Imperial Valley press., 1944-05-18
r. - FARM N EWs:-
-AGRlCUlTURAL EXTENSION.
:: SERVICE 0 III
SERVICE

Joint studies of the army, wal
food administration, and depart
ment of agriculture are in progres:
/ to determine the extent TO which
military equipment may be put te
agricultural uses after the war.
Equipment adaptable TO agricul.
ture when it becomes surplus. to
war needs includes vehicles Of many
classifications, from jeeps and
/ standard trucks to four-Wheel ano
six wheel drive trucks, trailers in
size from one-ton capacity to those
large enough to haul Acton tank
tools, fence, roofing, buckets, tires
and standard buildings of army can
tonments. .
Captain John R. Stambaugh, U
S. army, is special assistant to the
director of the office of materials
and facilities, VIA, and will have
charge of disposal of the military
equipment in the agricultural field
The VIA has been assigned full
responsibility for disposal of food
declared to be surplus war proper
ty.
Surplus property other than food
will be disposed of through cooper
alton of the procurement division
of the treasury department, recon-
struction finance corporation, U. S.
maritime commission, and the sur
plus war property administration.
The local USDA War Board Of
flee at $50 State street, El Centro
has information on forges, hoists,
and jack screws currently offered
by the navy.
CCNTAINER SCARCITY
Scarcity of baskets, hampers,
crates, lugs, and all wooden con-
tainers for fruits and vegetables
is reported by the Z. S. department
of agriculture.
The war production board has
announced restrictions on the use
Of new containers will go into effect
July /. The order will prohibit use
of new equipment for some veget-
ableS and restrict the amount for
others. New wooden containers will
not be used for cabbage, green corn,
dry onions, white potatoes, rutaba-
gas and root turnips. Use of wooden
containers is restricted to percent
ages in carrots, cantaloupes, melons,
cauliflower, celery, lettuce, cucum-
bers and radishes.
Requests are being received al
most daily at the Imperial county
USDA war board office for car
bracing material from watermelon
growers who have no 1912 or l943
history of watermelon production.
DIFFICULT FOOD GOALS
War Food Administrator Marvin
Jones says it will be harder to meet
our food needs this year than last.
Our food situation is good at
this time" said Judge Jones. The
farmers and livestock producers
have made it possible to remove all
meat except beef steak and roaStS
from rationing, all frozen fruits
and vegetables, all dried fruits,
most of the important canned veg
etables, lard, shortening and salad
cooking oils.
Because We have plenty now it
does not necessarily follow that we
Will have plenty later. Too many
are prone to take a food supply for
granted. II will be even harder TO
meet our neeGs this year than last.
Spring paintings have been delayed
by unreasonable weather and too
much rain. There are not as many
people 0 the farm as before the
war and many of the young men
capable of doing the hard work on
the farms have gone into the arm
ed forces and to the factories, at
tracted by higher wages and shorter
hours.
Despite the greatly increased
feed production and the imports
of all the feed that our .tranSporta-
ton facilities would permit, there
is still not enough feed to supply
the livestock we now have. 1t will
be necessary to adjust our live
stock and poultry numbers to the
available feed supply. The balanc-
ing of livestock and feed supplies
will be in the real interest of the
livestock producers themselves. They
are the ones who can accomplish
it,"
In Imperial county many ranch
ers are planning to grow grain
sorghums this summer TO help meet
the feed shortage that is threaten
ing livestock producers. Based on
cropping plans that growers have
discussed with him Roy Bellwood
manager of the Imperial Grain
Growers Inc. Of Brawley, estimates
that 20 to $4,000 acres of grain
sorghums will be grown here. This
compare with 10000 acres of grain /
sorghums in l943 and 1880 acres