The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1928-07-06

farms MIXED cows in 1926, where
only 43 per cent of the farms in
1920. Only 80 per cent of the
farms in 1920 had spring wheat
against sos per cent in 1926. Six
ty-one per cent of the farms in
1926 had beef cattle compared
with As per cent in 1920. Only
2.5 per cent of the farms in 1920
grew corn where 10.5 were grow
ing it in 1926.
LESS than 1 per cent of farms
grew beans in 1928. while nearly
8 per cent grew them in 1926. In
1920 81 per cent of the farms
grew barley, while 11.6 per cent
reported it in 1926. Seventy-seven
per cent had chickens in 1920 and
while 81 per cent reported a barn
yard flock in 1926. Swine were re-
ported on As per cent of the farms
in 1920, with SO per cent report
ing hogs in 1926.
Montana will produce this
year $4,000, 900 bushels of wheat,
23, 900, 900 bushels more than the
highest yield ever made before.
Dairying and sugar beet raising
are new and growing industries.
The purely agricultural crops will
bring to the state this year S144,-
600. 900. Add to this the proceeds
from d~airying, sugar beets, poul-
try. wool, sheep, and cattle and
we will have a total of 5000, 000,-
900.
Comeback Decisive
"Montana's comeback has been
swift and decisive. Business fail
ures are few and far between.
There are practically no more
bank failures. There are now
$3.50, OOO, 900 on deposit in the
banks of this state, about $500 for
each inhabitant. The people are
paying their debts, real estate is
beginning to move and upon the
map of prosperity, Montana is Gin
the white"
I'VE have passed through the
pioneering period of exploitation
we know now what we can do
with our 10000, 900 acres capable
of cultivation"
1.-TWO things stand out clear in
the reports already made by these
conferences" declared another
authority. "The first is that the
Montana farmer must cut his pro-
duction costs, and produce high
quality crops and products that
command high prices, in order to
overcome our big handicap of
long hauls and high freight rates
to market.
"The second is that he must es-
tablish farm reserves, to tide him
over lean years. He must have a
little money saved up for a dry
year, instead of the %proverbial
day He must put up some
surplus feeds for his livestock, to
tide them over the winter and the
short feed years. He must con-
serve the precious moisture on his
dry-lands by practicing summer
or corn growing.
""There are still many lands in
Montana, where it is not practi-
cal to introduce farming, as you
folks understand it in Minnesota.
Here the farmer must still take
chances on straight grain farming.
But he can make this fairly safe
by using better methods of tillage
and summer fallow."
On the fairly level dry lands of
the state, where large acreages of
tillable land are available, wheat
or a combination of wheat and
livestock farming have been de-
veloped."
Here the costs of growing wheat
are being lowered by driving more
horses to the team, or using the
medium sized tractor, summer fal-
low and the combine harvester
which reaps and threshes the
grain in the field in n operation.
Shifting To Lower Costs
Some Montana farmers are pro
ducing wheat by these methods
one and a half to three hours
of man labor per acre. The aver
age for the spring wheat region is
perhaps seven.
With this increased efficiency
the wheat raiser can get a higher
for his work and ability.
Wheat farms in Montana now
tend to large sizes, of a whole sec
ton or more, and toward produc-
ing more bushels per man by OPP
Grating a larger area than was
practical with the old methods.
at is the alertness of some