The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1935-04-26
Cows Develop Sweet Tooth AS
Farmers Feed MolasSes, Straev
Drouth Forced Farmers to
Change Habits Of Lifetime
to Keep Stock Alive

North Dakota livestock nave de-
!veloped q tremendous sweet tooth for
lmolasses, that viscous, sticky-sweet
substance more generally associated
with cookies, flapjacks and rum.
It's all result Of the 1894 drouth
which left North Dakota short on
hay but long on wheat straw, low
grade roughage which in years past
was useful only as barn bedding,
shelter or Is material for bonfires.
Normally, North Dakota farmers
and stockmen are hay feeders. From
June to September they cut. cure and
store hay in mows or ricks. The
straw pile threshed into the back
yard was just q necessary nuisance.
Necessity Forced Change
With the whitening drouth OF 1884
came the realization that livestock
feeding habits would have to be re-
vised If farmers we're to save cattle
and horses. With hay scarce and
high priced but with plenty Of wheat
straw in the Red river valley, the
federal emergency relief administra-
ton stepped into the picture.
The FERA livestock feed depart
ment. under the direction Of Clyde
Banks, accumulated $4,000 tons Of
straw at Is concentration points In
the Red river valley. Arrangements
we're made for the importation Of
duty-free hay and straw from Mani
toba and Saskatchewan. Supple
menting the store Of straw were ap-
proximately $4,000 tons of hay.
On March /, the FERA. under
orders from Washington, turned over
It's livestock feed supplies to the
North Dakota rural rehabilitation
corporation. M. E. Tindall, man.
Ager Of the RRC livestock feed de-
partment, was instructed to liqui-
date the supplies on hand and to
stop purchasing.
Had to Sell Idea
Principal questions confronting the
RRC was how to dispose Of the straw
to give farmers full advantage Of the
feed value and conserve the rapidly
dwindling hay supplies. It was OBJ
vious, Tindall says. that some un-
usual step had to be taken In order
to sell the farmers on the idea Of
feeding straw.
Prof. H. j. Gramlich Of the Me-
braska Agricultural college, an auth
GRITTY on livestock feeding and feed
Ing methods, advised Tindall that
molasses used in combination with
straw made q palatable and highly
nutritious livestock food and was
comparatively inexpensive.
Tindall surveyed sources of supply.
He discovered there were approx
mately 500 tons of sugar beet mo-
laSseS available at the American
Crystal Sugar company plant at East
Grand Forks. MINI. The Walker
Christensen company of Minot de-
clared it could obtain Hawaiian cane
sugar molasses quickly at North Pa
cific coast points and could barrel
and deliver 1t to farmers at reason.
able price.
Launched Education Drive
With these facts at hand, the RRC
determined to launch an intensive
educational and sales campaign on
March r. First deliveries were made
in the Grand Forks and Minot areas.
Directing the educational campaign
was the extension division Of the
state agricultural college, working
through county agricultural agents.
An old principle Of merchandising
was adopted. that Of offering a bar
gain whereby each purchaser Of one
60-gallon drum Of molasses would be
entitled to a discount of Il . ton on
three tons Of straw bought with the
molasses.
In less than so days more than
100000 pounds Of cane and beet
molasses were sold in North Dakota.
This was 215,O00 gallons. Success Of
the experiment also was reflected In
q tremendous increase of straw and
tn straw sales.
The huge piles OF straw which a
North Dakota congressman described
es higher than the new state cap
itol' melted like snow before .
chinook wind. BY April IS 1t was
definitely established that rather
than having a surplus of straw ana
hay, there would be deficiency be-
fore the dry feeding period was over.
So the drouth, coupled with timely
craftsmanship, has radically revised
the feeding practices Of 60 years with
q vast number Of North Dakota
farmers.
Banner county in the consumption
Of molasses was LaMoure where more
than 15,707 gallons were fed.