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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 1963)
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORO, OREGON Star key Experimental Range Emphasizes Cattle Movement TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 19C3 BY.. JOE COWLEY Mail Tribune Farm Editor i A report on the Starkey experimental forest and range near La Grande emphasizes better distribution of cattle through salting, water devel opment, proper fence place ment and adequate range riding. "Results of studies at the Starkey emphasize that man agement of summer ranges should be based largely on the grasslands. Records of Farm & Garden FARM Woodlot Facts By DICK OLSON Oregon State Farm Forester A great amount of activity is now taking place at the F'kton State Forest nursery. It began on November 27, and already a million trees have been lifted and packaged for shipment or storage. Some landowners in Jackson and Josephine counties have al ready received their seedling shipments. The two Oregon State nurseries, In Elkton and Corvallis, will have over 6 million tree seedlings for dis tribution this year. ... In the Pacific' Northwest, production at the five public nurseries in Oregon and Washington looks good this year. The cool, damp spring and summer has been very beneficial to the older seed ling classes but it did hamper sowing operations early in the year. Total production in the 2-0, 3-0 and transplant classes Is expected to be about 65 million. Of this total, the For est Service expects to plant SO million, Bureau of Land Management will use 10 mil lion, Oregon State Forestry department, 4.5 million, Washington Department of Natural Resources, 2.1 mil lion, and 17 million seedlings will be available for general public sales. Two Million Seedlings Private nurseries have near ly 2 million seedlings avail able for sale this winter. To realize maximum value from woodlands, they must be fully stocked. The planting of nursery grown trees is one way to get reproduction on unstocked forest land. Besides making understock ed woodlands more produc tive, the planting of trees help conserve soil and water val ues. When market conditions are favorable, cash crops of fence posts, poles, Christmas trees, fuel wood, pulpwood and saw logs can be grown at a profit from plantations. , If you are an owner of un productive forest andor agri cultural land, don't put it off another year. Contact your Farm Foresters office for in formation concerning tree planting, nursery order banks, government cost share planting, etc. Five Oat Varieties Boosted for Siskiyou Yreka-Five oat varieties re recommended for 1963 for hay for all of Siskiyou county, according to Farm Adviser Dave West. Recommended are Kanota. Shasta, Sierra, Overland and Park. STOCKMEN FEED PELLETS Your coarse or unpalitablt roughage wifl make n base for a modern balanced ration that you can feed with little labor and no wastage. The increased meat or milk pro duced wtll give you maxi mum returns on a small cash Investment. MORTON MILLING CO. 500 Ross Lane, Madford Pesticide Laws Effective Soon Salem - Federal, regula tions governing pesticide res idues on raw agricultural products will become Ore gon's regulations on Jan. 25 Director J. F. Short of the state department of agricul ture signed an order to this effect January 4. The order followed a hearing Dec. 28 in which adoption of the fed eral tolerances as Oregon's requirements was at issue except no issue developed, as no one offered testimony ei ther for or against at the hearing. Federal pesticide residue tolerances prevail on raw ag ricultural products that move in Interstate commerce. For this reason, federal toleranc es are rather unformly used by the various states. : Moreover, J. D. Patterson, SDA's chief chemist, points out that the financial outlay for investigations and studies at the state level would be extremely costly and time consuming. This seemed un necessary since Oregon inves tigations presumably would come up with the same re sults as the federal govern ment. Because changes occur rath er rapidly in this field, the department anticipates it will need to hold periodic hear ings to review, the tolerances. Heavy Bone Best For Breeding Yreka Breeding cattle should be selected with heavy bone, according to Siskiyou county farm adviser Sedg Nelson, ' "Even with the develop ment of meat type beef, we still want big cattle, large frames and thick bone," Nel son commented. "With increased interest in carcass composition there is a need for an accurate way to estimate muscling in live cattle. Sythe, Orts and King at Texas A & M studied the relationship between bone thickness and muscling in 28 Hereford steers. Strong posi t i v e correlations obtained showed bone weights to be closely retoted to bone length (greater length, greater weight.). "The positive correlations between bone weights and the yield of loin, rib a n d round suggest that a close re lationship existed between bone thickness and muscling in these cattle. "Others have noted a signi ficant relationship between cannon bone circumference in the live animal and the yield of primal cuts (chuck, rib, loin and round). Thus it seems that size of bone is one valid factor in estimating red meat yields in live cattle." Management Men Our firm has funds to invest In small, progressive commer cial or industrial enterprises. Write to Fred H. Hoyer & Co., Management Consultants, 561 Monroe Street, Corvallis, Ore. Counsel With ... Mr. Insurance Fred Brennan FOR ALL. YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS, SELECT A CERTIFIED INSURANCE AGENT. QUALIFIED ALL LINES WRITTEN F. R. Brennan, C.I.A. MEDFORD INSURANCE Agency PHONE 773-7343 27 North Holly Street utilization since 1940 show grasslands are grazed much more heavily than , adjacent timbered range. Consequently, efficient use of. summer ranges is largely dependent upon securing proper distri bution of use over all range types," the report noted. Salt Grounds ; Properly located salt grounds have helped in con trolling cattle distribution, it was pointed out. Starkey officials recommended use of a sound stump, an 8-inch spike and the hole in the salt block. Starkey used about one salt ground per 460 acres. The salt is moved throughout the grazing sea son' to draw cattle into areas of unused forage or to dis tract them from areas that have received sufficient use. Low-cost numerous, strateg ically located stock ponds were consructed to change the Starkey into a well watered range. Cattle distribution materially improved and more uniform use was made of forage. Small stock ponds for a two or three-month period attract ed cattle to little used areas. This distributes small groups of cattle to many places rather than large groups in areas of limited grazing capacity, the range reseachers said, Concentrations o f cattle along fence lines were re duced by locating fences on or near ridge tops. Fences were placed along drainage boundaries rather than across them to make natural use of drainages. Fence maihtenace costs were reduced by placing them on ridge tops. (However, lin this county that is not al ways practical.) t . ' . , - "Experiences a t Starkey have shown that range riding is essential for getting good distribution of cattle," the the range officials noted. "The size of range unit that one man can cover effectively is approximately 15,000 acres. By having a relatively small unit, the range rider can pre vent cattle from concentrating in an area. He is able to ex amine the range -more thoroughly and : move cattle into areas of more available forage. One advantage of the deferred grazing system is re duced area for the rider." Good Rang Rider ' "A good range rider knows the country and the - way cattle naturally tend to use it. He has a wealth of background information essential for get ting proper distribution of use. He knows If there is enough feed in an area to warrant development of a small spring. He knows if the establishment of a salt ground would be Just as effective for. getting better - distribution. Success or failure of making the best use of a range unit depends almost entirely upon' a competent range rider, the report stated. . The objectives of this study are - to compare the effectiveness of d i f f erent grazing systems and stocking rates for. securing maximum production of forage and beef. The response of the range vegetation to tnese treatments will be studied to develop standards for judging range condition," it was ex plained. I The two grazing systems being compared are a season long system which allows cattle to graze unmolested for the entire season' and a de ferred-rotation system. One units deferred during the first half of the grazing sea son in alternate years. After mldseason, the 1 cattle are moved to the second unit. Three stocking rates uses are light, 10 acres per cow and calf per month; moderate, 7.5 acres; and heavy, 5 acres. Records are collected in each pasture on herbage pro duction, floristic composition,- forage utilization, g r p und cover, tree reproduction and game use. Also weights are taken of cows and calves before : and after grazing. Effectiveness of the different grazing systems are studied using this criteria. More Uniform More uniform use between grassland and open forest range on the Starkey has. in creased the use of the major forage species in the open forest range, the range ex perts said. "A study Is under way to determine the effects of three intensities of herbage removal and four dates of harvest on herbage production of elk sedge. Intensities of herbage removal being tested are 20, 40 and 60 per cent," the re port stated. "The broad purpose of this experimental area Is to de velop methods which will promote better grazing man agement on both public and private lands. More specifi cally, the objective it to learn basic facts about forest and range vegetation. With this knowledge, management methods can be developed which will provide maximum production of forage, timber and water, the report ex I plained. So, one would guess from this spokesman's comments all that those attending the Oregon Dairymen's association session could hope to get out of it would be a brass ring on the Dairy-Go-Round. Chit Chat By JOE COWLEY Mail Tribune Farm Editor The farmer's hot stove league is in operation with farm problems being -fully discussed by both farmers' and non farmers. , And there seem to be' plenty of farm problems to start off the new year. i The past week has seen headlines on the dairymen's price problem. "Oregon's fluid milk program would con tinue to be administered by the state's department of agri culture under a proposed bill adopted Wednesday by the Oregon Dairymen's association," according to one news story. The governor would appoint a seven-man audit and stabilization commission to advise the agriculture depart ment. The commission would include four producers and three processors. To be commissioners producers must have earnings of at least 51 per cent from sales of Grade A milk. One processor would be from a cooperative association and two would represent independent processors. Such a com mission would represent various geographical areas in the state. The state department of agriculture would have emer gency authority to establish prices and market orders with approval of the commission. This sounds very concrete and definite. Actually, it Isn't, One of the leading Oregon dairy industry spokesmen said, "I came back from the meeting just as confused as before." He also said no proposal was .made in bill form. It was a very rough draft and the proposal would be presented the state legislature, probably, in outline form. The original dairymen's proposal was a voluntary set of controls to take it out of the hands of the state department of agriculture. This proposal tosses it back to the department. 7... The expected debate between Processor Gordon Coleman and Dairyman Dick Westerberg didn't come off. Dick, quickly sizing up the taut situation, figuratively changed his striped dairyman's overalls for a pair of striped pants. Diplomatical ly, he became as indirect as a county school superintendent at a hot school district reorganization meeting and talked all around the subject. The pear industry has been busy "with a whole series of meetings. The massive machinery from interlocking director ates of this obligarchy is running quietly and efficiently with little public. noise. As usual it Is getting things done. Recently two representatives of the Medford - pear dis trict attended a San Francisco meeting of the Northwest Bart lett and California Bartlett promotion groups. Planning for next season is still in formative stages, according to one pear shipper. Another meeting is set for late in May. People from all California pear districts attended the meeting to establish new cooperative agreements. . .. CATTLEMAN DIES A. B. (Bert) Hoy, prominent Siskiyou county cattleman died Nov. 15. He was a pioneer in the registered Hereford movement In California and was named Siskiyou county cattleman of the year in 1956. His ranch was two miles from Weed. Fruit Supplies Gain, According to Specialist Corvallis - Increased sup plies of fresh and processed fruit along with an increased domestic demand are seen for The problem in both states is overproduction. Medford's comes from last season's Bartlett overproduction which is crowding the winter pears and causing carry overs. Cali fornia has 14,000 to 15,000 acres of new Bartlett plantings coming into production in the next few years. . . Roughly two-thirds of Medford pears go to fresh pack and one-third to canneries. Last year 20,000 tons went to the fresh market and about 10,000 to 12,000 tons to the cannery. And Bartletts are still in the terminal market and are being sold below storage and packing prices. Actually, shippers say,, the current school lunch program is merely giving shippers and growers something Instead of nothing for their pears. Incidentally the pears which were sold for juice to the Walnut Creek Canning company near uaklana brought about $5V4 a ton. -. -f- The Bartlett pear peeler evolution has also added to the amount of pears on the market. Peelers have gone from the Ewalt peeler, to the feeler peelers to th new chemical peeler. The Ewalt peeler trims about one-eighth of an inch off the pear and the knife is pre-set. The "feeler peeler" or contour peeler automatically shapes itself to the pear con tour and removes compartively little. It has placed a third more pears in the can. So, instead of getting 40 Cases of canned pears to the-ton, canneries get 50 cases per ton. Incidentally, the pear growers have a program coming up Monday Jan. 28 sponsored by the Jackson county ex tension service. Topics range from pear pest control to rehabilitation of declining pear trees. The peach growers have their program the next day,' Jan. 29. Topics include prediction of peach harvest sizes, planting trends of fresh peaches, and peach insect pests. County Judge Earl M. Miller promises to get the Jack son County Regional Planning Advisory committee under way again in the near future. .The Rural Area Development program would be part and parcel of it. Although unimpress ed with the bureaucratic array of talent displayed at the regional meeting in Portland this fall, we still feel this program is important to Jackson county. We have been Interested in the program developed In Taos, N.M. because of its broad scope. It has included a bridge across the Rio Grande gorge, plans for a community house, Spanish Fortress Mission Museum (apparently similar to the Jacksonville museum), Small Business administra tion loan to a cleaning establishment, men's wear store, a state utility linemen's training school and Picuris Pueblo various projects including water -and sewages, publication, arts and crafts, etc., a Christmas tree farm, an A & W Drive- in and the Ojo Caliente Community Center. 370 Cattle Sell At Midway Yard In Friday Event A total of 370 cattle were sold at the Midway Auction yard at its regular Friday sale, according to Bill Bray, owner Choice steers calves at 230 to 325 pounds sold for $30 to $34; 350 to 425 pound calves sold for $28 to $30 and 450 to 850 pound calves brought $26 to $28. : . : ' . Medium quality steer calves generally sold for $25 to $27. , Good to choice heifer calves sold tor $25 to $26.80. Medium quality heifer calves went out at $23 to $25. Good yearling steersweigh ing 575 to 650 pounds, sold for $26 to $27. Those weighing 675 to 750 pounds went at $24 to $25.75'. Medium quality yearling steers sold for $22 to $25. Forty head of 800 pound Hereford heifers sold for $23.10. Other penlots of 550 to 700 pound heifers sold from $22.50 to $24.50. Holstein Siear Calves Holstein steer calves sold for $22 to $24.50, light year ling Holstein steers went out at $21 to $23, with 800 to 000 pound steers going for $20 to $21.50. Good Hereford cows with calves at side sold from $200 to $242.50 per pair. Medium grade pairs went from $165 to $200 per pair. Fat heifers, 700 to 900 pounds, sold for $21 to $22.80. Young, fat cows sold for $17 to $20. Good utility cows sold for $15 to $16.50. Cutters brought $12 to $14.75. Can ncrs sold for $9 to $12. Choice veal went out at $26 to $29. Slaughter bulls sold for $20 to $21.10. FROM THE GROUND UP By (ART BARTLETT In answer to our inquiries, Terry L. Moynihan, manager of the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, Inc., wrote: "The board of trustees of this cooperative expressed In terest in the RAD program about l'i years ago and began by carrying articles in our newsletter to consumers. Ap proximately a year ago we learned that Rural Electrification administration had a Rural Area ' Development staff, and requested that James S. Wood (assistant to the director, special projects) be assigned to visit this area. Mr. Wood spent a week with us last spring and w set up meetings in each of the areas served by the cooperative and made special visits to particularly interested groups. "These people were all informed as to what was avail able to them and were encouraged to use these facilities in developing projects. "One Important thing we have learned is that you never want to become discouraged and that you must keep push ing the projects. If you intend to see them through to a successful completion, it takes a considerable amount of time and patience. We have worked with the local Area Redevelopment administration committee, but at times have had to help them circumvent red tape when time was a factor. . "We are certain Mr. Wood can be of great assistance to you and your area, as he was to us. If he cannot do the Job himself, he can refer you to someone who can. And If at any time we can be of further assistance, please let us know. We shall be glad to do anything we can." So the program is set up. It has worked in other areas, particularly in Taos, N.M. and the help is available. The rest is up to the people of Jackson county. Wt hopt they don't allow this program to become bogged down In (low committee maneuvers. 1963 by R. H. Groder, Oregon State University extension fruit and vegetable marketing specialist. Estimates are that total supplies will top those avail able during the first part of 1962. Supplies of canned de ciduous fruits are expected to continue large, while dried fruits and tree nuts supplies will be somewhat smaller. In creased demand is expected to come from the population in crease coupled with high con sumer incomes. The export market view point docs .not appear as bright, Groder notes. The United States Is expected to find it more difficult to export citrus fruit and apples due to increased supplies in foreign countries. In 1963 and the next few years, total U.S. deciduous fruit production should con tinue its upward trend of the past two or three years based on national tree numbers and acreage figures, Groder adds. This is expected with apples, sweet and sour cherries, peaches, pears, prunes and cranberries. In Oregon, the loss of prune and nut trees from the Oc tober storm may reduce local production and income in 1963 and keep the state from following the national trend. Growers faced with re planting should consult their county extension agent for in formation on planting stock and also consider long run market prospects and compet itive positions when making planting decisions, Groder em phasizes. Although strawberry ' ac reage is being reduced, yields per acre have increased as have imports. Marketings dur ing recent months have been slow and unless storage with drawals improve between now and May, carryovers may put pressure on prices in the new season, he cautions.. Spring planting plans should not be made without a further look at cold stor age holdings, prospective plantings and market condi tions, Groder cautions. Pruning of fruit trees is one of the major winter season agricultural jobs that is neces sary each year in this area. To accomplish this task each year requires a great number of man days is one of the more expensive operations the orch ardist has in connection with the production of a fruit crop. Since pruning of fruit trees is largely a hand operation that requires a large labor force, every man In the area who is willing and able can find employment In the orch ards during the winter. Need less to say that many men are willing but not able, while greater number are able but not willing to undertake such work. The laborer's earnings for pruning will vary widely depending on several factors. Among these are such things as whether or not the pruning is paid for on an hourly basis or by the unit. Trained, efficient, fast pruners can make good wages when they prune by the unit or for so much per tree. A large portion of the pruning labor force are neither trained or efflcent, in stead they more or less ac complish the job by a random hacking out or off of the trees limbs. In this instance a foreman who is well trained in pruning must be employed with each group of pruners to get a fairly decent job done and at a rate the orchardist can afford. Improper Pruning Many fruit trees In this area have been improperly pruned for several years. Their limbs are relatively old and are usually covered from base to tip with fruit spurs that are several years old These old spurs are several Inches long and may be forked two or three times. They blossom each year, but set little or no fruit. Such fruits as are produced are apt to be small and misshapen. Trees in such condition do not pro duce much if any new wood or new short spurs that are neces sary in order for the tree to produce good quality fruit of Cattleman's Notes Reveal Low Prices And Cattle Weight Editor's note: Sadg Nelson, Siskiyou county farm advis or, collaborated on the ar ticle on the lata A. (Bart) Hoy, prominent Siskiyou county rancher with Mrs. Orlo Davis, Montagu, which was published on this farm paga earlier. Someone else erroneously was given credit for the ar ticle, He wrote this story about the Hammond ranch in Scott valley, also. Charles F. Hammond, "Cat tleman of the Year" for the present year and from Mof fctt creek country of Scott val ley, showed me a note book kept by his father. This record was in his own handwriting and covered various cattle transactions in which he was ' involved from 1894 to 1921. Charles Stuart Hammond, the father, operated the home ranch on the Scott river a few miles downstream from Fort Jones. Up to 1917 cattle were sold - on a half weight basis. . This was to take care of the loss In weight between the live aoi mal and the carcass. Many steers and cows were sold at cents per pound on 500 pounds because they weighed uoo pounds. Here is a typi cal notation: In 1894. Sold beef to J. C. Mitchell for 5 cents. Cows and steers. 49 steers, 19 cows, two stags. Average 535 pounds." Nearly every animal sold in those days weighed over 1,000 pounds, as the steers were three years or more in age. A whole year s check for-a large cattle operation was $2, 000 to $3,000. From this they raised their family, bought their ranch and paid their debts. Stockmen's Group alls For Meeting ; . special directors' mol ing of tha Jackson County Stockman's association will be held at 8 p.m., Thursday, Jan, 17 In th Jackson coun ty extension srvlc ofile. All directors, commute chairmen and commit! membm at urged to at tend, according to Gordon Stanley, Lak Cik, asso ciation priidnt. Plant will b mad for th forthcom ing year. Corvallis Jury l-inrfr Mas flu favorable sizes. If pruners J HIM J I'lUII VUlHf would concentrate on old spur Corvalll - nipn a rin.,,11 removal in such trees for a Court iurv hero h. m,. Henry Mazingo, 39, guilty of manslaughter. The jury of eight women and four men returned the verdict 4Va hours after re ceiving the case. Mazingo had been chamed with first degree murder in the shotgun slaying of his wife, Ethel Mae, 25, at the couple's home at Greenberry near Corvallis last Oct. 21. He faces a possible maxi mum sentence of 15 years in the Oregon Penitentiary. year or so, It would be the best treatment that could be applied. The simple removal of limbs or limb tips is not an effective way to improve the health and performance of a spurry old fruit tree. It should be emphasized that bearing trees of any age from 6 years old and up can become covered with old spurs. 1 The time when farm equip ment will be needed is near and it may be well to check over each Item carefully at this time. Where repairs are needed, they should be sched uled for early attention. In some instances farm mach inery dealers may have winter rates for equipment repairs. At any rate it will not cost any more to repair farm equipment now than later and if delays due to break-downs are avoided, it may be far cheaper to accomplish repairs now. METAL WORKS I brill Csmmarclal Industrial Rniotnttal Shwt Metal Wfk Stilnlati, Gat'aalna' aiHl CspM' MiiutiM 228? 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