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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1961)
I A TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1961 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, ORE. Local Farm Land Appraisal Receives Careful Survey ... . By JOE COWLEY ' Mail Tribune Farm Editor "' A group of men pour over a set of topographical maps in one of the county court house offices. Then, they drive out to the country, walk over (arm lands, make notes on aerial maps, examine sheaves of records. I What are they doing? Jusl trying to figure some devilish way to raise taxes some farm ers figure. But, they are ap praisers from the county as sessor's office attempting to establish the true cash value $ farm land. These men may Ijnock on neighboring farm hhuse doors and examine farmland sales to make more iSertain their estimates of "what a farm may bring on tjjp market. : Using an established formu la used throughout the state, these men figure the apprais ed value. This value is what the assessment is based. No body in the assessor's office can toll you Just what farm land will be worth taxwise if a school district raises a bond for a new building. These tax experts have to find out what the lax demands will be from each taxing unit which may cover a piece of farm land. This includes a school district, fire" district, waler district, and irrigation district. Each such taxing unit is authorized under state law lo.levy taxes. Each represents a slice of the overall tax pie And each of the appraisers arid higher echelon personnel In the assessor's office must be an expert. Each of these up praiscrs must take an exam ination before he is certified. This certification is required before a man becomes an ap praiser 1. These are the quali fications set down by the stale civil service commission: graduation from college with major courses in business ad ministration, forestry, agricul ture, engineering or allied field; or a satisfactory equiva lent combination of experi ence and training. "Applica tions can only be accepted from those persons who meet these experience and training standards," the state civil service stipulates. Staff Has Wide Experience The local assessor's staff In cludes former bank personnel, real estate men, farmers and foresters. We wanted to see how farms arc appraised so we went on a field trip with Ap praiser Tom Hess. Tom was raised on a farm in Klamalh county, took up a homestead in the Columbia basin in Washington state and now leases that farm land. Before starting out, Tom explained that a farm can be appraised in many ways. The accepted method of finding market value is by use of three in dicators: reproductive cost, in come return, and comparative sales. . Tax assessments arc really a special type of mass apprais al in which the main object is uniformity between each of the tracts. The big problem is not to establish the exact sale price but to place each ownership unit In its proper value relationship to every other unit in the tax district. For Instance, if one land tract is worth twice as much as a second land tract, the tax as sessment of the first should bo twice that of the second. One of the records Hess carries with him when exam ining a farm is a physical in ventory. It gives a detailed picture of the farm. Hems for the Inventory vary with the type of farm. For Instance, a description of fruit trees and irrigation works may be need ed In an orchard area. The value of dccidlons trees and plants arc exempt under Ore gon law. Next, the legal description is required. Every tract of land has Us own legal de scription. 11 appears on the deed of transfer. County plat books or local maps are quick reference guides for locating ' the farm in relation to towns, roads, schools and other local features. The plat book usu ally shows farm boundaries and the name of the owner when the plat map was made. Hess, as appraiser, must be sure mat tne legal Descrip tion fits the boundaries of the farm exactly. Uses Appraisal Map The appraiser uses an ap praisal map. Hess must know the soils of the area. He can check this with the county ex tension office, tlic Southern Oregon Branch Experiment station or the soil conserva tion service. Using an aerial map Hess marks off areas of different soils on the farm and inks in numerals to tell the classes of soil found. These classes set by the various agri cultural offices indicate the productivity of the farm. Hess follows seven different soil classifications. Four are till able and three are non-tillable. The detailed aerial map shows trees and other land marks which the appraiser can follow as he walks over the farm. This is not a swivel chair job. ' Hess explained ho often car ries a soil auger, an instru ment which looks like an over sized wood drill. With this he can test the depth of the sur face soil and the quality of the subsoil. The soil depth could be overlooked and is often the most important fac tor in determining the produc tivity and value of the farm, the. assessor explained. While he walks the appraiser cx a'mines the drainage, soil tex ture, condition of Irrigation ditches, creeks, etc. In this country where water is so important, in contrast to dryland wheat farming, an ap praiser must know whether the farm owner has lop pri ority water rights or receives a steady supply of water from an irrigation district. He may add $150 an acre value be cause of irrigation water. He will cheek Ihc water right nrinritv bv looking up the date in the walennaster's of fice; the earlier the higher tne priority. He will also ask the former, and perhaps local peo ple, whether a creek on the land dries up in the summer. All this goes down in the true cash value columns In the rec ords. Talk To Old Timers "Often we will go out and talk to somebody who has liv ed iii the area for a long time, knows the lands and their pos sible values," the young ap praiser explained. "From this we can get a basic knowledge of the area on wlilcii to ami our own findings and build our file of Information." Asked how cooperative farmers are in allowing on the spot appraisals of their lands, Hess answered that they are usually cooperative. He has been bit by dogs and one fanner forced him off the land with a shotgun. Then the ap praisers cannot make as accu rate 'estimates and must fall back on general facts and the tax often bo un much high er than they ordinarily would. The cropping system aim management of the farm land can be figured from informa tion from various local farm offices on the soil productiv ity. Where general farming is followed estimates must be based on average rotation with estimated crop yields. Range area estimates can be made according to the total carry ing capacity of the ranch, Hess said. In areas raising fruit and vegetables annual production figures must be obtained. In the local pear orehurds this is somewhat difficult since this is a Jealously guarded secret with growers. Only average production figures can bo used. One danger in estimating the cropping system and man agement is failure lo make proper allowance (or manage ment and addition of fertiliz er, the appraiser explained. I'oor (arm land could produce lop yiclds tinder a good man ager and rich farm land could produce poorly under careless farming. Use Incoino Method The Income method can be used alter the appraiser has valued the physical produc tion. Three main steps are used In arriving at income I value: estimation ot gross In- FERTILIZERS! Arriving this week . . . Cars of the following fertilizers: GYPSUM SUPER PHOSPHATE SULPHATE AMMONIA 16-20 Buy Direct from the Car and SAVEI CALL SP 3-4503 ALBEHS FEED & FARM SUPPLY 330 North Fir Street come, expenses and capitaliz ing net Income. The American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Ap praisers with the Doane Agri cultural Service has issued a series of standard prices. They arc set by a committee of ap praisers and agricultural econ omists after studying all avail able information from throughout the country. These prices can be applied lo the physical production figures to determine gross income. Improvements, repairs, maintenance and depreciation must be figured also. Unless the appraiser keeps a close check on expenditures for building repairs, water sys tems, fences and other Items he can wander around In a maze of figures. Many other expenses which must be esti mated are costs of machinery, fuel and oil, feed, livestock veterinary help etc. When valuing buildings, Hess explained how he meas ures the square feet of each building. Then he figures the replacement cost based on the type of construction, material and workmanship. He checks both the exterior and interior for material and condition. From the replacement costs he subtracts depreciation. The state tax commission building manual indicates eight class es of houses. Class III Is a fair home. "This particular farmhouse is a pioneer homestead built in 1851," Hess explained. "The biggest trouble with these old houses is that the underpin ning and foundation gives way. The amount of remodel ing expenses doesn't make for value. "We get blamed for raising taxes," Hess remarked. "We don't. The taxpayer does that every time he votes in a school bond issue, demands more government services, puts his land under an irrigation dis trict, or votes in a fire dis trict. The old saying still ap plies: You can't get something for nothing." Committee Man Named (or Sale At Red Bluff Red Bluff, Calif.-Mcmbers of the sifting and judging committees for the "20th An niversary" Red Bluff Bull Sale, who will check a record consignment of 515 Head of service ago bulls, Feb. 2-4, were announced today by C. F. Stover, sale chairman. William Ross of Steamboat Springs, Colo., one of the na tions outstanding cattle Judges, will serve on the Judging and grading commit tee, Stover said. Other members of this group of experts will be: Reu ben Albaugh of the Univer sity of California at Davis; Harold Thurbcr of the Tejon Ranch at Bakersficld and James Ellings, Sacramento County University of Cali fornia Extension Service agent. Judges will assign Univer sity of California record of performance grades to each bull consigned for sale and place them for sale order. No bull grading below "two minus" on the university scale is offered for sale through the ring, Stover said. Bulls are graded and Judged on the basis of their conformation and desirability as range and herd sires. Judgos Lilted Judges of loose pen lot range bulls will be Abner McKcnzie, a Red Bluff bull sale committeeman; Roy Car michael, Tehama and Plumas County cattleman and Cam eron Cliff, Burns, Oregon beef producer. The sifting committee, which checks the bulls for soundness, is headed by Bill Owens of Red Bluff. II also includes Elwin Roncy, Butte County cattleman: Dr. Joe Giambroni, Red Cluff veter inarian and Dr. King Jarvls, state veterinarian In Red Bluff. Monte Boll, Glenn county farm advisor, will serve as clerk to the commit tee. Dreed consultants to work with the sifting committee In clude: Angus, Elwin Honey, llutte county; Shorthorns, T. B. Hawkins, llollistcr: Here (ords, Dale Carithers, Mis sion San Jose. The Red Bluff bull sale is known as the nation's largest sale of selected and graded service age quality beef bulls. It was the first sale In the United States to apply record of performance grades to all bulls sold through the ring, according lo Chairman Stover. EMBARRASSING Portsmouth, England-iUTP-A member of Jhe Portsmouth Aero I'lub, making a prac tice parachute Jump, landed on the grounds of a hush-hush secret electrical factory proj ect to the embarrassment of all. 0( -CHIT CHAT- ly JOE COWLEY Mill Tribune ""arm Editor The Inauguration is over and President John F. Kennedy is moving in on farm and food problems already, true to his campaign promises. Saturday, JFK ordered an increase in free food distribu tion to needy families in chronic unemployment areas. He ordered the new secretary of agriculture, Orville L. Free man, to expand the food distribution program using funds now available. President Kennedy had promised to help farmers attain a high level of prosperity, to try to solve the farm surplus problem and see to it that the needy in this country and others received these surplus foods. This abundance should be considered a blessing and not a curse, Kennedy repeated so often throughout his campaign. So Kennedy is moving ahead, but cautiously. This food is being distributed to distressed areas. Now this program covers 1,100 counties and 120 cities and towns. The current distribution includes flour, corn meal, rice, dry milk, eggs and lard. But, let's look at this beginning realistically. Giving sur pluses to needy groups is charitable, it reduces stocks with out reducing production, it helps the middlemen, those who distribute the food, by maintaining large volume operations, and it has much more political appeal than reducing pro duction to meet market demands. The experts figure that raising incomes in the lower income bracket would not remove surpluses. They don't think that lower prices, improved diets, school lunch pro grams, food stamps or food donations will solve the surplus problem, either. Anticipating the president's next move, suppose we ship surplus farm goods to other countries with the U.S. taxpayers paying all or part of the tab? Foreign govern ments might not appreciate it. Such imports might force the foreign farmers to sell their competing products at lower prices. Or, such imports might put a new food in the mouths of the foreign consumers and replace the type of food produced by the native farmers. After all, the stom ach can only hold so' much. Then, too, suppose a country comes to depend on large U. S. exports and something happens to cut them off? These are just a few of the farm questions which the new administration must answer and they will be answered cautiously. The 42-year-old ex-governor of Minnesota is a cautious man in a job reluctantly accepted, according to capltol observers. He knows that outside of wheat, there may be great difficulty in getting major new "control" pro grams through the Congress the next year. Much of the Midwestern farm belt voted Nixon. However, we agree with the boss. The young Bostonian sounded a clear, high note during his inaugural speech. Whether he can be an effective pied piper to lead this na tion out of its troubles remains to be seen. Details of the farm program will be developed after a meeting with loaders of farm organizations in Washington, D. C, Jan. 26. Then, Kennedy, Freeman and advisors must decide on methods and devices to raise the farmer's income level. Both Kennedy and his party have proposed rigid production controls, higher price supports, production payments to producers and marketing orders and agreements. This could mean higher, taxes and food prices, although the Kennedy group says this need not be so. Wheal and corn are the two most serious surplus prob lems. A little over half of the $9.1 billion of tax money tied up on farm surpluses is invested in these two com modities. Wheat ties up $3.7 billion and corn $2.7 billion, according to reports. Both of these products are included in the distribution to the needy program-flour and corn meal. It may be that the amount of flour and corn to be distributed through the relief to needy program will be increased greatly. Arizona Denies Apple Seizure Salem - The state depart ment of agriculture has re ceived assurance from the Ari zona commission of agricul ture and horticulture that Ari zona has no restrictions on apples from any state in the United States. Recently reports reached the plant division office of the Oregon department that fresh apples being transported in passenger cars going through border stations of Ari zona had been seized. In reply to a query from Plant Division Chief Hugh Taylor, the stale entomologist for the Arizona department said, "We (Arizona) have had no restrictions on apples for 15 years." He added that there were a number of reports about ap ples and grapes being seized at border stations. "We are unable to trace any of these reports," he said, adding "Our records show no rejections." The Arizona official, W. T. Mendcnhall, said further that no permits are required to transport apples or any other raw material into Arizona. The only Arizona permits re quired deal with items such as citrus nursery stock and live insects. Rep. Joe Rogers, who runs a dairy farm at Independence, explained that some distributors are making such gifts or loans to retailers and thus take unfair advantage of com petitors. The price of this equipment goes into distributor's cost of business and so lowers the price which distributors contend they are able to pay for milk. Dick Wcsterberg, Ashland, president of the Oregon Milk Producers said, "Distributors have been giving away their profits and ours: they should be given the chance to get away from these practices which many of them do not believe in." Discount and loan practices are reported at $5 million annually in the Portland milk shed. A survey made in 37 areas disclosed that the actual payers of discount deals are the milk producers. , The dairymen also endorsed a proposed negotiating law to prevent dealer discrimination against farmers who or ganized to negotiate for prices of agricultural produce. Some growers have been by-passed by processors when con tracts are made for milk supplies. Glenn Lay of the American Dairy association reported that the largest per person milk consumption In Oregon is in the Klamath Falls area. Why not in the Jackson county area? Much of the program during the annual Jackson County Fruit Growers League meeting Friday was on the labor problem. It centered on the Agricultural Workers' Organ- izing committee, a problem ably presented by Oregonian Agricultural Editor Joe Bianco. However, it seems there are more problems confront ing the growers in the future than the unionization of work ers. An agriculture department study indicates migratory farm workers in 30 inland states are in a "precarious situ ation." Companies and organizations which promoted move ment of migrant workers from southern Texas to the north, east and west are active on a reduced scale now. Gardening Tips By JOHN McLOUGHLIN County Extension Agent Now is a good time to take steps to prevent plant injury caused by winter conditions. These simple precautions may save you many headaches and dollars later on. Check young trees and shrubs to see that they are not being whipped into a leaning position by winter winds. A crooked tree or shrub is unsightly and whip ping in the wind will cause root injury. Support these plants with a broad band or strip of burlap tied tightly to a stake but loose around the tree. Sunburn often occurs on smooth barked trees and broadleaf everygreens planted on the sunny side of a light colored building. Break the rays of the direct or reflected sun by loosely wrapping trees with burlap or screening broadleaf evergreens with boards, burlap and other ma terials. Drying Hurts Drying out frequently caus es damage to plants in dry locations. Be sure all trees and shrubs have a good sup ply of soil moisture. Roots of small plants are often heaved by the alternate freezing and thawing action of the soil. This is most likely to happen in heavy soils. Heaving can be prevented by mulching heavy enough in late fall after the soil has froz en to prevent the thawing ef fects of mild spells. Slightly heaved plants may be pressed back into the soil in the spring. Heavily heaved plants should be lifted and replanted. GARDEN DESIGN Before ordering seeds or purchasing plants for this year's garden you should for mulate a garden design. A garden design offers you the opportunity to decide be tween various alternatives be fore the garden is planted and to foresee future problems and solve them with the min imum of work. The first step in making a garden design is to obtain the dimensions of the garden area. Make a chart with these di mensions in scale. Indicate the present plants and con struction in the garden. Use reputable catalogs, magazines and books to ob tain plant descriptions. Then make sketches of various land scape proposals. These initial sketches should be general and not done in detail. Re member this is your garden and it should reflect your own tastes and satisfy your own desires. After you have completed several sketches showing al ternate arrangements judge the sketches critically. You may be most pleased with one particular sketch oi you may want to use elements from several for the final design. When you have decided the final design make exact draw ings to scale of the plants on the chart. Formerly, these migrants used a crew leader to make job contracts. Now- 60 per cent of them travel in family groups and make their own work arrangements which makes hiring them in large blocks difficult. And practically all these workers have many days during the year when no work is available. Since recruiting for fruit pickers for this area extends as far as Texas, this could be Important to the Medford pear district. The USDA says long range policies are needed lo build up and increase this work force. Attention needs to be paid to regularity of employment, competitive pay scales and acceptable transportation and housing standards. Keep Your Livestock and Pets Healthy We carry a full line of . . . FRANKLIN CUTTER Vaccines Medicinals Instruments and Other Supplies to Keep Your Livestock and Pets Healthy and Well Groomed! S&H GREEN STAMPS ON YOUR PURCHASES WEST MAIN PHARMACY 135 W, Main PHONE SP 2-2330 Now the farmer is guaranteed a support price on all the wheat he can coax out of his acreage allotment. Under Kennedy this control may shift from acres to the bushels produced on those acres. A percentage of cropland would also have to be taken out of production, loo, to prevept a farmer In shifting to other crops, thus causing new surpluses. Corn and other feed grains now have no production con trols. The president's farm advisers may cut production of corn aand other feed grains. They may offer higher price supports to farmers who take a certain percentage of their land out of production. Besides the higher price supports the government would pay the farmer in govern ment' stored grain to cover what he might have produced. The administration's farm experts gcnorally seem to think that production and prices of hogs, cattle, dairy products, poultry and eggs can be kept in line through control of the feed grain supply. Kennedy will have to see if the farm bloc can be recreated and support added from big city congressmen for a new farm program, or what is more likely, revival of parts of an old one. The Fair Trade Practices act endorsement which is to be Introduced In the state legislature Is the only resolution at the Oregon Dairymen's association convention Jan. 9-13 which drew any discussion. This law would prohibit dis counts to retail milk outlets and prevent distributors from giving or lending dairy display equipment to retailers. 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Your animals will know and ap preciate the difference. Our modern plant operates 16 hours a day mixing the finest ingredients to make the finest feeds, and getting them to you at their freshest best. Lo-op teeds are fresher and better. Give them a try! We Will Be Happy To Show the Ingredients and Our Plant Remember ... You Don't Have To Be a Member To Trade Here and SAVE! ..... GRANGE CO-OP SUPPLY ASSOGIAT! M HIGHWAY 99 IN CENWAl POIMT Phone NO 4-1261 or SP 3-4022 421 A STREET IN ASHLAND Phone MU 9-42l
