The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1941-01-30
Farm News
From the County Agent, St. Cloud :.

With plans about ready to begin
the 1941 farm program In the coun-
ty, the places of soybeans again
comes in for considerable amount
of attention among farmers in the
county, according to the county
agents office at st. Cloud. So far
most Of the beans grown in Stearns
county have been grown for hay
and silage. However, from now on
a larger number will be grown for
seed. When the beans are used for
hay and silage such land so used
will be considered non-depleting in
the 1911 farm program. In view of
the fact that some areas Of the
county do not have too much luck
in the growing Of alfalfa because
Of soil acidity, soybeans should
occupy an important place in such
areas in furnishing high protein
hay for the dairy herd for the win
ter months. Soybean hay when well
cured Is just as good as alfalfa
from the standpoint Of furnishing
protein. Generally 1t Is little more
expensive to grow soybeans be-
cause Of the need Of buying seed
each year. However, with quite a
large acreage of beans grown local
ly now, home grown seed can be
purchased much cheaper than for
merly. Where the beans are grown
for seed and not all of them are
disposed Of to advantage to other
farmers for seed purposes, the
ground beans in soybean meal
make a very satisfactory high pro-
tein supplement for livestock
rations.
The varieties Of beans that do
well in this area do not represent
a very large list. For hay some Of
the later beans can be grown to
good advantage. HaIbaro and early
Manchu are both early enough to
be grown for grain. For hay either
Of these varieties Of Illini and Dun
field are very satisfactory. The lat
ter two however, are generally
considered too late for seed produc-
ton. Minsoy Is a very early bean
and natures very well in this area
but from the standpoint Of seed
production the yield is a little too
light and from a hay standpoint
the variety does not grow tall
enoungh to give the necessary tan
mage.
A splendid bulletin, No. 1874 en-
titled "Soybeans for Minnesota" is
available thru the county agents
office. This bulletin goes into de-
tail as far as soybean growing il
concerned and covers a number Of
phases Of bean production such as
time Of planting, methods Of plant
ing in rows and broadcast, harvest
ing Of seed, hay, etc. This bulletin
is available for the asking.
Planting time for small grain Is
probably less than two months
away and farmers should make
plans at this time, according to the
county agents office, to line up
satisfactory supplies Of all seeds,
especially seed grains. At this par
ticular time a word Of warning Is
offered in connection with oats
varieties. Almost every year some
individual becomes highly enthus-
ed about a few new oats varieties
generally brought in from northern
Minnesota or Canada. At the pre-
sent time two Of these are being
pushed. One Is Legacy and the
other is Vanguard. In tests carried
out both in Saskatchewan and in
Minnesota neither Of these var
ieties did any better than some Of
the Minnesota oats varieties such
as Gopher and Minrus. For heavy
soil where a stiff-strawed and rath-
er short strawed variety Is desired
no oats produces better yield or
fulfills these other requirements
better than Gopher. For areas In
central Minnesota where somewhat
longer straw is desired, Minrus,
Anthony, and Nakota fill the bill
very nicely. At the present time
then there are no gains to be
made by using one Of these out
side varieties of oats.