Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-22
HUGE WHEAT FARM
HAS GOOD OUTLOOK
Everything Ready for Harvest
on Great Campbell Tract
in Montana.
BY j. G. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


NEW YORK, July 22.-The great
est wheat farm in the world will have
an income of 100000 this year. That
Is the prediction for the Campbell
Farming Corporations properties near
Hardin, Mont. Executives of this
great concern, which holds first place
in grain production, predict a crop Of
410. 900 bushels of wheat, 10000
> bushels of oats and 10000 bushels Of
fax. Crop prospects in the Hardin,
Mont, district are bright. and crop
StatisticianS predict that this condition
will extend through the fields of South
Dakota. where President Coolidge is
now receiving reports OF them in de-
tail
The Campbell farm comprises more
than $4,000 acres, of which more than
half are under intensive cultivation
There are four main sections of the
property, with a general foreman in
charge of each, and with Thomas
Campbell, head of the concern, as the
active and directing head of the work
as whole.
All Machinery Is Ready.
Not modern piece of machinery or
a modern method is lacking in prepa-
ration for the coming harvest, accord
ing to the boast of the employees. EX-
pert mechanics have been engaged to
handle the gigantic cranes which lift
wheat, oats and flax. Jacks and trac-
tors have replaced the scores of teams !
formerly necessary for operations of
such magnitude. Searchlights and ma
chinery have heightened the farm day |
to the full cycle of sun to sun.
Combines harvester and thra Sher in |
one), which cut and thrash A strip - |
feet wide, will cover a swath 20 miles !
long in day, doing the work former !
ly occupying 80 men and 40 horses. |
Cutters. thrashers and other equip |
ment are traction hauled. Wagons !
with a capacity Of 1876 bushels each |
are moved with the combines and /
filled and dispatched toward the ship |
ping or storage point within an hour. |
It no longer is necessary to tie the |
sheaves. The binders are run in series |
of four, cutting a swath 40 feet wide. |
Instead Of making four 10-foot wind |
rows, the binders deposit the entire |
cut from the 40-foot swath in one |
windrow and travel % miles a day.
When the grain is ripe on the Camp. !
bell ranch between $4,000 and 10000 |
acres of grain will be thrashed daily. |
Most of the grain will be hauled direct |
to the railroad, but metal storage bins |
have been provided when transporta. |
ton Is held up for any reason. Trucks |
are used to haul the grain to the |
shipping point, and in the busy sea-
son huge caterpillar tractors pull 10 |
trucks of wheat behind them, a load /
of 60 tons, worth about $4,000 when |
loaded with fax and $4,000 when load |
ed with wheat.
In the busy season about $50 men |
are employed. They include many col |
lege graduates, professional men and |
skilled artisans, and most of them |
work on bonus system.
Campbell Always on Job.
Thomas Campbell is on the job from |
am. to 8 pm, and there is not a |
job on the place he does not know and |
cannot do. He has at his finger tips |
every detail of the operations over the |
tremendous expanse of territory, and |
while he delegates authority to capa-
bic heutenants, he is able to step in
and assume charge of any phase of it
any moment.
There are three busy seasons on the |
Campbell ranch. The blowing and
breaking operations occupy the first. |
Then comes seeding time, and now is |
approaching the harvest operation. |
During the remainder of the year |
Campbell and his executives work out !
new plans for increasing efficiency
and reducing overhead in inventing |
and securing new machinery to speed |
up operations and cut operating ex-
penses.
The ranch is one of the largest con-
sumers of gasoline in the Northwest. |
All moving equipment is run by in |
ternal combustion motors and fuel |
costs run into the tens of thousands |
OF dollars each year. Horses on the |
Campbell farms are almost as scarce |
as at Times Square in the rush hour.