/ ».
T ualatin V alley FARM NEWS
BONNEVILLE POWER LOOP
There’s more power tonight, out
of Forest Grove!
Say« the NEWS TIMES, final
construction on the addition of a
new 115,000 volt Forest Grove-Mc-
Minnville transmission line was
completed for dedication cere
monies January 6.
The new transmission facilities,
j Ln addition to boosting service for
the two cities named, will mean
more power for southwestern Ore
gon through a third high voltage
line to Salem. Power may now be
fed to McMinnville and Forest
Grove from either St. Johns or
Salem substations, which will prac-
tically eliminate the incidence of
power outages, the story says.
JAN. 16
SEE OUR NEW ENTERTAINMENT
FEATURE PICTURE
"WHAT'S NEW IN
JOHN DEERE FARM EQUIPMENT"
and other new interesting
and educational pictures
Hessel's Tractor & Equipment Co
121 S. E. Morrison St „Portland, Oregon
ROBIN
Agriculture Leads As New
Wealth Source For County
SIXTEEN AND ONE HALF MILLION 1949 INCOME
INDICATES STORY OF BETTER FARMING RETURN
By Palmer S. Torvend.
County Agent
Washington County’s basic new
wealth producing industry, agricul
ture, produced an income of over
sixteen and one half million in
1949.
This figure is the cash income
of the farmers for their produce
and does not include off-fa i m pro
cessing. For comparison, the 1926-
1930 period had an average of five
million and the 1936-1940 period
five and three quarters million.
Although farmers are enjoying
better net returns than they did
a few years back, it must also be
noted that consumers are also pay
ing less to the farmers from the
wage dollar for food than ever be
fore.
It must also be emphasized that
many famers operated in the red
during the good part of the late
20’s and during the 30’s.
Better farm return is not only
making for better life on the farms
in Washington County, but is also
reflecting to the city folks. Agri
culture is by far the leading source
of new wealth in Washington
County. Therefore, the urban and
city folks serving the area are
basically dependent on agriculture.
Business is not self sufficient, but
is a link in the production chain.
According to the 1945 census,
Washington County’s 4,519 farms
which produce agricultural pro
ducts average 50 acres. This in
dicates how wide-spread this ag
ricultural return is, and secondly,
the efficiency of products on the
average farm in the county. Farm
ers are each year producing great
er yields and production per acre
which, in addition to better prices,
has helped bring up the total in
come. Washington County is made
up of a few large and many very
small farms containing less than
20 acres, thus explaining the av
erage a little further.
The main agricultural enterprise
in Washington County is dairying,
which accounts for approximately
25% of the county's income. Horti
cultural products account for some
23%. poultry 13%. seed crops 10%
truck, grain and hay and general
livestock make up the balance.
A summary of practices which
have increased the agricultural in-
come of the County through great
er production, includes, on the part
of the dairyman, increased produc
tion per cow through product test
ing in the County D.H.I.A., select
ing better breeding stock and cull
ing of lower producers and more
recently, artificial Insemination. In
addition, dairymen have shifted
from the practice of feeding high-
er priced ready-mix feeds to more
roughage, such as improved crop
land pastures, grass silage and hay.
age has been markedly increased
by the use of barn yard and com
mercial fertilizers.
In the field of horticulture, grow
ers are doing more to control pests
and insects of their crops, improv
ing the fertility of their soils
through cover crops and fertilizing
and removing the horticultural
crops from unsuited soil which is
being planted to other crops bet
ter suited to the shallow or poorly
drained soils.
Poultry producers are using bet
ter management practices. Seed
producers in exercising weed con
trol practices have eliminated crop
competition, thus making for high
er yield per acre. Farmers general
ly throughout the county are using
more and more irrigation.
The conservation of farm-pro
duced fertilizer is receiving more
attention, as noted by the construc
tion of liquid manure tanks. Farm
ers have also learned that the
limited summer water supply can
be extended through the construc
tion of small storage reservoirs
which are supplementing the al
ready limited irrigation water sup
ply. More of these storage ponds
will be built in the coming year.
Other factors, in addition to im
proved agricultural pt actices which
have contributed to the better
farm dollar income, have been in
fluenced by inflation. This has hit
the farmer from both increased
return and increased farmer pro
duction costs. Farm machinery,
labor i and ever-increasing taxes
are some of these factors, and
these will continue to make farm
ing generally a highly competitive
business.
It is interesting to note that
over the nation as a whole, fewer
farmers are producing more agri
cultural products each year, which
BEAVERTON ENTERPRISE -Friday, January 13,
ceive little more than labor returns.
This is particularly true of crops
such as grain.
The livestock, poultry, horticul
I is a definite indication of the
ture and cat tain field-crop business
mechanization that is taking place
of Washington county experienced
; in agriculture.
reductions in unit return during
Taxes of fatm land in the coun- the past season Some of this was
' ty now are commonly as much as accentuated by the fact that sup
I rental operators used to pay for port prices on certain basic com
the use of the land in the 1930’s. modities maintained the price of
Increased land value also enters feed at a high level In comparsion
the picture, particularly when a to the value of the product pro-
farm operator is figuring interest ‘ duced
on his Investment, which any good
On the brighter side of the pic-
businessman must do.
ture, we have an increase in pop-
When figuring interest on land ulation, which means more de-
investment, plus taxes and other niand for agricultural products,
investments necessary to produce provided they have the dollars to
a crop on that land, the agricultural spend. This increase in population
income per acre must remain very is expected to continue for several
high. Otherwise, farmers
years.
The truest and surest way in
which we can serve our fellowmen
is not so much to do anything
for them, as to be the very truest
purest, noblest being we know
how.
Frances P. Gobbe
DANCE
Kinton Grange
Music by
Melody Aces
JANUARY 14
Admission—74c;
HOOD THEATER
1:30 P- M.
MONDAY, JANUARY 16TH
SHERWOOD,
OREGON
T
TWO FREE
In this
less than 2% of
the average family’«
budget goes for
ELECTRICITY
Public Lectures
Oil
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
bv
*
HERSCHEL P. NUNN. C. S. B
Portland. Oregon
MONDAY EVENING. JANUARY 16
at <» o’clock
in the edifice of Sixth Church of Christ, Srirnti-t
1331 S. W. Park Avenue. Portland
RADIOCAST OVER KW.I.J. 1080 k<
• F •
Subject; • < KRISTIAN SCIENI I \XI> Illi. Bl SI-
NESS OF LIA ING”
TUESDAY EVENING. JANUARY 17
at o o’clock
in the edifice of Sixth Church of (Jirist. Scientist,
1331 S. W. Park Avenue, Portland
THIS LECTTRE WILL NOT BE BROADCAST
Subject; “CHRISTIAN SCIENCE; THE WAY OF
MAVS DELIVERANCE FROM EVII
i
The Public in Otrtiialiv Invited
AAost luxuries are expensive. But here the
luxurious convenience of electrical living is just
about the least expensive item in the family
budget! In the average household of this area a
third of the budget is spent on food, 19% on
housing, 19% on recreation and miscellaneous,
13% on clothing, 8% on transportation, 6% for
medical care—but less than 2% for electricity.
Yet PGE customers use electricity abundantly
—in fact they use 3 to 4 limes as much as the
national average!
Unlike many things, PGE electricity has
become less, rather than more, expensive over
the years. Rates have been cut 16 times, increased
only once, in the last quarter century. Average
cost per kilowatt hour is less than half the
national average.
Yes, the luxury of PGE electricity represents
real value . . . your biggest bargain . . . and
PGE intends to keep it that way.
PORTLAND GENERAL
ELECTRIC COMPANY
1950
©I
(Inc. Tax)