The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1930-04-10

Livestock: value, $1,2O5,8S9 tax
able value, $4O1,9 1868.
Farm Machinery: value, $453,796
taxable value, S117,932.
Wagons, etc.: value, $103,924; tax
able value, $2O,784.
Total agricultural value is SILL
1,649; taxable value, $3,915,909.
The total county value is $22, $685.
778, and the taxable value is $7,648,-
78O.
Percent taxes paid by farmers is
43.3 per cent.
Of the total land area of 1,318,40O
acres, about 80 percent is in farms.
About seventy-five thousand acres are
irrigated, about the same amount
non-irrigated tillable, and nearly half
million acres are devoted to grazing.
According to the 1928 Farm Review
the crop acreage of the county was
divided as follows: wheat, $4,000;
oats, 5000; barley, 1890; rye, 1000;
corn, 5000; potatoes, 600; seed peas,
3,1O0; canning peas, 800; sugar beets,
3,140; and hay 46,l00, During each
of the past SIX years from 20 per-
cent to 62 per cent of the gross farm
sales have been derived from live
stock. This same report shows 1862
horses and mules, 1867 dairy cows,
about $4,000 beef cattle, about 3d.
coo sheep, and $500 swine in the
county.
In 1928 Carbon county ranked eigh-
tn in value of crops produced and
livestock marketed. With all these
agricultural resources, and an invest
ment of more than Sl1,000,000 and
many other people in the county de-
pendent upon the success of this ag-
ricultural investment, surely nothing
should be overlooked that might make
the farm and stock business more
profitable. Twenty-four other Mon
tana counties with agricultural
wealth less than Carbon county en-
ploy county agents.
What Would a County Agent Do In
Carbon County IF the county ranks
so high and is getting along so we'll,
what is the need of an agricultural
agent, is a common question. The
resources of the county are enumerat-
ed in order to show the material with
which to work. The larger the re-
sources the greater the oportunity for
county agent results. The county
with the highest gross farm income
in the United States emplosys five
county agents. Once county agent
work is established the most success
full producers are among those who
use the county agent most, because
they have less prejudice and can
most easily see the financial advant-
ages. Other less successful farmers
and stockmen are influenced indir-
ectly through practices adopted by
those who are making the most
Just what a county agent will do
in Carbon county will be determin-
ed largely by what the leading farm
ers and stockmen consider to be the
chief limiting factors in production
and marketing in the county. Com
petition is becoming so keen in the
production of different commodities
that only those areas that can pro-
duce a good quality at low cost can
hope to produce at profit. The
efforts of the Farmers Union to or
ganize farmers so that they can buy
some of the leading supplies needed
in production and so that they can
sell comparatively at better price is
certainly to be commended, and
should be encouraged and assisted;
but price is only one Of the factors
into the relative profitable
ness Of farming. More price will help
a lot, but the price cannot be raised
high enough to make sbme farms
pay and even if it could be lifted
enough so that all might prosper, it
could not be maintained. High unit
yields and greater volume of business
per man reducing costs and increas-
ing profits are two outstanding aims
of a county agent. To be specific here
are some of the things county
agent could do in Carbon county:
M FARM CROPS
Determine the most profitable var
ieties of wheat, oats, barley and corn,
demonstrate their more desirable
qualities, and get enough pure seed
produced in the county to supply local
demand. An increased yield of only
one bushel per acre on the $4,000 de-
voted to grain in the county would
pay for county agent work for many
years.
2. Assist with the establishment
of alfalfa and clover seed production
and marketing.
8. Help to build up feed reserves,
and secure better utilization of pas
lures and ranges in order to permit
more profitable livestock production.
A. Get more good irrigated grass
of perennial weeds and organize
districts for control. These weeds
may cause the county many thous-
ands of dollars damage.
Horticulture
1. Assist farmers in securing