EASTERN OREGON WHEAT LEAGUE CONVENTION - DECEMBER 4-5-6, '41
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Volume 58, Number 39
'All Risk' Insurance
Gains Popularity
By N. C. DONALDSON
Showing a constant growth since
its introduction in Oregon in 1939,
federal all-risk wheat crop insur
ance is headed for its greatest year
in 1942, from the standpoint of num
ber of farms covered by policies.
Applications for insurance on win
ter wheat have been received from
5563 farms, with a considerable num
ber of spring wheat policies yet to
be written. For the 1941 crop year,
4691 policies were in force for both
winter and spring wheat.
The loss record for 1941 presents a
sharply contrasting picture between
western and eastern Oregon. The
unusually good crop conditions in
the major wheat counties resulted
in a very small percentage tof loss
claims and indemnity payments.. On
the other hand, rust, foot rot, Hes
sian fly, and excessive moisture took
a heavy toll in western Oregon,
where indemnities paid out to grow
ers far exceeded the amount of
premiums paid.
Most of 1228 loss claims approved
as of November 15 by the Federal
Crop Insurance Corporation came
from western and southern Oregon,
with only 122 coming from the nine
Columbia basin wheat counties. In
demnities totalling 127,975 bushels
have been paid on these claims.
The state summary for the causes
of the loss claims paid so far dem
onstrates why wheat crop insurance
is called "all-risk." Almost every
kind of crop hazard is represented
in the loss record. Here are the
state totals, showing the percentage
of the total indemnities paid for
each cause of loss:
Drought, 8.4; lack of water, .3;
wind, .5; excessive moisture, 18.2;
flood, .4; hail, 9.9; frost, 5.6;
dust storms, .05; insects, 16.9;
plant diseases, 29.2; rodents 1.2;
stray stock, .1; weeds, 2.5; poor
farming practices, .1; crusting, .7;
migratory birds, 1.4; volunteer
vegetation, 2.5; winter kill, 1.1;
fire, 1.
Despite the fact that indemnity
certificates afford opportunity for
choosing the most favorable market,
only 307 of the claimants selected
this method of receiving indemnity
payments, while 921 asked for cash
on the spot.
While the amount of indemnities
paid out to date is only 59 per cent
of the amount of premiums paid in
1941, the premium rate is based on
long-time histories, and on long
range basis, premiums and indem
nities will average out the same.
The increase in applications for
1942 insurance indicates that grow
ers recognize the value of crop in
surance, despite a good crop year
with camparatively few losses. Most
growers are aware that next year
might be a different story.
Surplus Wheat May
Be Fed to Livestock
By H. A. LINDGREN
Extension Specialist in Livestock.
O. S. C.
Since the surplus wheat has be
come a problem in the Northwest,
many questions have been asked
regarding its value as a feed for
livestock.
Wheat has long since been con
sidered equal in value to barley and
corn in putting on gains in weight
for hogs, lambs, and beef cattle. In
fact, the Union experiment station
has shown that wheat is slighty
more valuable than the other grains
mentioned for fattening purposes.
If the wheat price was on an
equal basis with corn and barley,
a feeding program could be devel
oped in Oregon. It requires approxi
mately 450 pounds of wheat to pro
duce 100 pounds of gain with hogs.
It reguires approximately 800 pounds
of wheat and 2400 pounds of hay
to fatten a yearling steer for the
coast market. It requires approxi
mately 1000 pounds of wheat and a
ton of hay to fatten a weaner calf
for the same market.
In fattening lambs experiments
Continued on Page Four
"Give Us
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SHERMAN EXPERIMENT FARM
CONTRIBUTES TO INDUSTRY
By M. M. OVESON
The Sherman Branch Experiment
station, located at Moro, Oregon, was
established in 1909, under a cooper
ative arrangement between the state
of Oregon and the United States
department of agriculture. The peo
ple of Sherman county purchased
the land and built the permanent
improvements, In selecting the site
for the station, the committee, which
consisted of H. D. Scudder, agrono
mist, Oregon Agricultural college,
and William M. Jardine, agronomist
in charge of experiments with dry
land grains, U. S. department of ag
riculture, was very desirous that it
be located so as to do the greatest
number of people the greatest pos
sible good, and that it be located
under soil and climatic conditions
representative of the actual condi
tions under which the largest per
centage of the farming in the region
was done.
H. J. Umberger was the first sup
erintendent, taking over his duties
during the summer of 1909. In the
spring of 1912, Mr. Umberger was
replaced by D. E. Stephens who
directed the progress of the station
until 1938 at which time he was
transferred to Washington, D. C.
Since 1938, M. M. Oveson has been
in charge of the work at the station.
The Sherman branch station ser
ves a farming area of 1,250,000 acres
distributed over six counties in which
wheat production is the major crop.
The elevation at the station is 1800
feet and the average rainfall 11.09
Heppner, Oregon, Thursday, November
This Day..."
it" I ' . i t
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inches. The soils range from fine
sandy loam to a silt loam, which
classes prevail throughout the en
tire area. The depth of these soils
range from two feet on the south
and west slopes to well over six feet
on the north and east slopes. In
addition to the experimental re
search carried on at the station, out
lying cereal varietal nurseries are
conducted at two locations in Jef
ferson county, three in Gilliam
county, one in Wasco county, and
two in Sherman county. From these
nurseries additional information is
gathered on each of the promsing
cereal varieties.
In the thirty years the Sherman
branch experiment station has op
erated, many worthy projects have
been carried on which have added
greatly to the wealth of the wheat
farmers throughout all of Eastern
Oregon and a large portion of east
ern Washington. Many of these proj
ects include:
1. Cereal Breeding Investigations.
Emphasis has been placed on the
breeding, introduction, testing, and
distributing of higher yielding, disease-resistant
varieties of wheat,
oats, and barley.
The new varieties, Rex, Oro, Rio,
Golden, Federation, White Federa
tion, and Hard Federation 31 wheat,
Markton and Carleton oats, Meloy
and Flynn Sel. 37 barley, were test
ed, developed and released by the
Moro station and now constitute
the standard varieties in eastern
Oregon.
The introduction of disease-re sis-
27, 1941
tant varieties such as Rex, Oro, and
Rio together with the development
of new improved methods of treat
ing wheat for smut, reduced the
amount of "smutty" grain at the
Pacific inspection points from 23
in 1932 to 5 in 1939.
2. Forage Crops Investigation.
Crested wheatgrass, which now
occupies more than 150,000 acres of
wheat land in eastern Oregon, was
started under test at the Moro sta
tion in 1914.
In 1933 many native grasses were
gathered by Mr. Stephens and his
assistants and placed under test at
the station. In this way the better
srains of native grasses were under
test when the Soil Conservation
nurseries were started in 1936. Since
1936 the Experiment station has co
operated with the Soil Conservation
Service in testing all the dry land
grasses of the Pacific Northwest as
well as many selections and new im
ported strains. Manv lesiimps haw
also been included in these trials.
Among the grasses which have
shown the greatest oromise arv
Crested wheatgrass, Siberian wheat
grass, Big bluegrass, Bluebunch
wheatgrass, Beardless wheatgrass,
Idaho fescue, and Little bluegrass.
3. Tillage Experiments.
Tillage experiments including ear
ly, medium early and late spring
plowing with immediate clean cul
tivation, no cultivation and mini
mum cultivation have been in pro
gress at the station since 1913. Land
plowed early in the spring has pro
Continued on Page Eight
Subscription $2.00 a Year
Oregon Ranks High
In 4-H Quality
By JOHN C. BURTNER
Oregon has established such an
enviable record in its handling of
4-H club work that this state, de
spite its comparatively small rural
population, annually excels most of
the bigger states in percentr.ge of
membership and achievement of the
members.
Year after year, the total Oregon
club enrollment ranks right up, ei
ther at the top or among the top
two or three states in the percentage
of club members compared wih total
rural population. In 1940 the total
enrollment in this state was 30,578
organized in 2862 clubs.
Mere numbers wouldn't mean
much, however, unless quality were
there. Such quality of work is indi
cated in a number of ways. For
example, of the total membership in
1940, 87.55 per cent carried the proj
ects through to completion. The val
ue of all products produced by the
club members last year reached
$373,046, with a margin above cost
of $119,831.
Another measure of quality is how
the best club members in this state
compare with those from other parts
of the country. Probably the highest
single achievement in club work is
to receive the Mioses trophy, given
annually to the most outstanding boy
and girl in matters of leadership
and general excellence in club work.
i In the 15 years that these awards
have been given, Oregon boys or
girls have won the trophy six times,
a record equalled8 by no other state.
A similar high percentage of wins
is shown in the major contests for
which college scholarships are given.
Last year Oregon won more of these
than any other state1, and again this
year is finishing high in these con
tests. Many reasons have been given for
the unusual success of Oregon dub
work and doubtless many factors
contribute toward it. Two of the
chief reasons, it is agreed, are the
devoted service of some 2000 volun
teer local leaders who are in im
mediate charge of the clubs. Another
major reason is the continuous state
leadership provided by a staff of
three who have worked together
here for some 25 years. In between,
of course, are the everyday services
of the county club agents and the
other county extension staff mem
bers. With almost every activity being
related these days to national de
fense, suitable attention has been
given to the role of 4-H clubs in this
field. Everyone has atrreed that most
of the ordinary activities of the club
members in carrvinc out their oroi-
lects are an important link in nation
al deiense, as most of them are con
cerned with producing the lands of
food now being emphasized.
If Oregon achieves its go?l of rais-'
ing some 16,000 additional rural veg
etable gardens next year, 4-H clubs
will have to account for a consider
able number of this increase either
directly or indirectly. They are also
contributing to the production of
more meat, milk and eggs, and are
cooperating in the national drive for
better nutrition. In the campaign
for avoidance of waste, their work
in canning and preserving is im
protant in itself and aho as an ex
ample to others.
Beyond these practical steps, how
ever, the 4-H movement is mimr
further and is sponsoring definite
special training in the meaning of
democracy as contrasted with the
totalitarian forms of government. All
over Oregon, club members, regard
less of their projects, are spending
some of their time studying this
question of democracy versus dic
tatorship. Just as the work of the extension
service is recognized as one of the
most outstanding developments in
adult education, this branch r
of the most sound and wholesome
ofthe most sound and wholesome
youth movements in the country.