The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1926-08-26
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DEPARTMENT FOR THE AGRICULTURISTS


would seem desirable to haul as much
OF the oat straw as soon after
threshing as convenient and to plan
on conserving as much of the good
straw as possible. The straw crop
will be short at best because of the
shortness of the grain and in some
instances there may be difficulty in
obtaining enough properly to bed the
stock through the winter.
o.
Fall Rye for Pasture
Wherever practicable, it seems ad-
visable to seed fall rye quite early,
for fall and early spring pasture next
season.
The amount of moisture available
through August and the early part of
September may be the deciding fac
tor in making such rye pasture, but
| the attempt seems to be worth the risk
in view of the fe ed shortage. Not a
few farmers have signified their in
tention to seed fall rye in corn fields
! and in stubble fields after disking, in
order to provide fall and early spring
pasture,
The situation suggests, also, the ad-
visibility of preparing now for the
planting of more alfalfa and sweet
clover next spring. For this, the
land should be fall plowed and treated
with lime where lime is needed.
Grimm seed, well inoculated, should
be planted. ,..t Gt.
Cattle May Be Culled
It would seem advisable, also, to
consider close culling of livestock,
particularly of cattle. The first step
would be to take an inventory of the
livestock on the farm, making an es-
| innate of the feed needed and the
feed available. Then if it appears
that some Of the livestock should be
sold, of course the less productive
stock should be eliminated. This
does not mean young stock necessar-
lily, because some of the young stock
might give promise of excellent pro-
duction in the next few years, and
some of the old stock that consumes
more roughage per head might be
culled out to better advantage. A
cow-testing association is an excel
lent agency for ascertaining the pro-
ductive capacity and the amount of
feed consumed by the dairy herd.
In all of this, there is no desire to
| advise any particular individual as
to exactly what should be done on
his farm. This information is made
available merely in order to empha-
size the present situation and to Of
fer suggestions that have come from
farmers as to how they believe the
present situation may be met.
Water and Ice Now Listed Among
Farm Crops-Cold water and ice are
two "crops" that pay big on the
dairy farms, states the Blue Valley
Creamery Institute. Since milk and
cream are highly perishable products,
the condition in which they are re-
ceived by consumers and dairy pro-
ducts manufacturers governs the
prices which the farmer receives for
them. Regardless of how healthy the
cows may be, how sanitary the milk
ing methods employed, or how clean
the utensils used, milk and cream will
sour rapidly unless cooled promptly
and kept at low temperatures until
they leave the farm.
Throughout the northern states,
natural ice can usually be obtained
for the cost of the harvesting. With
the proper use of this ice, cream can
be kept on the farm at temperature
that will insure it's reaching the mar
ket in sweet condition. The little ex-
ira cost of keeping cream cool by the
use of ice and cold water is negligible
compared to the increase in the in
come from the sale Of the sweet
cream, which is generally three or
more cents per pound above the best
price fetched by cream of ordinary
quality.
Some farmers not having cold run
ming water from running spring
still manage to "cash in" on the pre-
MUM prices offered for sweet cream
by using the we'll water for the stock
watering trough for keeping their
cream in excellent condition. This is
accomplished by placing two cans-a
large shipping can and small one for
the warm cream-in watertight box,
tank, tub or barrel that is large
enough to hold the two and then
pumping water needed for the farm
livestock through the cream cooling
tank, allowing it to run into the
stock water trought.
o.
Soil Treatment IL Crop Insurance
Soil treatment is insurance against
crop failure, says the Blue Valley
Creamery Institute. While it is inn
possible to control rain or sunshine,
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