The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-11-25
LEN0NT farm
PROVES Value
OF RANGE Land
Successful Cultivation of 900
Acres Demonstrates Value
of Farming Here.

The DR.. C. B. Lenont farm at Babbitt,
about 20 miles south of this city, has
been singled out as an example in an
swer to the oft put question of what
will become of the iron range COM
munities when the iron ore has been
mined?"
That this contingency is not liable
20 arise for many years hence, the
question has nevertheless been agitating
the minds of range municipalities. The
Lenont farm at Rabbit, the largest
single agricultural project in Mime
sofa, is cited as the solution.
While the Rabbit project is an
enormous undertaking, covering as it
does a thousand acres under cultivation,
there are several hundred smaller
farms scattered around the range
country, all of them doing well and
furnishing their owners with good
living and some cash besides. In
speaking of the Lenont project, Skill
ing's Mining Review says among other
things:
Northeastern Minnesota, and in fact
all of northern Minnesota is one Of the
most favored regions in the world. With
its great wealth of iron ore to introduce
and support large population, agri-
culture and eventually a greater growth
of manufacturing, will carry on into
the dim and distant future. The same
things applies to the entire Lake Su-
perior mining district.
DIR. c. B. Lenont of Virginia, Mimi,
has performed a very great service for
northeastern Minnesota in demonstra-
ting all this in most definite manner.
"The Lenont Farms occupies an area
of 1900 acres situated on the flat, sandy
loan lands just east of Rabbit, on
the eastern MeSabi iron range. One
thousand acres are cleared and under
cultivation. 1t is owned and operated
by DR.. C. B. Lenont. The farm is a
producer of certified potatoes, of certi-
fed alfalfa and certified small grains.
1.-THE principal cash crop is potatoes.
Whites for the Twin City and Chicago
tables Reds as certified seed for the
southern growers in Florida and Ala
bama. The annual production of po-
tatoes on this farm is from 10000 to
10000 bushels with the yield very
closely related to the seasons rain
fall.
1.-THE secondary cash crop is alfalfa
seed Grimm Variety. Alfalfa is
planted and grown for three or four
years in rotation with one crop of
potatoes. The seed is in active demand
locally and farther south because of
its hardness against freezing con-
ditions.
This project was undertaken by DR..
Lenont with the purpose of proving
that agriculture could and should be
made a principal industry of north
eastern Minnesota. In the 20 years
that the farm has been operating there
has been afforded an excellent demon
stration of the possibilities in agricul-
ture in st. Louis county where backed
by intelligent effort. The farm build
ings are utilitarian rather than pre-
tentious. The most costly of them is
completely underground, concrete and
frost proof potato warehouse capable of
storing 60 carloads of potatoes.
1.-THE farm is managed by the doc
tors son, Stanley Lenont, and Arthur
Walker, superintendent. Doctor Lenont
is one of the principals of the Lenont-
Peterson Clinic at Virginia where he
has enjoyed very extensive surgical
practice for great many years. He
is chief surgeon of the Duluth, Winni-
peg & Pacific Railway; chief of staff of
the Virginia Municipal Hospital, and