The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1926-02-11
BLUE VALLEY FARM SERVICE
By M, A. Nye
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"
Did you know that three years age
this spring back in 1923, the number
of Sank Centre farmers growing al
falfa was not over % or 80. By
Sank Centre Farmers, we mean farm
ers within the trading area of Sank
Centre. Today better than 80 pei
cent of Sank Centre farmers are
growing alfalfa.
1t is safe to say that by the time
this springs seeding is in, it will be
hard to find a Sank Centre farmer
without a start with alfalfa. Many
farmers will have their acreage up to
about where they want it. An acre
for every COW is none too much
alfalfa. All stock like it. 1t is good
for most all classes of live stock.
Don't worry about surplus alfalfa
hay. "There amt no such animal. y
Water for the Cows
Water is an essential to successful
dairying. AS more than IS per
cent of milk is water, the Importance
of an abundant supply of good water
can hardly be over emphasized. II
the cow does not have water that is
good, both from the standpoint OF
taste and temperature, she will not
drink as much as she should. If she
does not drink plenty of water she
cannot possibly produce as much
milk as she should.
Clean water of temperature
around 70 degrees should be provid-
ed for the cows at all times. You
will find they will drink little wat
er frequently, whereas, if they can
get at it only once or twice a day,
they will not drink as much as they
should.
Where there is enough cold wealth
er for the water to freeze at nights,
it will pay immensely to supply the
tank with a tank heater. These cost
very little, and could be fired with
corn cobs or a very small amount of
coal. It is much cheaper to heat wat
er with coal or wood or something
of that kind that it is to try to beat
it with grain fed to dairy cows. Re-
member, it is the cow which must
heat this water, and the only way she
can heat it is with her body warmth,
and this body warmth comes from
the feed you give her. 49,
Water is just as much a part of
the dairy cows feed as is the grain
or hay We give her. 1t is the cheap
est form of feed we have, and we
should see that she has plenty of it i.
Experiments conducted by the Ne
braska College OF Agriculture show
that the amount of water required by
a cow is in direct proportion to the
quantity of milk produced. One cow
giving twenty-seven pounds of milk
drank seventy-seven pounds of water
daily. The same cow drank but fiji
teen pounds of water daily when CIV
ing no milk. A cow giving 100
pounds of milk drank more than 240
pounds of water.
Il
Chemical Treatment for Grain
Immediate chemical treatment of
grain seed is the recommendation
made to Northwest grain farmers by
the United States Department of Ag-
riculture, and the agricultural col
leges of Minnesota, North and South
Dakota, and Montana, as the only
certain preventive of sinking smut.
Increased interest is being display
ed by business men and farmers in
the Northwest-wide campaign for
preventive treatment of seed before
the 1926 planting, because of the re-
cent increase in smut loss figures from
100000 to $8,O00,000 for 1925.
When the bins of local elevators are
emptied, the loss is expected to mount
still higher.
Two methods of seed treatment
have been approved by the advisory
committee of the Northwest Grain
Smut Prevention committee, sponsor
ing the educational campaign. Dust
ing with copper carbonate is recon-
mended for wheat; dipping or sprink-
suggested for seed oats and barley.
This advisory committee consists of
representatives from the four agri-
cultural colleges and the United
States Department of Agriculture
The members, DR.. E. c. Stekman,
plant pathologist, and R. c. Rose,
extension agronomist, University of
Minnesota; H. o. Walster, dean of
the college of agriculture, and N. D..
German, county agent leader, North
Dakota, both of Fargo; A. N. Hume,
agronomist and Ralph johnson, ex-
tension agronomist of South Dakota
Agricultural college, Brookings; A.
j. Ogaard, extension agronomist,
Montana Agricultural college, Boze-
man; and R. H. Black, marketing
specialist, United States Department
of Agriculture have approved the fol-
lowing methods of treating seed grain
for smut:
For each bushel of seed wheat ap-
ply ounces of Copper Carbonate
dust that contains about 20 per cent
copper. If possible mix dust with
grain in a barrel churn or home made
device or a. special busting machine,
to avoid breathing in the dust. When
using Copper Carbonate, follow man.
ufacturer's directions carefully. Sew
eral makes of busting machines for
applying copper carbonate are now on
the market.
busting may be done any time but
grain should be kept dry until plant
ed. Do it now!
IF
Sprinkling Grain with Formaldehyde
For oats and barley use Tornado
hyde-Copper Carbonate does not