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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1963)
8 A TUESDAY. APRIL IS. 1363 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON New Ideas, Equipment Tried By Tireless Orchard Foreman Br JOE COWLEY Mail Tribunt Firm Editor Edward W. Earnest, or chard foreman for Myron Root and company, Medford, could be called the prototype of the new generation of pear orchard managers, eager to try anything which will shave costs and promise more com pany profit. "I don't think Ed owns a clock or watch. Time on the job means nothing to him," Warren Bayliss of the pro gressive fruit company re marked, recently. Managing the valley - wide fruit company orchards plus 70 acres of his own pear, peach and apple trees is al most a 24-hours-a-day job for the 33-year-old man; particu larly during the orchard heat ing season. To do it he averages 100 miles a day. He estimated his pickup (ruck has logged 77. 000 miles in two years. He frowned when we suggested after two years his truck should be junked as wornout equipment. He quickly assur ed us the fruit company's own shops keep such equipment running efficiently much long er than that. Like Edn Valley Like the Eden Valley or chard in a previous article, Myron Root and company re pairs and makes its own spe cially equipment. Three me chanics operate from the plant shop and one in the Vilas orchard. The management's eagerness to try out new equipment and procedures as manifested by Bob and Don Root make such shops an in tegral part of the overall op eration. Although a young man try ing out new ideas in orchard management, Ed is familiar with the old style operation. He grew up in the business in California by working in orchards starting in his high school years. He remembers how "a lot of hoses had to be drug around for spraying." The husky young orchard foreman came to the valley while his father was in the Camp White veterans' hospi tal. He liked it and bought some orchard property here. Later the Root brothers asked hint to come to work for them. During his five yours with the company Ed has tak en pride In the gradual stream lining oi the company operation. Tills has meant use of two way radios, concentrate spray ers and recently Clorettcs, or self-propelled platforms using a Jong boom with crow a nest cage for picking, pruning and thinning Perhaps the two-way radio hookup has been the most far reaching development for the Medford pear district as well as the Root company. The Roots use it for trouble calls for mechanics, for irrigation and for orchard heating. Frost Warning Hookup Last week we heard the new, almost valley-wide, frost warning radio hookup in ac tion. This was spearheaded by the Hoot brottWl and inaug urated this year. Orchardists reporting cloud movements and temperatures helped Me teorologist Bill Rogers, of the Fruit Frost Warning Service, obtain a fix on the immediate weather conditions from his "radio shack" at the airport. It also gave each orchardist an idea of how his orchard conditions checked with oth ers. The comparatively weak citizens' radio band works best at night when little in terference occurs. Such day time interference would make it difficult to use extensively in the day time and for wide area harvest operations. It can be used early In the morning, a time of little radio interfer ence, to route pickers from orchard to orchard, however. The two-way radio hookup is especially efficient for night-time irrigation when Ir rigation water evaporation is at a minimum. Using walkie talkies and a mobile radio, irrigators can check the wa ter from the head to the end of a row. This requires fewer men, makes for more efficient operation and better use of the water during the night period when few if any users want it. In effect, it provides 24 hour water control. In the 1061 harvest season the Roots used one gorettc or squirrel for picking. Now the company has six more, used in 1062. "The squirrel is well-suited for pruning, blight cutting and thinning, but there is a lot to work out for picking," Ed answered. "The main prob lem is getting the fruit of the gorette into boxes. Bins would work better. But this would mean a cnangc over oi uic Chit Chat By JOE COWLEY Mail Tribune Farm Editor additional work contribution would have been more than half of that supplied by foreign workers in the state that year. packing house handling equip ment which would be costly " A large picking bag mount ed on the squirrel which could be reeled down as the bag filled was tried. But one man was required to do nothing but place and remove boxes as the fruit tumbled in from the over-size pear bucket af fair. California has completed such an objective study recent- Thc orchard foreman pre- y. The University of California and the Giannini Foundation diets eventually such a pick-1 of Agricultural Economics has compiled a fat volume of ing rig will have its own con-1 facts and figures which may well become the "White Paper veyor tower to carry the fruit ! on Seasonal Labor." It's an excellent job. to a bin on the ground. Last Belknap New Head Of Riders' Group Fruit growers like any other businessmen must keep their costs of production as low as possible to insure profit. An Oregon State university agricultural economist is now making a study oi pear production labor here to sec just how it is being used. season s work demonstrated the machine could be used effectively for light crop pick ing. But these machines arc expensive and savings must offset the operation cost. The Roots use a sprayer "on the concentrate side" so more of the spray gets on the trees than on the ground than it does with the dilute spray er. Key to this was nozzle ad justment. The one crop - pears - and the short season generally makes this area unattractive to migrant pickers. Mexican Nationals are a necessity as a good, steady, dependable la bor supply, the orchard fore man said. But this is a prob lem being worked on at high er levels. The pear orchards are here to stay, but the smaller or chards which cannot operate profitably on a slim margin of cost-profit are being bought out by the larger companies, or lower grade orchards arc being pulled out for subdi visions, Earnest noted. More and more pear acreage is be ing planted and will be plant ed. The pear business is not going out of tiro valley, Earn est concluded. We do not claim this study can be applied to Oregon, much less to Jackson county. But, it does raise some major questions: Is all available labor fully utilized? Are labor mrruitina nffnrl f.illv c. . - r . :. t . .H amittnrc ..-.,.L-i.. . houses and with governmental agencies? How touchy to Tne uU mcmershlP 1 1' committee, reported on political pressure is the Bracero program? Is the avowed I 'ended the April meeting of he danger and the hazards U. S. Department of Labor's goal to hold down the number I Jackson County Horseman's !nvolvei on 'he bridge cross of Braceros used in the U. S. a fair and realistic one? If association, held in the rcc-1 mg at tnc Iree'a' by riders, coordination is a major key to this seasonable labor problem I reation room of the Tex Nash I Me renimendcd plans be could the U. S. Department of Agriculture do a better job Ford Tractor and Implement FT by e JCHA ' "old 3 of distributing seasonal labor where it is needed by using ! building. They unanimously I barbecue at tne Midway its advance crop information? elected John Belknap to the arena as soon as ,ne weather I presidency. permits. Belknap has been conduct- h rh.i, p,.,u, .,,j ' Farm & Garden SSiHSfi"1-!?"?'! S!nCr! U,C B'irdic Swearingen, that an 1 resignation of Larry Perrj vitation be sent to John Hart, One thing the California report brings out strongly is the need for thc Mexican Bracero. "Among the many groups that have served California farming, there is no doubt the Bracero has been one of the most productive," the report states. "In addition to their willingness to work in some of the crops and operations that have not been highly attractive to domestic workers, the Braceros have played the important role of being a supplemental labor supply." Gardening Tips By JOHN W. McLOUGHLIN I with the soil because these They give the assurance that the crops will be harvested, thc report points out. If the Bracero program was suddenly stopped "the impact would be intense," according to the report. One big advantage of thc Braceros is they come without their families. This makes the housing problem much simpler as local growers will tell you. "Green Card Mexicans," those who have applied for U. S. Citizenship, have worked well in this area. But being a more settled type of worker their families often come with them which does mean larger housing units. This also affects the school space required if the harvest carries over into the school period. It Is true U.S. farmers have fostered this labor source as an alternative to the Bracero program since the latter is a year by year program subject to much red tape and more and more controls. Vote Due May 21 On Wheat Program STOCKMEN FEED PELLETS Your coarse or unpaUtabl roughage will make a bata for a modern balanced ration that you can feed with little labor and no wattage. The increased meat or milk pro duced will give you maxl mum returns on a small cash investment. MORTON MILLING CO. 500 Roit lane, Medford Corvallls-Ovcr 17,000 Ore gon farmers can qualify to vote May 21 In the national wheat referendum which will decide the nation's wheat mar keting policies for 1964. The vote relates to thc pro- gram that would be in effect only for the 1064 crop. This referendum is required by thc 1962 Food and Agriculture Act. Thc law instructs the Secretary of Agriculture to otler U.S. wheat producers an opportunity to choose between two kinds ot programs lor next year, explains M. D. Thomas, Oregon Stale univer sity extension agrlcul Ural economist. For the first time, farmera with wheal allotments of less than 15 acres will be able lo vote. However, fanners Willi these small allotments hud to indicate their wish to vote by signing with thc county Agri cultural Stabilization and Conservation Service office by May 14, points out R. E. Schcdecn, chairman of thc State ASC committee. Those signing up to vote will also quality to receive price supports, marketing cer tificates and diversion pay ments if marketing quotas are approved. If quotas arc disap proved, those who sign will lie national acreage allotment at 49.5 million acres, 10 per cent under 1963 but the same as 1962, and has proposed a na tional marketing quota lor domestic use, export, seed and livestock feed of 1,220,000,000 bushels. If approved, certificates cov ering about 80 per cent ol thc quota will be issuer). These certificates entitle the farmer to a support price ot 52 a bushel, national average. The remaining wheal would not receive certificates, but would be supported at a lower level of $1.30 a bushel, nation a I average. If quotas are disapproved Hie law provides that thc 1964 wheat support rate would be 50 per cent of parity for growers who plant within their allotments. At the March parity level, this would mean about $1.25 a bushel support. Those exceeding their acreage allotments would lose their eligibility for price supports, but there would be no marketing quota penalty, Thomas said. Secretary Freeman set Ore gon's 1064 wheat acreage al lotment at 760,059 acres. This compares with B5i,000 acres 111 l!)K3 and 783,038 in 1902. County ASCS and Exten "It is estimated by July 1, 1961, as many as 50,000 permanent immigrants from Mexico had been added to the U. S. farm labor force, with 22,000 being in California, according to the bureau of employment security, U. S. De partment of Labor. "Green card" immigrants in the Cali fornia farm labor force at the 1962 peak was 30,000 to 35,000." "For thc state (California) as a whole, based on thc entry rate of 1961, this source of pupils from immigrant families is estimated to require the equivalent of 140 new schoolrooms per year," according to the report. However, school Is usually in its first two weeks in the Rouge valley when growers need these workers to finish up the winter pear harvest. Thc experts predict that more and more Mexican im migrants will be coming into this country even if thc Bracero law is extended. The buildup of the "green card Mexicans" will rapidly speed up if the law is not extended. The Bracero is temporary. Numbers are limited by cer tification of labor shortage by the secretary of labor. Work contract is specified by legislation and intergovernmental agreement. He must remain in specified farm work and with the contracting employer unless otherwise arranged. Thc worker's family is not permitted to enter. The employer s cost of procurement such as transportation and insurance is required by legislature and intcrgovermental agreement. The immigrant Mexican is permanent but may return lo Mexico temporarily. Number is not limited except an Individual employer sponsoring 25 or more requires cer lifieation of labor shortage by the secretary of labor. No contract is required. There are no restrictions as to em ployers or type of work The family may follow the entry of the head of the family. No procurment cost requirement is set. Thc (act Braceros arc not allowed to operate machinery mav be of increasing importance as more harvest machinery such as self-propelled elevated platforms are used in orchards or picking. n essentially the same poll- sion offices have work forms tlOIl as if they had not Indl cated a desire to vole, Thomas said. As usuol, all wheat pro ducers wllh allotments of 15 acres or more are automatic ally eligible to vote In the referendum. Program Details Details of the 1064 program were recently announced by Secretary of Agriculture Or villc Freeman. He has set the for wheat producers use in analyzing income effects on Individual farms. They also have other pertinent informa tion to help each wheat grow Those making thc California study noted that thc seasonal pattern of California agriculture has shifted forward in thc calendar year. A larger share of the temporary work now occurs in the school vacation period. Emphasis on youth for this temporary work has brought encouraging results, according to the California Department of Employment. Use of high school students for thc heavy and strenuous pear picking work is still hotly debated in this valley. One big handicap is school opens when they are needed most-near the end of the season when migrant labor has migrated. County Extension Agent Lilacs Lilac blight may be preva lent this year due to the rainy weather. This disease causes dark black streaks on the young shoots or one side of the shoot may be blackened. Spots may occur on the leaves. These spots may run together and form a water soaked blotch. Young leaves may turn black and die quickly. This disease also attacks thc flowers causing the flow er head to wilt and turn brown. The flower buds may be completely blackened by lilac blight. The white flower varieties seem to be more severely affected than the colored varieties. Good cultural practices play an important role in the control of lilac blight. Give your plants adequate grow ing room and prune to pro vide good air circulation. Avoid overfcrtilization of the planting. Prune any diseased shoots six inches beyond thc infect ed area. Sterilize thc pruning shears before each cut by dip ping them in denatured alco hol. Then spray with a copper spray at the rate of three tablespoons 50 per cent cop per to a gallon of water. Spray infected lilacs with copper in the fall at the above rate. Available Phosphorus Important for Vegetable Crops The response of vegetable plants to phosphorus fertilizer is greater during early growth than at any other time. An abundance of phos phorus encourages develop ment of fibrous roots which are important in helping young plants establish them selves and get off to an early start in the spring. When applying phosphorus, as super phosphate or in mix ed fertilizer, to acid or cold soils, don't mix thc fertilizer soil conditions tend to tie up phosphorus and make it un available to vegetable seed lings. Placing fertilizer high in phosphorus in bands to the side and slightly below the i T B ""c15"wu- noted trainer of horses and Medford. is vice president circu8 fame. to attend a meet Belknap addressed the mg of the JCHA at his earli group, and led discussions re- ( est convenience. S-u.ok me necessary pro- Tnc cxt mectlng w, bo gram, how to proceed, promo-, l)c,d Mav 8 -,. tion, aim and needs of the that the Tex Nash building I on Crater Lake highway will members and local 4-H club. as wen as o ner imercsieo ; be rclained as a regular meet "'-.""-''": ing place bv the group activities now being con-1 . ducted throughout Jackson level of the seed has been county. found the most economical and effective method for vegetable crops. Pines The best way to control the size of pines such as the mugho pine is to pinch off the candle -like new tip growth before it breaks into needles. Selective pinching will allow you to train these shrubs into many interesting shapes. Camellias The dropping of Camellia buds is often caused by the drying of the roots the pre vious summer and winter. To prevent this drying periodi cally check the soil around the bush and water if dry. Pay particular attention to Camellias under eaves in con tainers and in other out of the way places where they don't receive the benefits of rain. Lonnie Varncr stated the needed requirements of any constructive plan would be to see ample room and facilities will be available, in order to accommodate the increasing number of clubs. This would enable the youngsters, as well as the other groups to prop erly display their livestock, poultry, homemaking proj ects, and -all other hobbies. Ted Christensen. chairman of the membership and activi- I mj&4$) 772- SPECIAL Military Jeep, $495 Good Condition 1959 Jeep FC-170 Pickup, Very Good Shape $1375 NASH FORD TRACTOR & IMPLEMENT CO. 3005 Crater Lake Hwv. Japan Gets Onions Grown in Salem Salem - Some of Japan's residents will be eating onions grown in thc Salem area. Inspectors for the state and federal shipping point inspection service checked out 27,500 50-pound sacks of Salem district onions in February for shipment to Japan. Thc inspectors say it is the first shipments to Japan that they recall. inspecting. Hood River reports about 350 cars of apples are still in storage and 160 cars of pears remain to be shipped. The Medford district has approx imately 400 cars of pears still in storage. Most of these are D'Anjous. I LAWN WEEDS i BejHsS HHI rr. .' I ; I H IfinMSzii BIG Y FEED & SEED GO. 1948 Pacl.it Hwy. N. 773-3160 SUPER SCAB CONTROL FOR APPLES AND PEARS Cyprcx provides powerful, economical control along with flexibility to meet any threat from scab throughout thc season The California researchers state the seasonable labor available is not used as fully as it should be. This is the fault of both worker and boss, they point out. The workers er to decide for himself how don't always know where and when work is available. Spc he wishes to vole on May 21, cialization in certain crops also keeps them from working Thomas said. I as much as they could, thc report pointed out. But thc em- ployers recruit independently and long before the season Salt-fed steers will gain ancj fake on more workers than they actually need, more weight on less feed than will similar steers that have So. In Tulare county they tried two experimental crews been denied salt. B WELL WATER PURIFICATION Well water contamination by sewage wastes is becoming a serious threat throughout the country today. This underground water contamination from septic tanks, surface water, other con tamination or abandoned wells and many additional sources carries this threat to millions of private well owners and to the entire private well industry. The proper solution is to install simple automatic chlorina tion on every well. This will provide continuous automatic pro tection from disease bacteria for the lifetime of the well. Complete Chlorination Equipment Available Simple Accurate Dependable HUBBARD WRAY CO. 909 S. Rivenide 773-7511 Complete Water System Service Cyprcx is recommended by all western states as thc preferred scab fungicide. These recommendations are based on comparative trials by plant pathologists in all Washington, Ore gon and California areas where scab is an economic problem on apples and pears. Cyprex is superior both as an eradieant and a protectant. Low eco nomical rates in protection schedules have proved to be far more effective than other protectant materials. And by merely increasing rates slightly Cyprcx also becomes a powerful eradieant, giving up to 48 hours of "kick-back" action. Cyprcx is compatible with most insecticides and fungicides. It is also now available in dust form. Consult local authorities for further information. Or. contact American Cyanamid Company, Agricultural Division, Los Angeles 64, Oakland 12 or Portland 8. to see what the maximum amount of work each crew could I obtain. Each crew member was told lo accept different ! types of work when it became available and jobs were ar- ranged and scheduled. The crew sponsored by the Tulare County Farmers' as sociation was active for 33 weeks or -45 days, It obtained 178 days of work. A crew sponsored by the Americans Friends Service committee was active for 42 weeks or 245 days and obtained 214 days of work. Directors of the two crews estimated that on a year's or 365 days basis the crews j would have had 250-260 days of work However, a Kern i county study (next to Tulare county) showed that family heads averaged 138 day of farm work in 1961 So what.' So it the temporary farm worker in California hid averaged an additional 35 days of work in 1961, the Top Tonnage Begins With ANCHOR Pelleted Fertilizers For complete selection and service, Call . . . GRANGE CO-OP SUPPLY ASSOCIATION HIGHWAY 99 - CENTRAL POINT PHONE 664-1262 OR 773-4022 421 A STREET ASHLAND PHONE 482-2143 iHTeiiftfffXPfl jKyifcy 'i( I Hfv ' B .-T '' ' J4e I 1 kHI I K Jt Cyprcx always "pay of: These pairs show what you can expect from a Cyprcx-sprayed orchard. Crops thus protected assure higher dollar returns. Start Cyprcx sprays early dnrina the eritieal Cunm ,;r.i;i. ;"" ." " prevent scab from higher rates gives 'powerful "kick-b becoming established, f-wf.wj Mr-n CYPREX IS NOW LSO REGISTERED tor olauom brown rot inU leaf P0t on cntrrtet (iw.tt nd .our) nd bloi.om brown rot on p.icb.. - protection at low ratei. At slightly CYPREX 65 W FUNGICIDE mtMJIM nam nts H Ho hams a WSUtm or eu l ltl kl
