The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1948-01-01
during the past, is now no

more.
In the past, when the pres
sure of increasing population
or the failure of the land to
produce regularly or abundantly
created difficulties, the easy
and common way to solve these
local problems was simply to
leave them and go west to take
up new lands. We can no long,
er do that to any great extent.
Now, we are forced to solve the
problems of our soils at home.
We must now study our soil
and agricultural problems, those
of our farms or ranches, and
those that are common in our
community, and find ways and
means to correct and adjust
them. We must improve our
system of agriculture, of use
and management of the soil
and make it suitable to our To-
cality, our soils and our eli
mate. We must learn to under
stand our native conditions,
their advantages and handicaps
and become a truly native
people, understanding and low
ing its land.
This new condition of an ap-
preaching scarcity of land, as
compared with its former alb
undance, has caused a greater
concern for our soils, and the
resulting general interest in a
program of soil conservation.
This has been recognized by
the federal government by
creating the Soil Conservation
service in the Department of
Agriculture, a service supported
and paid for by the Federal
government to make available
to the farmer and raneher
technical help and advice for
proper use and care of the soil
and the maintenance of it's fer
tility.
It would not only be i'm
practical, but also very Wasteful
of time and of production for
each individual operator to
develop the best choice and
manner of the many conser-
Walton practices for his own
farm by his own experimental
ton, trial error and correction.
It would, in most cases, take
the best part of a mans life
time to develop the best prac-
tees and methods. It is there
fore desirable to make avail
able to the farmers and ranch
erS in each community or
county the already accumu1at-
ed experience and technical
knowledge of experts in soil
conservation. For this reason,
the federal government through
the Soil Conservation service,
supplies the technical assist
ance, and the farmer himself
pays for all actual work, dirt
moving or other conservation
work on his farm.
Sometimes there is disagree
ment on the merits of soil con-
SerVation on the part of people
not too familiar with its op-
erations, because in their mind
they have a different idea or
definition of the term soon
SerVation." Conservation of the
soil does not mean, as. it might
with conServations of mineral
resources, locking it up and
keeping it stored away for fu-
ture use. Conservation of the
soil means. ito use it without
waste. In fact, it is possible to
presently have full production
from the soil and at the same
time maintain or increase it's
fertility through various prac-
tlceS, such as rotation with
periodic grass or clover crops,
blowing under of green grass
or fertilizing.
We have already said that the
u. S. congress has created the
Soil Conservation service. Ct
has done this, not only as a
program of technical assistance
to farmers, but as a program
of broad national Importance.
This is well expressed in the
following quotation from a pun-
LEGATION of the u. S. Depart
ment of Agriculture, entitled,
"our American Land" by Hugh
H. Bennett, chief of the Soil
Conservation service. "The
soil-Which all of us, city and
country people alike, live from
is our nations most important
resource. Industry and labor,
and professional people, as well
as farmers, have a large stake
in the country's land. Today
they are all rightly concerned
about Americas productive soil
and water resources; they re-
allie. as never before that these
| basic resources are linked iii