The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1925-07-02

days is the task undertaken by each
entryman in the Minnesota pig ton
litter contest. Several hundred dol
lars in cash will be awarded producers
of the heaviest filters when the pigs
are weighed out next November. In
addition, The Farmer of st. Paul and
The Farmstead of Minneapolis are
offering valuable trophies.
Martin county swine growers NOM
mated % litters and put their county
in the lead in the state. Mower coun-
ty is second with 20 litters; Winona
and Blue Earth counties are tied for
third place at 13 each.
The average number of pigs in Min
nesota filters making ton or more
last year was 1913. The original cost
of each pig was, of course, much less
than for pigs in filters of only four
or five. The big litter is, therefore, a
/ big factor in determining profits in
hog raising.
| Feeding and Fitting Baby Beef
Calves-Several hundred boys and
girls in Minnesota are grooming beef
calves for the 1925 county and state
contests. Some of them have had ex-
, perience in previous contests, while
others are making their first attempt
to feed and show a winner.
If these juniors have entered the
contest in the right spirit, it is safe
to predict that every one of them will
gain experience that will be of great
| value to them in later life. They will
learn that the first step in profitable
beef production is to produce good
quality cattle. In the second place,
they will find, that good quality calf
must be properly fed if it is to COM
mand the respect of market interests.
Thirdly, they will discover that calves
which do we'll in the show ring are
invariably well trained and brought
out in such condition as to please the
general public, and what is more to
the point, please the judge. Every
boy and girl cannot have winning
calf. 1t is possible, however, for all
beef calf club members to have good
calves if they apply themselves and
follow few simple but all important
suggestions.
In presenting this series of notes to
the boys and girls who have enrolled
in the baby beef club project, the
aim will be to discuss subjects which
will be of interest from now until the
last class is judged at the Junior Live
stick Show at South St. Paul.
Age, breeding, and sex of calves
Purebred steers and high grade steers
or heifer calves are eligible to COM
pete in this contest. Bull calves and
purebred heifers are not eligible. This
latter point should be given wider
al finH q
club members attempting to show
purebred heifers at the county fairs:
They did not know that purebred
heifers were barred. Calves are
shown in one of four classes, depend
ing on age and breeding:-
Purebred junior yearlings (steers
only calved between January /,
1924, and September 1, 1924.
Purebred calves (steers only)
calved after September 1, 1924.
Grade junior yearlings (steers or
heifers) calved between January 1,
1924, and September /, 1924.
Grade calves (steers or heifers)
calved after September 1, 1924.
In our next lesson we will take up
the subject, Feeding the Young
Calf"
q
Fight Dat Rust Enemy Fifty-one
agricultural stations in this country
and Canada are cooperating with the
United States Department of Agri-
culture in testing 16 varieties of oats
for resistance against black stem
rust. Among these varieties are two
selections, MINI. Nos. 686 and 6S7,
developed by the Minnesota Agricul-
tural Experiment Station from cross
es between White Russian and Minota
and Victory. Both selections have
shown exceptional promise in their
resisting powers for several years
past at stations in Minnesota. Sta
ton men at University Farm are now
experimenting with ten varieties of
oats, the survivors of 200 or more
varieties, from which they expect to
get, with a further narrowing of the
list, a variety that will have strong
natural resistance to the rust enemy.
D.
Short Course May Be Taken UP
|North-Teachers in service in voca-
tional agriculture who attended the
recent annual short course at Univer-
sity Farm appointed committee to
cooperate with the State Department
of Education and the division of agri-
cultural education of the university
in selecting the place for the short
course next year. Sentiment seems
to be favorable to location in north
ern Minnesota if the change can be
made without lessening the program
of work and the educational efficiency
of the course. ~
In constant attendance on the
course at University Farm were Prof.
Jaak J.. Umarik, minister of agricul-
ture at Tallinn, Esthonia and Prof.
Josef M. Pomorski, who is in this
country as delegate of the Polish
minister of agriculture. Both are
visiting different college stations to
study extension work in agriculture
and methods of agricultural educa-
ton in schools of different grades.
Called upon for short talks the
last day of the course, both spoke in
high terms of the advanced state of
development of vocational agriculture
in this country, laying special en-
phasis on the degree in which we have
perfected instruction by means of ac-
tual farm practice on the part of the
student supervised by teachers of ag-
riculture.