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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1959)
4A MAIL TRIBUNE, Mwiford, Oregon, Thursday, January 29, 1959 Outstanding 4-H Member Follows Brother, Sister Long and active participa-. with 150 ribbons won at the tion in the Jackson county 4-H program is a tradition with Truman Elmore and his three brothers, of Applegate. His older brother now at Oregon State college was ac tive in 4-H work in Jackson county for 10 years. His older sister, now married, has a like record. The younger brothers and sisters plan to continue in the family way. Truman has been active in a number of 4-H projects such as forestry, electricity, tractor maintenance, beef and sheep. Now his main project is hogs. These many projects his suc cess with them and his ability as a junior leader has earned him the title of "4-H Boy of The Month" for January. Hogs Main Project Truman is specializing in Poland China hogs and now has six hogs. He usually tries to keep about six sows, he said. The lanky, towheaded young farmer has three beef animals left over from his beef project and 10 sheep. These projects of Truman's fit right into the family farm operation which consists of 620 acres on which the El mores raise corn, hay, 75 head of Angus beef animals, 500 head of Corriedale sheep and 35 head of Poland China hogs. The 4-H senior member has a successful background of 4-H competition behind him county and state fair and at the district 4-H fairs. Other achievements include his jun ior leadership of the Apple gate Swine club, his rating as an outstanding counselor at 4-H summer camp and a member of the team which twice won the herdsmanship trophy in swine at the state fair. Truman is aiming at an 4-H club work is valuable since it gives lots of exper ience in farm problems and members of this program learn at first hand how to manage them. It also provides farm youth with an oppor tunity for competition with others, provides financial help with farm projects. Truma nis aiming at an education at Oregon State col lege where he plans to study soils. His brother, Charles is majoring in animal husbandry there. Grading Proposed For Dressed Turkeys Salem -A bill to require grading and grade labeling of all dressed turkeys sold through commercial channels in Oregon will be introduced in the 1959 legislature under sponsorship of the Oregon Turkey Improvement associa tion. At its annual meeting in Iowa earlier this month, the National Turkey association went on record requesting U. S. Department of Agricul ture to establish compulsory grading and grade labeling of all turkeys sold in the U. S. At that meeting, Walt Sch- wedler of Portland was elect ed president of the national federation for the coming year. Gold Hill Youth In Cattle Club Peterborough, N.H. - John A. Jaksch III, Gold Hill, has been accepted for Junior membership in The American Guernsey Cattle club. By qualifying as a junior member of the AGCC, John will receive a membership certficate and have the privi lege of registering his Guern sey at the low member rate. This junior membership will be in effect until the new member reaches 21 years of age Nearly 900 young people from all over the United Stat es have been accepted for junior membership in the American Guernsey Cattle club since this program start ed in June. Requirements for junior membership in the AGCC are simple. Young people must be individual owners of one or more pure bred Guernseys, and at least one of the animals must be registered or become registered at the time the youngsters application for membership is processed. Ap plications for membership must be endorsed by a state 4-H club leader, county 4-H Lahonian Alfalfa Said Best Type For This Area Farmers in the southern Oregon area who plan to plant alfalfa for hay produc tion this spring should choose the variety to be planted with more than usual care said H. H. White, superintendent, Southern Oregon Branch Ex periment station. The spotted alfalfa aphid -j a scourge of alfalfa fields in much of the United States in recent years, has reached Ore gon. Infestations were found this past season in Umatilla, Gilliam, and Morrow coun ties, White noted. The pest has been a serious factor in California hay production in recent years where it did an estimated $15,000,000 damage to alfalfa in 1955. Why it has not crossed the state line from California into the southern Oregon area remains a mystery, he remarked. The spotted alfalfa aphid can be controlled by insecti cides such as malathion, para thion, Demeton, and phos drin, White said. However, this type of control is expens ive and all the above mater ials except malathion are ex tremely poisonous to humans and warm blooded animals. This makes them very hazard ous to use on alfalfa meadows to be cut for hay. Probably the best control method known to date for southern Oregon growers is to plant the Lahontan variety which is known to have a high degree of resistance to the spotted aflalfa aphid as well as resistance to stem ne matode and bacterial wilt Besides being resistant to the spotted alfalfa aphid, stem nematodes, and bacterial wilt, Lahontan is one of the high est hay yielders adapted to the southern Oregon area. Be cause of its resistance and vig or, plantings on the Experi ment station have lasted much longer than most other vari eties, even Talent. CHIT CHAT By JOE COWLEY Mail Tribune Farm Editor The talks during the pear and peach growers' meetings this week proved that agriculture is worked successfully only on a business-like and scientific basis. The dollar sign and the consumer of the fruit were both prominent in the background of much of the discussion and information provided at both meetings. Economy in han dling the fruit was featured in both sessions. Pear growers heard about experiments performed locally in bulk-handling of their fruit. Peach growers learned about the newer type peach picking box. cational agricultural supervis or, or an adult member of the AGCC. Full details on the new jun ior membership program may be obtained from the Ameri can Guernsey Cattle club, Pe- club agent, county agent, vo- terborough, N.H. This Week's Home For Living p .-.. t ''fM'" -' ' 'l ' ' '" ' "7 BEDROOM LJ B LAil tiJ LL DINING . Jtm K- O KITCHEN 10x10 - -! L Jla smKt 1510 d n O M HJ.i.i.rr4 I flj CUD itr. BEDROOM 'R 1213 BEDROOM M BEDROOM or DEN 1 hx) "" 12x10 ENTRY LIVING ROOk Will , 15x20 ':S:' : 1 "plan NO. 4700- 1 ; IX W. 1612 SQUARE FEET w 1- -.- -J-.t.d-. ty! VJr -tJ ' IIPP" Bulk handling operations in the United States originated in the Wenatchee and Yakima, Wash., areas. Although there has been lots of interest in this new type of fruit handling, the dollar sign is the real criterion, pointed out Donald Lang- mo, assistant industrial engineer, Oregon State college. During the experiments the researchers tried to learn what is happening to the fruit with both field box and bin handling of the fruit. In other words, would fewer stem punctures and skin breaks result to pears through bulk handling? During the experiments several methods of bulk handling were examined. There was the gate arrangement for tilt dumping of fruit, dry dump with the bins containing built-in flaps raised and lowered by levels and the wet dump. Total damage of fruit in bins equivalent to' 22 boxes was 10.3 per cent as compared to 7.77 per cent damage in field boxes. In the bins equivalent to 13 field boxes damage was 8.66 per cent compared to 9.30 per cent from field boxes. Damage in the 27-box size bin was 22 per cent com pared to 19.16 per cent in the field box method. Langmo emphasized that much more work has to be done in the bulk handling research. Cliff Cordy, county horticultural agent, suggested during the local experiments that considerable damage came before the dumping. How ever, information on this is extremely limited, Langmo pointed out. Brief examinations showed 10 per cent damage in the pickers' sacks compared to 12V per cent in the field boxes and 20 per cent in the pallet bins. Preliminary studies show a high degree of damage all the way into the packing house from the field and requires considerable attention. Langmo emphasized. Wendel Spence, local fruit grower, showed and ex plained the new. type of peactt' picking box with which he plans to replace the conventional picking bucket. This type of box is not new, Spence said. Information on it was obtained from the "Western Fruit Grower" magazine. Wheeler County Ends Testing on Bangs Program Salem-Oregon moved a step closer toward certification as a brucellosis-free state witli completion of te sting in Wheeler county in December, M. E. Knickerbocker, chief of the division of animal industry I stated in his report to the state director of agriculture. This brings the total of Ore gon counties which have reached this goal to 28, as the drive to reach a sough t for deadline of June, 1959, is pressed. Reports from Dr. A. G. Beagle, in charge of federal veterinarians in Oregon and the state veterinarian, Dr. L. E. Bodenweiser, show that all herds in Wallowa county have been scheduled for test ing and all but 12 herds in Gilliam county. The records show a total 697 herds, comprising 24,700 cattle were tested in Decem ber, yielding 189 reactors and 546 suspects among 73 reactor herds containing 7,139 cattle. A total 21,960 calves in 1,093 herds were vaccinated against brucellosis (Bang's) disease. There were 2,338 herds milk or cream ring tested, containing 46,760 esti mated cattle, with 162 sus picious herds disclosed. "There is no limitation on the vaccination of heifer calves against brucellosis at the proper age at Federal ex pense, and cattle owners should utilize the service of fered and have all dairy calves between five and eight months of age and beef calves be- Centennial Soil Study Underway The box with its web-like harness holds 23 pounds net weight and holds equivalent to two-thirds of a field box. One drawback is that the web snap on strap cross-harness inclines to cut into the picker's shoulders. The hooks on the straps, however, are easy to remove from the screw eyes on the box. During the time he has used them, Spence said he observed no spillage or broken boxes. Once the picker unsnaps his harness the boxes are used just like field or lug boxes, Spence explained. They can be nested and one-third more of these boxes can be delivered back to the orchards. Using 700 boxes 8 to 10 tons of fruit can be picked each day without running out. This type of operation eliminates a second handling of the fruit from the tree into the lug boxes, the local grower pointed out. Another advantage of this type of picking, picking can be better controlled. Boxes can be placed where the picking is being done. Then, too, the fruit can be picked as to color, cullage, etc. Spence said he used to pay by the hour for picking but when the new picking box started paying by piece work. Good pickers, he said, could pick a ton a day. Some would fall as low as 200 pounds and these would be eliminated. Salem - Soil augers are bor ing into the secrets of many farm lands in a spring off shoot of the Century Farm program instituted last year by the Oregon Historical so ciety and the State Depart ment of Agriculture. In this Centennial soils probe, the state Extension Service joins the Century Farm sponsors to determine the effect of 100 years of land use on the available plant iiu trients. The extension j service pro posed the soils studies of the historical farms and actual soil samples are now being collected by the county ex tension agents in the 15 coun ties where Century Farms were recognized last year. The soil samples will be tested in the state soil testing laboratory at Corvallis. Own ers and the public will be advised of results. At this point, no one knows quite what the sampling pro cedures may reveal. It isn't quite as easy to define the end result of this secondary program as it was of the Cen tury Farm program itself. By-Producls Expected But here are some by-pro ducts which the soils special- tween four to 12 months, given this immunization," the federal veterinarian urged. Brucellosis of animals is transmittable to humans as undulant . fever and causes serious, long-lasting illness in most humans affected, Dr. Beagle emphasized, in addi tion to stressing the "serious economic losses suffered with disease-infected cattle. Of efforts to eradicate tu berculosis infection in cattle, 432 herds (6,513 cattle) were tested and two reactors found on two infected premises with 21 suspects listed. Local Men Attend Feed Conference roughage fed the herd. The next day the samples are tested and records calculated by the supervisor. The dairyman receives his records by mail. Under the Oregon weigh-a-day program a dairyman enrolls in weigh-a-day a-month plan and obtains necessary forms and instructions from his county extension agent. The dairyman weighs each cow's milk morning and evening on the 15th of the month. He records the weights on the record forms supplied him. Milk records for each cow for the month, production-to-date, monthly herd records, and year-to-date herd totals are calculated by using the computer table in the record kit. ists at the extension service and the other sponsors say may come forth: 1. Useful and constructive historical ' facts pertaining to agriculture and land use. 2. Basic facts about Oregon soils that may need further study. And Tom Vaughan, director of the historical society, is wondering if the tests will reveal that soil patterns had an important role in the early settlements in the state. In 1958, 354 farmers re ceived the Century Farm award at Oregon State Fair ceremonies climaxing the pro gram that year. In the soil testing, farms in commercial production will be covered first. The soil testing started early this month and will be continued through mid-February. The sponsors say general results of the survey will be available early in May. Fit tingly, enough, this means that first announcements of the Centennial soil studies will coincide with Oregon's annual conservation week. The Northwest Plant Food association aided by the Na tional Plant Food Institute will pay for the chemical work at the soil testing lab oratory. Century Farmers themselves won't be called upon to do a thing but permit the free soil testing to be per formed on their lands and to aid with a history of the land's production through the years. The Century Farm program itself is a continuing one, with the historical society and state department of agricul ture to announce the 1959 event later. Whether the Cen tennial Soils search will be carried into future years is still undetermined. Counties with 1958 Century Farms are: Benton, Clacka mas, Clatsop, Coos, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Wasco, Yamhill, and Washington. Gene Winters county ex tension agent here, said there are a number of "kinks" to be taken out of the Century Farm testing program before it will be started in Jackson county. He is awaiting further word from Oregon state college. Central Point - Keith N. Hockersmith, field man for Grange Cooperative Supply association, and W. G. Beard, orchardist and beef raiser, of the Medford area, are attend ing the 17th annual Oregon Animal Industry conference Jan. 29 and 30 at Oregon State college. Subject matter will consist of methods to feed livestock -and poultry more efficiently in today's highly mechanized agriculture, Hockersmith said. Ways will be examined to tie supplements in prepared feed to total energy level of feed rather than the body weight of individual animals, he ex plained. Need for this tech--nique is a rather logical out growth of the development of automation in animal agricul- -ture. Individual feeding is be coming increasingly difficult as larger and larger herds and flocks are handled by farms, Hockersmith noted. Outstanding guest speakers will include Dr. Fred Hill, poultry nutritionist Cornell university; Dr. A. J. Ward, animal nutritionist, University of British Columbia; and Dr. C. A. Bottoroff, American Cyanamid company. Among subjects to be dis cussed at the two day meet ing are the pellet feeding of sheep, developments in poul try and turkey feeding, mod ern concepts in swine feeding, and the use of baled, wafered, and pelleted hay. Strawberry Plant Changes Planned Salem Changes in Ore gon strawberry plant grades, with a view to simplification and strengthened grades, will be the topic of a public hear ing held Thursday, Feb. 5, in the state department of agri culture building at Salem, Hugh Taylor, chief of the state department of agricul ture's division of plant indus try announced this week. Recommended changes deal with length of main roots, elimination of minimum crown diameter on plants and addition of Northwest plants under the grade restrictions of the Marshall and Siletz varieties. By HIAWATHA ESTES If you're faced with the problem of a small lot and a large family, this is the plan for you. With four bedrooms, two baths, . and plenty of closets, it will be uncrowded, uncluttered and delightfully livable. The center hall gives easy access to all rooms from both the front and back doors. The work areas are centrally lo cated to save steps when housework is to be done. Home laundry units are lo cated in the big service area, and overhead cabinets have ample space, for soaps and supplies. The family bath is accessible from both the serv ice room and bedroom hall. In the well lighted kitchen, cupboards over the U-shaped counter open to both the eat ing and work areas. Built-in oven and range are against the opposite wall. The separate dining room is lighted by full-length glass doors that open to the big rear patio. A huge stone fireplace fills one corner of the unusual liv ing room. A high wide win dow at the side allows space for furniture beneath. The gable roof at the end of the living room is filled with glass which provides ample light and yet maintains privacy. The hot water heater and forced air heater have been centrally located for economy of installation and operation. The bedrooms are excep tionally spacious. A three quarter bath, and dressing room are part of the master bedrodm suite. Inexpensive, yet durable, building materials have been ingeniously used to create an attractive . contemporary ex terior. A stone chimney tops the gleaming rock roof. A low rock planter extends below the casement windows of the bedroom wing, and for contrast, vertical grooved sid ing faces the forward wall of the living room. Complete working drawing of the above plan can be obtained at a cost ot 5750 lor the first set and $5. for each additional set, when ordered at , the same time. This plan will be available for a period oi iour monxns i r o m tnis date. Please allow two weeks for deliv ery. If the above home does not entirely meet with your satisfac tion, a new home plan book. Homes for Living, may be purchased for $1. Send all orders for either plans or dooks io Miawatna JSstes, F.O. aox 4M-T. Mortnriage, calif. Cost of operations with the new box is approximately $6.50 a ton of fruit, Spence noted. The boxes can be handled two at a time in cold storage, he said. The smaller boxes make it possible for the women sorters to use them without needing male help. Grant Merrill of Grant Merrill Orchards: Inc.. Red Bluff, Calif., said he had used this type of picking box be fore and found it wasn't too satisfactory. He said his pickers preferred the canvass buckets. However, Spence said when given a choice the pickers in his orchard preferred the new type of picking box. Merrill estimated the cost at a dollar for the harness and about 75 cents per box. The cross harness is manufactured in Yakima, Wash., he said. While the hot stove league is functioning in the orchard business, dairymen, too, are considering their production. January is dairy month, reminds Earle Jossy, county ex tension agent. Primary purpose of a Dairy Herd Improve ment association is to provide members with an economical method of obtaining information they can use to improve the production efficiency of their herds, Jossy explained. Dependable records of identification, feed costs, pro duction and returns enable the herd owner to cull the least profitable cows and to feed the remaining cows ac cording to their ability to produce. He can also select re placement heifers from his most productive cows, Jossy noted. DHIA Is organized and operated by the farmers with the backing of the United States Department of Agriculture through the extension service. State extension dairymen and local county agents service the associations. In turn they use the records obtained to encourage non-participating dairymen to take advantage of the facilities and in proving the productive ability of the sires. About 18 per cent of the dairy cows in Jackson county are tested, Jossy noted. About 18 per cent are tested in Oregon. About 10 per cent of the cows in the United States are tested. Annual average production of all cows In the USA (including those tested) is 6,300 pounds of milk. The yearly average production of all cows in the United States under DHIA testing is 8,872 pounds of milk. Average annual pro duction of cows not tested is 5,960 pounds of milk. This amounts to about $175 worth of milk in favor of a tested cow over a cow which is not tested or a difference of about $7,000 in a herd of 40 cows, Jossy noted. This national cooperative dairy herd improvement pro gram has three record-keeping plans - standard DHIA, owner-sampler and Oregon Weigh-a-Day. Under the DHIA program, the supervisor visits each member farm each month to weigh and sample milk. He may also weigh the grain fed each cow and the roughage fed the herd. He also calculates the standard DHIA pro duction and feed records for cows and herd. The records include production to date, monthly and year-to-date herd totals, total and average feed cost and income over feed cost for the herd. Production records made in the herd are used also for proving sires in the national sire-proving program. Under the owner-sampler program the DHIA super visor leaves sample bottles and record sheet at the farm each month. The evening of that day and the next morning the owner weighs the milk yield of each cow and records the weight on his record sheet. He also takes a sample of each cow's milk for butterfat testing. He may also record the amount of grain fed each cow and the amount of fat Grange Co-op Feeds FORRflUUTED to Produce See us at Grange Co-op for th best in . bulk or sacked feeds, fresh, dustless, nutrionally bal anced. A complete range of feeds for dairy cows, beef, hogs, chickens, turkeys, calves, and horses. Also, special mixes and medicated feed. The latest advances in feed nu trition are utilized to give you the best feed made at the low est possible cost. Everyone is Invited to Inspect Our Plant . Maximum are yf'Ifli Gains isg 'i ? W'lk 'fl 1 t i Faster .Service I $ wider Variety Greater Supply GRAH6E lIIF StJIFW ASSOCIATION Central Point -Phone NO 4-1261 - SP 3-4022 - Ashland - Phone MU 5-4021
