Imperial Valley press., 1939-03-19

A warning TO farmers of 1mpe-
rial Valley TO guard against in
ferior varieties OF seSbaniS macro-
carpa (sesbania) was included in
data circulated among farmers Sat
urday as a result of the Agricul-
tural Economic Planning confer
ence, held this week at Calexico.
The warning, which was includ-
ed in resolutions passed by the
Farm Management and Labor
committee at the conference, orig
mated with l.. G. Goar OF the Ex-
perimental Farm, who brought up
the subject with this comment:
Inferior Grade
There is one point of which
I believe Imperial Valley should
be aware, and that is an influx
of an inferior seSbania. I under
stand that large quantities of a
type that grows only three or four
feet high, not like our native var
iety that grows seven feet in 80
days, will soon be on the market.
It will be hard to distinguish at
first glance, because the price will
be the same as well as the name.
l suggest that farmers insist upon
our own native variety"
A resolution to that effect was
drawn and passed later by the en-
tire conference.
At the same time, the committee
urged greater use of several new
crops and demonstrations by the
Extension Service of Hubam clover,
Purple and Calcarata vetch, Dallis
grass and Berseem clover after
Goar made a brief report on work
at the experimental station.
"Hubam clover. for example, has
been little used" he said. But I
see no reason why it should not
prove more popular. 1t is excel
lently adaptible to hard grounds"
Fear of Oversupply
On the subject of Calapproyed
seed the committee expressed
doubt that more growers of seed
should be encouraged, for fear of
an oversupply.
More important is urging the
commercial grower TO use the pure
seed" Goar pointed out. To that
end, the committee passed a reSo-
luton advocating demonstrations
of the actual difference in yield
between Calapproved seed and 9TH
er types.
The question of cost accounting
was brought up by G. O. Hoober,
committee chairman, which result
ed in resolution advocating cost
records for all farms. George Win
wright, assistant farm advisor, de-
clared:
Blanks Available
Blanks are available through
the extension service for cost ac-
counting systems that are not diff
ficult to maintain. They require
a good deal of data, but that is
the only way to arrive at an exact
answer.
"The records are all on an en-
terprise basis. That is, if you oper-
ate dairy as well as grow alfalfa
and other crops, the two would
be separate so far as the records
went"
The question of "size of farm"
and how much acreage Is required
for a family drew considerable dis
cussion but few definite conclu-
sions. Allan Witter and Charles C.
Bramkamp both pointed out the
difficulty of an arbitrary figure,
because of the intense variation in
income between one crop and an
other and because of variation in
living standards. In a general way,
however, the committee took
stand against subdivision into units
less than capable of returning an
adequate living.
Winwright took the lead in de-
Tending the small farm, of between
40 and 100 acres
Small Acreage
1--WE have many families in the
valley who really are getting by
on small acreages. But they are
not raising one cropl They have