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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1957)
TEW MEPFORD (ORESOK) MAIL TRIBUNE Wednesday, AprtI 17, 1937 Coyimfty IFanrmm Crops Umidleirg Leosft Chsunige Category Includes Cereal, Seed Crops (Editor's note: How is agriculture doing in Jackson county? What is its future? How does it stack up as com pared to the past? What are the major items of income? (The following is one of a series of six articles, prepared by the Mail Tribune in cooperation with the county agricul tural extension office and others, in an attempt to answer these questions.) Of all phases f agriculture in Jackson county, farm crops seem to have undergone the least overall change through the years. Included in this category are forage (alfalfa, grain hay, oats and vetch, clover, grass and corn ensilage), cereal (wheat, barley, oats, rye, corn) and seed crops (alfalfa, clover, lotus, merion bluegrass, pennlawn fescue, su gar beet seed). Annually, farm crops repre sent about 7.5 per cent of the total agricultural income for the county. Last year, which was considered an average year, estimated gross income from these crops totaled $3,787,351. ' Farm Crops Acreage During 1956, estimated total farm crops acreage was 52, 763. W. B. Tucker, county ag riculture agent, states there has been little change in total acre age, though there has been some deviation in production. Production of farm crops is largel:' dependent upon weather conditions, status of the local livestock industry, markets and production costs, according to Tucker. This years, a major change in the farm crops picture is ex pected to take place. This is be cause excessive spring rains de-J layed planting of gram, pasture seed, forage and cereal crops. Tucker said farmers will probab ly make up for the reduced acre age of these crops by planting more than the usual amount of corn and sudan grass. These can be planted in late April or May when the ground is usually warm and relatively dry. Feed for Livestock Most of the forage and cereal crops raised in Jackson county are also used here as feed for livestock. Thus, when the live stock industry is strong, forage and cereal crop acreage climbs ir accordance. - Breeds of cattle also vary in consumption of these crops. For instance, Tucker pointed out, Holstein and Guernsey cattle consume more than some other breeds. Holsteins are currently popular in Jackson county. Talent alfalfa seed is the only farm crop raised here that is be ing exported on a significantly large scale at the present time. Most of this is being sold to Greece. But Tucker says the Greek market appears to be a temporary one. . Farm Seed to Cereal , Most of the farm crops pro duction changes in Jackson county have come as a shift from seed crops to cereal and forage crop production. Follow ing is a comparison of wheat acreage harvested for grain in the past 37 years: YR. ACGE. YR. ACGE. 1919 7,239 1950 2,500 1946 2,900 1955 1,500 1947 2,800 1956 1,200 Tucker said the steady de crease in wheat acreage has re sulted from two factors. One has been past surpluses and acreage restrictions by the government. The other is that Jackson county soil is better adapted to pro duction of barley than wheat. Tucker noted that most com mercially ground grains now contain barley. As a result, bar ley is considered a premium grain hee. Acreage figures for barley have shown a steady increase since 1919, except for a period between 1950 and 1955. Follow ing is a comparison of acreage totals. YR. ACGE. YR. ACGE. 1919 1.704 1955 5,500 1946 4.300 1956 5,600 1950 5.800 ' Tucker said he could not def initely account for the 300-acre decrease from 1950 to 1955, but suggested there might have been unfavorable weather conditions for growing. Increase of Oats Even though use of oats is no longer universal, and the clim ate in Jackson county is too warm for production of high quality oats, there has been a large increase in acreage since 1919. In that year, there were 665 acres. In 1956, acreage total ed 3,200. Tucker pointed out, however, that about 2,000 acres of land in the county have recently been brought under cultivation for the first time. This is because additional privately bu" reser voirs have expanded irrigation capacities, particularly in the Sams Valley, Beagle and Lake Creek areas. Much of this land has been de voted to oats because they are considered a good temporary :crop to plant until the land can ;be "firmed down." Rye Minor Crop i Rye has always been a minor 'xop in Jackson county, Tucker said. In 1919, there were 127 acres. In 1956, there were about 100 acres. He explained that the per acre yield for rye is low here. Also, rye is a voluntary crop and tends to interfere with other crops, especially grain. Corn acreage in Jackson coun ty has always been low. In 1956, there were 332 acres raised as a cereal crop and 1,980 acres for ensilage. Tucker indicated acre age has remained more or less stable through the years, with slight increases when spring has been especially wet. Corn raised in Jackson county has a high moisture con tent, Tucker said," and must be dried artificially. This has made large scale production inadvis able. The county agent pointed out corn moisture content should be about 15 per cent for success ful storage, but it varies from 44 to 28Vfe per cent in corn raised here. He said there is some discussion of obtaining a portable dehrydrator in the county, which would make ex panded corn production a pos sibility. However, he empha sized, the move is only in the talking stage at this time. Important Forage Crop Alfalfa is considered the most important forage crop raised in Jackson county. There were about-9,714 acres in 1919, about 11,200 acres in 1950 and 13,000 acres in 1946. There has been no acreage change since then. Alfalfa acreage doesn't in crease much, Tucker said, be cause the crop is not tolerant of acid soil, of which there is much in Jackson county. Also it is not tolerant of wet soil, but must have a sandy type ground with good drainage. Most of the locally grown alfalfa is either fed to the grower's own stock or sold to livestock owners in the county. Grain hay production has de creased steadily here, and Tuck er attributes the change to the increased production of alfalfa. He noted that the two crops are closely associated and when pro duction of one is high, produc tion of the other tends to be low. There were 10,211 acres of grain hay in 1919; about 8,000 in 1946; about 7,500 in 1950; and about 3.500 in 1956. Production Flucljales Production of oats and vetch as forage crops fluctuates ac cording to corn acreage. Total acreage of oats and vetch in 1919 was 192. Acreage climbed to 7,000 in 1946, then decreased to 5,500 in 1955 and 4,000 in 1956. Tucker noted that oats and vetch make good ensilage crops and can be grown on about any type of soil. He pre dicts that farmers in Jackson county will- continue raising oats and vetch until corn yields increase. Production of jlover has in creased in the last 10 years, but it has probably been at the ex pense of other grass hays, Tuck er stated. In 1956, there were 13,000 acres of clover and 4,000 acres of other grass hays. In 1946, there were 4,800 acres of clover and 6,700 acres of other grass hays. Clover has also been planted on additional soil re cently brought into use. "Seed crops in general are in a precarious position, and there is not much future for any of them," the county agent said. This is largely because of poor markets. There ii some markets for sugar beet seed, he said, but Need Ready CASH? COUNT ON US WHEN YOU NEED MONEY! Borrow The American Way! LOANS S25 to $1,500 AUTO SALARY FURNITURE For Any Worthwhile Purpose PAYMENTS TO FIT YOUR BUDGET! American Finance Corp. Phone 2-8886 123 W. Main Medford all sales are on a contract basis. There are now only about 84 acres of sugar beet seed being raised here. Talent Alfalfa Production of Talent alfalfa climbed from 200 acres in 1955 to about 621 acres in 1956. Jhis step-up resulted from opening of the market to Greece, Tucker stated. But, considering the un certainty of thii market, the county agent says no expansion in production is recommended. Ranger alfalfa was publicized several years ago as being resis tant to alfalfa wilt. But it was discovered locally that the re port was not entirely true. Prices dropped from about 80 cents a pound to 20 cents a pound in just one year. There are 40 acres being grown in the county now, and no increase in acreage is recommended. Ladino clover has been a maj or part of Jackson county seed production, but acreage has dropped from 2,300 acres in 1946 to 133 acres in 1Q56. Even less acreage is expected this year because sale price is now less than 50 cents a pound and other crops can be raised for better per acre income. Kenland Red Clover Kenland red clover has fol lowed r. similar reduced acreage pattern. In 1955, there were 30 acres, and in 1956, there were 18 acres. Kenland red clover is not a high paying crop, Tucker said, and is also susceptible to mil dew. It is a biennial crop , and must be plowed up every two years. Lotus acreage has dropped from about 2,000 in 1949 to about 16 in 1956. This is be cause market price has dropped from about $1.50 a pound to 50 cents a pound and the price does not justify the amount of labor involved in raising this crop. Three new varieties of seed crops being raised here are me rion bluegrass, pennlawn fescue and polycr,oss bentgrass. All three were developed in the last five years by Pennsylvania State college. There has been some local interest in these crops, Tucker said, but there does not seem to be much future In them. In 1956, there were about 74 acres of merion bluegrass and this acreage is being maintained There were about nine acres of pennlawn fescue in 1956, and a reduction in acreage will be ap parent this year, Tucker said. Production of polycross bent grass has also been limited here. The county agent pointed out this crop is expensive to raise, and the price is now., coming down. No acreage' expansion is recommended. Tom Gail Is fleeted Vice President ofBTP Salem Tom Gail, junior , at Willamette university from Med ford, -was elected vice president of the campus chapter of Beta Theta Pi this week. A biology major, Gail has ser ved as vice president of the class and a member of the varsity track team. Active in the univer sity drama department, he is the son oi ivir. ana ivirs. is. w. uail, 1 1569-Biddle rd. Rickers Plan Trip To Wood, Wisconsin Camp White Manager and Mrs.' Eugene K. Ricker plan to will leave Saturday for a con ference with the manager at the Veterans Administration Center, Wood, Wis., he has announced. Assistant Manager H. Jaffrey will be acting manager during Ricker's absence for a three week period. ' Jaffrey has-been attending an area management and fiscal con ference at Portland this week, accompained by Mrs. Sue Vin cent, fiance officer, and R. H. Ruffin, domiciliary officer. Registrar L. L. Dover and Personnel Officer John W. Sind ers will attend an area confer ence Thursday and Friday this week. Bolivia, the third largest of the South American republics, embraces an area of about 510, 000' square miles. 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