bushels Of potatoes will buy enough
war-salvaged explosives to clear at
least five acres of these tramp
stumps.
This is the age Of machinery. The
day of the hoe is gone forever. Hoe
farming is too costly and the man
using hoe to cultivate his fields
cannot hope to compete with the
farmer using modern horse drawn
cultivators and other power ma
chinery. With old time methods we
cannot expect 70 compete with the
outside world and make farming
profitable. We must junk the old
style methods, clear up our fields and
follow the newer up-to-date methods
Of crop culture or fail.
We must get rid Of the stumps if
we are to make farming profitable
in Iron county. Our lack of interest
in land clearing is the one big thing
that is holding us back We cannot
expect to make a profit out of our
cows if we are compelled to buy the
greater portion of our feed. Every
dollar spent for feed reduces our
profits just one dollar. We have had
the best opportunity during the past
three years to clear land that has
ever been known in the history of the
state. We have had the opportunity
of purchasing almost unlimited guam
titles of war-salvaged explosives for
land clearing work. Only a small
per cent of the farmers of Iron coun-
ty have taken advantage of this
situation. Why haven't all the farm
ers taken advantage of cheap ex-
plosives, This question has been ask
ed many times by persons interested
in the agricultural prosperity of Iron
county. This is difficult question
to answer. In some cases it was lack
Of ready money, in several cases we
find farms where all the tillable land
has been cleared. The fellow who
is buying feed and still has land that
can be cleared and hasn't cleared his
share during the years Just past per-
haps can give satisfactory answer
to the above question.
Many an Iron county farm could
be made more profitable by the re-
moval of a few stumps and rocks, |
but instead the stumps and rock piles
are left as a breeding place for
chucks and skunks and rs a menace
to farm machinery and an aggravator
of the temper Of the farm owner.
We will not be a prosperous agricul-
tural county until every farmer takes
an active interest in his own farm
aud makes an honest effort to put
that farm on a paying business basis
by clearing more land.