Evening star., 1947-11-02
Tour to Stress
Saving of Grain
BY yDairymen
By jones BirehfieId


Gently developed feeding methods.
with emphasis on roughages and
grass ensilage. during q tour Fri
day of the Agriculture Departments
Dairy Research Center at Beltsville.
The tour is sponsored by the Vir-
ginia Dairy Fieldmen's Association
and the State Extension Service.
According to r. G. Connolly, ex-
tension dairy husbandman, the tour
will emphasize methods Of feeding
to, conserve grain.
Meanwhile agronomists urge dairy
farmers to save grain by strength
ening permanent pastures through
5 q fertilization program.
1t is not too late, agronomists
point out, to apply top dressings
Of fertilizer or manure with phos-
phate to pastures. 1t Is the ideal
time, they stressed, to get in reno
vation work on thin. worn pastures.
Lining and discing done this fall
should be followed by spring fer
tilizing and seeding to adapted tall,
rapid growing grasses and legumes.
Lining has a record of producing
very noticeable gains In feed pro-
duction and profit.
Grazing areas may be extended
next spring by draining wet areas
now and preparing them for seed
ing. For temporary pastures, rye
grass may be substituted for small
grains, thus conserving consider
able grain supply.
Rats and mice, department off,
cials said, account for about $780,
100000 Of grain each year. and in
sects destroy over s350,o00,00o worth
Of grain.
The use Of standardized red squill
and Antu bats are recommended
to reduce the farm rat population.
while losses of grain from insects
may be reduced by treating storage
bins with DDT and treating the
grain with nonpoisonous dusts such
as magnesium oxide.
Farm Costs High.
Farm costs are at an unprece-
dented high, according to the Octo-
Der report of the Bureau OF Agri-
cultural Economies.
The bureau said farm costs have
been on the increase for several
years, and added that the prospect |
for next year is generally upward
for most cost items"
Since 1899, the bureau said. farm
ers' out-of-pocket operating ex-
oenses have risen from to Is per |
sent q year. Total farm operating
costs for the country as whole
were barely 2.5 times greater in l946
than in the 1935-1939.
'It should be noted, however" the
bureau said. that some cost items
such as feed, seed and to some extent
labor, are represented in both farm
income and farm expenses. Higher
costs for feed to some farmers means
higher incomes to others"
Farm production and farm product
prices also have risen to unprece-
dented levels in the last few years.
The index of farm prices this year
Is expected to average nearly 100 per
cent above the 1935-1939 average.
Conservation in Maryland.
The announcement last week that
108 Calvert County landowners have
petitioned the Maryland Soil Con-
servation Committee for the forrna-
ton of a soil conservation district
in that rich tobacco-producing area
speaks we'll for the. work that has
been done by Calvert County Agent
Robert M. Hall.
E. M. Davis. head of the State
Soil Conservation Service, said that
Mr. Halls interest in conservation
work has stimulated similar interests
among Calvert farmers.
Calvert, considered by many agri-
culture leaders to be most in need
of soil conservation practices. is one
of the two Maryland counties now
lying without conservation districts.
If district is formed, 1t will leave
Talbot, on the Eastern Shore, the
only county yet to be organized
to complete the soil conservation
program for the entire State.
Resistant Strawberry.
University of Maryland horticul-
turists have reported that the Tenn
pie, q strawberry variety, apparently
is proving resistant to red stele, a
fungus disease that attacks the roots
Of the plant.
On the Eastern Shore, it was re-
ported, the Temple variety showed
no Ill effects from the disease, while
other plants in neighboring fields
were damaged to such an extent
that no berries were harvested.
Poultrymen to Meet.
The Virginia State Poultry Fed
Grafton will meet Tuesday and
Wednesday at the Hotel John Mar
shall at Richmond. Approximately
800 members are expected.