Imperial Valley press. (El Centro, Calif.) 1907-current, 1940-05-19
Ry ARGYLE McLACHLAN

There are several good reasons
fol statement relative to the flax
industry in Imperial Valley at this
time. IN six years of commercial
fax production here. the industry
has grown from II 900 acres in 1888
to about $4,000 or $4,000 acres IN
$40. Many new growers have como
into the flax industry in the past
two years and, with the Minnesota
September flax market at present
quoted at S185 a bushel as COM
pared with S1.64 per bushcl a year
ago, flax looks most attractive AS
crop. There is a probability ol
further increase in acres to lax IN
Imperial Valley in 194l.
Other reasons for an increase
in the flax acreage next year are
the low prices now being paid for
other commodities grown in I'M
Eerial Valley which is very likely
to cause a switch of considerable
moro acreage to flax. Many neW
growers will thus be coming into
the flax growing business and we
hope through this article to provide
such new growers with a picture
of certain factors of the flax in
tiustry in Imperial Valley that will
make it possible for them to operate
successfully even with their first
crops.
Not Catch Crop
Flax is not catch crop. just
as growers of vegetables use only
land with known productivity 50
flax growers must come to appre-
ciate fully that good crops of flax
are to be expected only on lands
that arc we'll supplied with soil
fertility. Land ploWed out of old
alfalfa or land out of vegetables
where the vegetables have been
fertilized rather freely can be ex-
rected, unuer normal cropping con-
ditions, to yield about thirty bushels
OF flax per acre.
This makes a profitable crop
since costs, including preparation,
seed and seeding, irrigation labor
and water, sacks and harvesting,
run the total to about $1,000 or
$1,000 per acre. Thus, even a price
of Sl.50 per buShcl on this sort of
a yield will pay cost Of production,
rental of one-fourth of the crop,
or the high taxes that land in
imperial Valley carries, and still
show some profit.
The best time to plant flax, &C
cording to l.. CT. Goar. Superinten-
dent of the experimental station at
MclOland, is November | and the
best method of planting flax is to
GRILL the seed in moist mulch. How
ever, very good crops of flax have
been produced from paintings on
good land as early as October goth
and as late as early January. Good
yield from late planted flax de-
ponds to large extent on favor
able weather conditions of the late
winter and carly spring. Cultural
methods in flax growing have i'm
iJI'NNu oiNtlNilly llllouSIloliJ Vic NlA
years of our commercial flax culture
in Imperial Valley.
1t has become the practice to
lrrigatc twice prior to seeding, once
in late August or early September
after which the land is worked and
levelcd thoroughly in preparation
for irrigation prior to planting. This
practice has done much to bring
about better control of weed growth
and every improvement in control
of weeds is just so much in favor
OF maintaining flax in Imperial
Valley as one of our consistently
profitable crops. Weeds must be
and by proper cultural
they can be controlled
= statement borne out by the fact
that G. a. MagaW. on what is known
as tho Imkn Lone Star Ranch
operated by Fred Gun