The Oregon statesman., February 19, 1928, Page 29, Image 29

THE OREGON STATESMAN FARMING AND INDUSTRIAL MAGAZINE SECTION.
Salem Has a Chance to Be a Great Potato Industry Center and Should Do This
ON CERTAIN ABEAS WHERE YIELD PER
ACRE IS LARGE. MORE ACRES JUSTIF1EQ
Important Things to Get High Per Acre Yield Are Good Seed
Thoroughly Treated, Good Land, Use of Plenty of Seed Per
Acre, and Careful Handling of Field College and Govern
ment Authorities Foresee Likelihood of a Surplus of Po
tatoes in the Country This Year.
Kditor Statesman:
Potatoes are a very important
crop in Oregon as a cash crop.
There are several well defined sur
plus producing areas. These in
clude the north Willamette valley,
as Multnomah, Washington, Yam
hill. Clackamas and Marion and
I. inn counties. Another small
.surplus area is Hood River coun
ty. Klamath, Deschutes and
Crook counties produce a substan
tial surplus, as does Malheur
county. There are slight sur
pluses in Lake, Baker, Union and
Umatilla counties.
The potato production of Ore
gon is in active competition with
those produced in Washington and
Idaho. Idaho producers, because
of higher yields per acre under
their irrigated conditions and be
cause of a freight adjustment, are
this year getting into some mar-j
kets that have normally been Ore
gon markets. Yakima has hurt
the "sale of Oregon potatoes for
the current season by shipping
many carloads into San Francisco
on what amounts practically to a
consignment basis.
Surplus on Our Farms
Many Oregon potatoes are still
in storage on farms, and it is very
important that they be kept under
conditions where they will remain
cool and free from sprouting, as
many of them will not move until
a very late market.
While correspondence at the
Oregon Agricultural college tends
to indicate an increase in the in
terest in potatoes in Oregon, it is
doubtful if farmers are justified
in increasing their plantings ex
cept in some instances for seed
purposes. The material below is
the national potato ontlook report
which indicates a substantially
larger U. S. planting than hereto
fore: The Government Resort
"Present indications are that
unless farmers change their plans
there will be a substantial increase
in the acreage planted to potatoes
this year. Preliminary reports
indicate that farmers in the north
Atlantic and north central states
are planning an increase of about
14 per cent. Scattering reports
from the south indicate an upward
tendency, but probably no materi
al increases in acreage except pos
sibly in North Caroline and Vir
ginia. In some of the western
states, where low prices are now
being received, substantial de
creases are to be expected, but the
limited number of reports so far
received do not indicate that grow
ers are as yet planning on de
creases sufficiently radical to off
set the increases reported as in
tended in every state from Maine
to Nebraska. If these January in
tentions are carried out as they
were last year there would seem
to be no section of the country
where the chances would be in fa
vor of returns from potatoes com
parable to those secured during
the last three years. "The acre
age of potatoes in the United
States is becoming steadily more
concentrated in the best produc
ing sections and on the farms of
those growers who have learned
methods and who raise an acreage
large enough to permit the use of
labor-saving machinery for plant
OALEETS FINE VALENTINE; C00O.OCO
ing, spraying, digging, and grad
ing the crop. The quality of po
tatoes uised for seed is also im
proving at a remarkable rate. This
year sufficient certified seed is
available to plant nearly a fifth of
the entire acreage of potatoes in
the United States, and an even
larger proportion of the total
acreage will be planted with po
tatoes grown from carefully select
ed seed stock. Average yields in
the United . States have been in
creasing quite rapidly during re
cent years. Prior to 1920 yields
were mostly below 100 bushels per
acre, but with average weather
conditions a yield of about 114
bushels per acre must now be ex
pected. As the increased use of
improved seed is also increasing
ihe percentage of the crop that is
of marketable quality it is evident
that fewer acres per capita are
now required to supply consump
tive needs. In 1927 the yield of
potatoes was 114.7 bushels per
acre and 402 million bushels were
harvested. As potatoes are be
ing extensively utilized this sea
son as feed for livestockf!n some
of the western states, it appears
that the 1927 production was
more than was really needed for
human food. If production is fur
ther increased next year the quan
tity actually marketed may be ex
pected to show little further in
crease, but a greater proportion of
the crop will be used for stock
feeding, starch, and other low
value purposes.
"Reducing the 1928 potato
acreage below that harvested in
1927 would probably improve re
turns to growers, but in a major
ity of the states growers were ap
parently encouraged by the prices
received in the 1927 crop and are
planning to increase their acre
ages. To determine the extent of
the increase to be expected some
representative growers were asked
to report the acreags which they
expected to plant. The growers,
who have reported to date, expect
to plant 7 per cent more acres to
potatoes than they planted last
year. If these reports represent
the present intentions of all grow
ers as they did last year, it appears
that the acreage of potatoes will
be increased from the 3,505.000
acres in 1927 to somewhere
around 3,750,000 acres in 1928.
unless growers change their plans
or the planting of the intended
acreage is prevented by weather
conditions.
"With an average yield of 114
bushels per acre, 3,750,000 acres
would give a total crop of about
4 28,000,000 bushels and probab
ly bring a repetition of the low
prices which prevailed when the
crops of 1922 and 1924 were be
ing marketed. Production will of
course depend largely on weather
conditions, but if 3.750.000 acres
of potatoes are planted there
would seem to be nearly three
chances out of four that the crop
would exceed that of 1927.
"Growers of late potatoes
would do well to keep the forego
ing facts in mind and to consider
the bearish effect upon prices
which the greatly increased 1927
crop had as compared with 19 26.
The increase of some 30,000,000
bushels of late potatoes in 1927
was due largely to heavier plant
ings in the west. Acreage and
production in that section have
been gaining more rapidly than
is profitable for growers there.
Plantings in the mountain states
in 1927 were 50 per cent greater
than in 1924. and the Pacific
coast states show an increase of
one-third during the same period.'
Combined production of SO, 000. -j
000 busheH in these nine states!
compares with 49.000,000 bushels!
in 1?24. The 10 north central j
and eastern states which produce,
a surplus of late potatoes show
more moderate acreage gains dur
ing recent years and in 1927 yields
in various important areas werej
reduced by drouth, frost, or
blight. In each of these 10 states
the number of farmers planning to
increase their potato acreages ap
pears to outnumber those plan
ning decreases by at least two to
one. Unless there is a more gen
eral realisation of what this means
there is likely to be a difficult
marketing situation in these states
next fall.
"In the south, there are as yet
no
indications of a general in-
crease of acreage, though a f ew j
states seem to be planning larger)
plantings. However, the price of j
late potatoes is lower, the quantity j
still in storage probably is greater,
particularly in the west, and the
chances of profit seem hardly as
good as they were a year ago.
"Some of the intermediate
states, especially along the At
lantic seaboard, had exceptionally
heavy yields last season, which
prolonged their marketing period
and slowed down the early market
or northern or main-crop potatoes.
The chances for a repetition of
such exceptional yields are not
great, but, even with average
yields, if this group materially in
creases its plantings, there is
danger of heavy supply and low
prices during the late summer
period.
"Considering the probability of
an increased supply of potatoes,
growers of late potatoes will do
well to reconsider their plans for
the coming season. Growers who
plant heavily should make every
effort to hold down their costs per
bushel. Those who are planning
to expand their potato acreage
because of profits secured during
the last three years should bear
in mind the unfavorable returns
during the previous three years,
1922 to 1924."
The Only Justified Increases
It is probable for regular po
tato growers to retain their nor
mal acreage and to make little or
no increases. As a matter of fact,
there is little incentive for out
siders who so frequently demoral
ize the potato planting, to plunge:
in and plant.
About the principal justification
for any increased acreage rests
with the growers of certified seed
of which there has not yet been
enough developed, and the devel
opment of a good line of minor
varieties. These include Earliest
of All, Early Ohio, Irish Cobbler,
and Bliss Triumph. If some
growers would clean up a good lot
of British Queens, Garnet Chilis
and White Blossom White Rose,
that also might enlarge our mar
ket to some extent in certain sec
tions. A demand for certified lots
of these varieties is increasing
with no certified stock to offer
until some one builds it up. Cer
tain areas whose yield per acre is
large, as on rich soils with good
rotation practices, may justify ad
ditional plantings of commercial
stock, but there is little chance
for this outside of some of the ir
rigated sections. The year 19 28 is
probably the best time in many
years to get a start of good certi
fied seed rather cheaply, as both
WORLD RECORD POTATO PRODUCTION
FOB 1928 MADE WITH SALEM SEED
It Was 01,000 Pounds to the Acre. Grown on the Delta LanAs
Near Sacramento The H. A. Hyde Company Is Develop
ing a Large Potato Seed Growing and Shipping Business
Here in the Salem District Only Best Bought, on Contract
The world's record for potato
production was made lat year or
the Delti land near Sacramento.
California but the record was
made from seed grown in Oregon.
near Salem, tand shipped to Cali-J
fornia for planting last spring. The j
record crop was 64,000 pounds to
the acre. The average seeding j
takes about 700 to 800 pounds of j
potatoes to the acre, and the av
erage yield is about 20 times the
amount used in planting. The
California record production
shows a yield of more than 80
times the seed used.
The seed used in planting the
southern record acreage was
shipped from Salem by the H. A.
Hyde Co., 3030 Portland road.
This company with W. H. Weeks
and L. I. Pearmine as local man
agers, is a branch of H. A. Hyde
company of Watsonville, Cali
fornia. This year the company
has already shipped more than
25 cars of seed potatoes to Cali
fornia for early planting. Each
car holds 300 one hundred pound
sacks of the very choicest potatoes,
making a total of about 600,000
pounds of seed shipped.
The Garnet variety is the lead
ing variety for shipping. These
potatoes are a small round spe
cies and are very hardy. They are
planted in the southland during
December and January and are on
the northern markets as early new
potatoes along in April and May.
The hardy northern varieties
grown without irrigation make a
phenomenal growth in the warmer
climate and with the help of irri
gation. Doing Large Business
The H. A. Hyde company has
been in the potato seed business
here for a number of years and has
steadily grown until now it is one
of the largest buyers and handlers
of seed potatoes on the Pacific
coast. The contracts of this com
pany for seed potatoes from the
local growers are all practically
commercial stock and certified
seed are selling substantially be
low prices of recent years. The
important things in getting a high
yield per acre are good seed, thor
oughly treated with corrosive sub
limate; good land; the use of
seed per acre; and the careful
handling of the field to keep out
weeds.
G. R. HYSLOP.
Corvallis, Or., Feb. 14. 1928.
(Prof. Hyslop is professor of
farm crops, Oregon Agricultural
college, and is the best authority,
we have in hi3 field. Ed.) I
THE PROBLEMS OF
THE CITY GARDENER
(Continued from ps 1)
from the carriage problem. Vege
tables in the home garden are
more palatable, fresher and of
higher quality than those which
have been brought from a dis
tance. Quality in vegetables is the
one factor that cannot be bought
in the market.
The millions who work in of
fices, stores and manufacturing
plants have hours in the morning
or evening that might well be de
voted to the garden, providing the
healthiest kind of exercise. These
hours usually are wasted in no
STATE OFFICE BUILDING
closed now. In the growing of
se?d potatoes great care must be
taken in getting potatoes ffree
from disease and of uniform sUe.
Local growers are urged' to
plant the round type potatoes in
stead of the long type. The pres
ent potato market is based on
number one product and a potato
that will not grow true to form
is not a number one. The round
potatoes are just as remarkable
as the long ones and true to form
in nearly all instances.
The company can afford to pay
a premium for the better grade
product, as the growers in the
south will pay additional for guar
anteed planting stock. They ex
pect to develop the seed potato in
dustry in the section to a great
extent, as the market for seed in
California in growing steadily
each year. The southern potato
growers are trying to avoid seed
grown on wet or Irrigated land.
This makes a very bright prospect
for the farmers growls? first class
potatoes on the unirrigated hill
land near Salem.
The Varieties Grown "
The varieties grown tB4
handled by the Hyde company are
Garnet and Burbank mainly, with
a few Earliest of AH, Early Rose.
American Wonder and British
Queen. This company is now
buying seed stock from all parts
of the valley, but only under con
tract. The price paid is such that
the farmer raising seed potatoes
can take greater care and prodnce
only the very best. All potatoes
are sorted and regraded in the
company's plant before shipping as
that the product can. be ahsohira
ly guaranteed.
The Hyde company also does 4
big business in strawberry plants
shipping many minions each yeas.
In the summer time when the po
tato and strawberry seed business
la at a standstill the company
handles berry crates sad
for the local canneries.
valuable pursuit. The garden
should be of family interest and
one in which each member has a
part. There is no better outdoor
work or recreation and none that
gives the returns.
Soil conditions are often dis
couraging bat it has been shown
that certain vegetables may bs
grown successfully under very ad
verse conditions and the results
obtained by back yard gardens as
exhibited at shows during the sum
mer are truly remarkable.
Frequently in winter turkeys
suffer impaction of the crop,
caused by eating indigestible sub
stances such as feathers or dry
grass. Often the crop can. be
emptied by giving the turkey a
tablespoonfnl ox sweet oil and
then, with the fingers, working
the contents of the crop up
through the gullet and out the
mouth while the turkey hangs
head down.
The dwarf bedding dahlias wfll
be worth adding to your list of an
nuals. Sow them in the house ilk
March for July bloom.
A little lemon, added to water
in which rice is boiled will whiten
it wonderfully. This will also
help to keep grains separated.
i