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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Or.) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 1940)
WHEAT FIELD IN THE ILLINOIS VALLEY The ■ ■■■III ■■ I ■ I. ■ I, , „ ! ,, -, ■ ■ -II I I Illinois Valley News 4th ANNIVERSARY NUMBER Agricultural Edition SECTION 3 Cave Junction, Oregon May 9th, 1940 Grange Fights Farm Battles, Sets Community Social Code The Illinois Valley Grange was first organized in 1907 and through circumstances beyond control, was forced to disband in 1912. In the latter part of 1930 the Grange was reorganized by Arthur Brown, state Grange deputy and W. A. Johnson, county deputy. Ashby Fulk was elected master and acted through to 1931. The following masters were elect ed in turn and served: Victor Brown, Freeling Sawyer, Harry Tresham. Harry Smith, Orval Seat, Clarence Sawyer, and James Payne. In 1939 Kenneth Wells was elected master, but only served for a short time, be ing called away with his work. Roy Wells was chosen and his successor to finish out the term. John Smith is the present master. Since being reorganized the Illi nois Valley Grange has been quite active and now has a membership of over 100. The Illinois Valley Grange has been very active for the past few years and is regarded as one of the live wires in the county. They own their own building at Bridgeview and are out of debt and have a cash balance in the bank. Here, as in other communities, the Grange has done much to promote sociability, cooperation and gracious living. The Illinois Valley Grange more than fulfills its purpose and much good has been derived from its friendly association with neighboring granges and its research along agri cultural lines. Pomeroy Ranch Shows What Can Be Done J. H. Pomeroy, structural steel con tractor of national repute, came to the valley about three years ago and purchased the old Twohy ranch and started in to develop one of the larg est ranches in the state, comprising about 4,000 acre«. Developing a wild area of this size was a he man’s job and took plenty of money, but Mr. Pomeroy knew what he wanted and how to do it, and started out to make, not only a suc cessful ranch on a large scale, but al so a summer home where he could rest and relax when on vacation. Mr. and Mrs. Pomeroy and their three sons and daughter frequently come to the ranch for a week’s visit, but near ly always spend their summers there. Agriculturally, Mr. Pomeroy has cleared and put into cultivation ap proximately 300 acres of different types of crops, and while the first year’s harvest was not up to expecta tions, the second year showed a de cide improvements, and the crops for the future look bright indeed. One of the first successful sprink ling systems to be put into operation in the valley had its inauguration on the Pomeroy ranch and it proved a success from the start. Having a (Please Turn to Page Five) When anyone asks you if crops do well in the valley, here is evidence showing a wheat fie'd with a man’s head just visible over the top of this lush grain; the gentleman stood six feet tall. The field is that of Ed Wright’s and the owner is the party in the background. The picture was taken just before harvest last fall and indicates what can be raised in this valley with the proper application of irrigation. Diversified crops of all kinds thrive here, and the area is becoming a mecca for the small fruit grow er. There are several places that raise small fruits and the returns are quite satisfactory, even with a limited market. There is a great future for farming in this valley and with all the water that goes to waste, when harnessed, we will have one of the Garden Spots of the World, and an ideal climate to boot. Cows Gross $25,000 For Valley Dairymen Dairying in the Illinois Valley is not what one would call a big indus try, but at the same time it is one of the leading agricultural pursuits. It brings in over $2,000 a month and to say that farmers of this valley re ceive $25,000 per year from this source would not be over-estimating the situation. To some this amount will indeed seem small but translated into gallons of milk produced and the possibilities for increasing the output brings to realization that dairying has a definite part in the welfare of valley people. There is approximately 75,000 lbs. of milk produced per month here. This would be about 2,500 lbs. per day, which is only about one-third of the amount that could be produced under present conditions. One of the most important steps dairymen now realize in making herds produce is testing cows regularly and culling out poor producers. Five good cows regularly produce as much as ten ordinary cheap grade animals be sides cutting feed costs in half. It is true that the initial investment on good cows is a bit more but they more than pay for themselves in the long run. Another factor to be considered in increasing milk production here is the raising of more ladino clover. It has been proven that it is a sub stantial crop for this locality. Ladino makes one of the finest pastures that can be grown, besides being a fine hay crop and an extremely profitable seed crop. More cows can be pastur ed on the same amount of ground with ladino than on any other kind. Frankly the dairy industry is not yet developed here; it is just started! Production could be trebled under present existing conditions. Water for irrigation is the chief stumbling block. Two Deer Creek dairymen experi mented and have adopted the sprink ler system of irrigation. Success of the ventures is a matter of record. There are numberless opportunities for this type irrigating in this valley with resultant doubling of productiv ity. In places where this may be accomplished systems would in a short pay out. The opportunity to open up new land, the opportunity to better de velop what we now have, the oppor tunity to raise more profitable crops to produce more daiy products; these are the things we have ahead of us in the Illinois Valley—we can get all of them accomplished by going after them. ---- —....... o----------------- Irrigation Possibilities In Illinois Valley Are Subject of Speculation Visitors to the Illinois Valley can not help but see great possibilities for development along agricultural lines. Years ago, before good roads were common in this section, the area was devoted to cattle raising, ranchers feeding their own hay and grain and driving their cattle out each fall to market. With the improvement of highways, however, the cattle indus try has dwindled and the production of diversified crops has taken its place. A somewhat recent feature has been the growing of small fruits. Il linois Valley strawberries have been proved to be of the best quality and each year there is an increase in the plantings of berries and fruits. Irrigation is the secret of succès in the valley and water facilities are being improved and extended each year. One of the new systems adopt ed in some neighborhoods is sprink ling. While this is a little more ex pensive to install the upkeep is less and it conserves water and adds to the length of life of the soil. Please Turn to Page Five)
