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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (July 9, 1963)
HEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFOHD. OREGON TUESDAY. JULY 9. 19S3 B 3 Sweat, Determination Help Make Small Local Farm Pay By JOE COWLEY . Mail Tribune Farm Editor '- Sams Valley-Caspar Mey er and his family have done with sweat and determination what most people only dream about. They have made a small family farm up Ramsey Can yon rd. in the Sams Valley area pay off, which many of today's agricultural experts say can't be done. It's even more remarkable since Meyer was neither raised nor train ed as a farmer. Setting for this story is 130 acres of land high above the Rogue valley, with a small cleared patch planted to green rows of strawberries streth ing up the hillsides and about ISO apple trees silhouetted against the sky on the crest of a hill and bordering a small reservoir. In the fore ground area a small wood frame house flanked by a vegetable garden and out buildings. One is a root cellar dug into the side of a hill and the other a small log hay shed which was once a pio neer cabin. Swiss Farm Setting Two flaxen-haired blue eyed daughters complete the setting resembling a small Swiss farm. The Swiss appear ance is only natural because the Meyer family is from Switzerland. Meyer speaks English, French, German and Italian, his wife, Swiss-German and English as do the two boys and two girls "When I was working (as a Swiss sales tax clerk) I kept thinking about what I could do. I had a job which thou sands of my countrymen would like to have. But, I thought I would like farming. I had done a lot of garden ing and worked with farmers. I liked farming. "So, we saved all the mon ey we could. I came to this country alone in 1954. They wouldn't let me bring my family because they thought a former government clerk couldn't earn a living and might have to go back. But I found a job the first day, he grinned. "The family join- ed me about six months later." . Then followed years of hard work to get money for a farm. Meyer worked in a Canadian sawmill at night and as a farm hand during the day. "I would work 34 hours at a time. Maybe I would be in bed for four hours, he re lated in his Swiss accent. About 1B58 when the fam ily felt they had enough sav ed they packed their meager belonings into a jalopy and headed for Tracy, Calif., 58 miles east of San Francisco, But land prices were too high there. The family had liked glimpses of the Rogue valley on the way through to Cali fornia. Classifieds Help A classified advertisement in the Mail Tribune brought six replies. Meyer inspected threo of the most likely farms and settled on his present farm. He saw it and bought it all in the same day. It was the small reservoir fed by a mountain spring which decid ed him. "You can't do any thing without water," he de- declared. There there were problems on financing the farm through the former owner. Meyer was working for the Pelton or chards and on someone's ad vice contacted his foreman for a loan. This way he was able to discount the farm loan by $550 and is paying his benefactor through one of the Brush Controls Study Under Way Corvallis - Basic informa tion to help the land mana ger control vegetation with the least amount of contam ination by herbicides is the goal of Oregon Slate univer sity scientists studying the biochemistry and toxic haz ards of chemical brush control. Planned as a five-year 'oint project between the agricul tural chemistry and forest re search divisions of thj OSU Agricultural Experiment sta tion, the work is supported by a Public Health Service grant of $20,000 a year. Working on the program will be Virgil Freed, head, department of agricultural chemistry; George Barnes, as sistant director, forest re search division; Micheal New ton, instructor in forestry; and Logan Norris, assistant in agricultural chemistry. The scientists will study the uses of herbicides on forest lands to determine the most efficient means of vegetation control and the effects of such treatments on water purity and wildlife habitat. Basic studies will be made of the behavior of herbicides in plants, water and soil. It is hoped that such infor mation will result In more efficient use of herbicides and develop a better understand ing of pollution problems, Much of the field work will be done in OSU's McDonald Forest north of Corvallis. Soil and water samples will also be collected in conjunction with spray operations on fed eral, state and private forest lands. NEW FLY RECORD An aged bull, In a Kansas herd, was observed to have 10.000 adult horn flies buz zing around his head and fore- shoulders which marks record of sorts. local financial institutions. The whole family works at chores. The two boys, Walter, 16, and Bruno, 17, work be fore and after school in the fields with the tractor, at spraying, weeding and harv esting. The daughters work in the house with their moth- Father is particular that nobody handle the cow ex cept himself so that is his special project. The cow ma nure is mixed with straw fori fertilizer on the one-acre I strawberry field and the com- partively small vegetable plot. Nothing is wasted. Meyer went to college and commercial schools in Swit zerland until he was 21 so is intent on seeing his boys make the most of their edu cation. American schools, he said are the best in the world. Both boys are on the honor roll at Crater High school. The older one received hon ors in mathematics and chem istry and wants to be a forest er. The younger brother isn't quite sure, but thinks forestry might interest him, also. Right now the family is winding up the strawberry season. Meyer estimates he produces 4U tons per acre. Make a circle by touching the tips of thumb and forefinger. This will show the size of these bright red, sweet ber ries sold though Chapman s Little Acres on Table Rock rd. and through some local markets. Raise Apples, Too This fall there will be box es of Spitzenbergs and Yel low Newtown apples coming off the 150 trees perhaps 500 boxes. Last season the grove of trees produced a thousand boxes. Some people who know what the little farm will ' produce already have their orders in. Meyer also likes to grow cabbage for which he finds a ready local market. Cabbage is a hardy vegetable and brings a good price, he said He has about 3,000 plants. Later he hopes to plant grapes. "Strawberries bring good, fast money, but they are a heck of a lot of hard work too," Meyer said. But there's not much chance Meyer will buy a farm down in the valley In spite of recent offers. "There you just work to pay off the in terest," he grinned. When he moved onto his farm about four years ago it was covered with foxtail and other weeds and brush with a number of old apple trees he is gradually replac ing. "Only by producing high quality products can the small farmer survive," he remark ed. His story is proof. AH equipment is paid for and al most the farm. ' -r-imiMi, M jr . .'A Meat Care Required To Salem - Pick up some meat and we'll cook ojt." This is a suggestion heard often during the warm sum mer weather, and a good one. But, Dr. M. L, Houston, supervisor of the meat in spection service of the Ore gon Department of Agricul ture, says it is wise to add one reminder - "Don't let it stay In car so long that it starts to heat." Beat Summer Heat Houston explained that the summer weather that lures the population out-of-doors for cooking and into thu pic nic grounds also warms meats to temperatures that make them more subject to bacteria action, resulting in spoilage and possible food poisoning. Deer and elk need just three things for the good life: Plenty of feed, water and salt. FEES REDUCED Salem - Some of the fees charged for potato Inspections1 would be reduced by an amendment to the inspection regulation being proposed by ' f Oregon Department of Agriculture. Salem-Grain export load ings inspected In Portland by the Grain Inspection Division of the Oregon Department ot Agriculture continued to de cline in M y. r,, -Tt fV fee" STRAWBERRY HARVEST Teenage boys Sams Valley area. Picking was expected to can be seen in the distance picking straw- be completed at least by the end of this berries on the Caspar Meyer one acre straw- week. Meyer estimates he gets 4VS tons of berry patch up Ramsey Canyon rd. in the Northwest strawberries per acre. Twtr 1 TSTTl STRAWBERRY PICKERS These pickers had just come from the strawberry field on the Caspar Meyer farm when this nicture was taken. David Johnson, 16. Central Point, picks the crew up in his jeep every morning before 5 o'clock.' Other pickers are Jay Lusky, 17, Central l"oint; Jonn Kcm ley, 14, Gold Hill; Bill Shoemaker, 16, Central Point; and Charley Lusky, Jay's brother, 15. Meyer said he is proud of pickers who aren't afraid to work overtime. 15 "Never saw so few mites in our apple crop" The answer's right in our spray tank. Kelthane AP. Must b. Mite were quite a problem last year. They sure hurt our crop pears as well as apples. But not this season. Kelthane AP is controlling all the mites that give us trouble European red, 2-spotted, McDaniel, Willamette, apple rust, clover. Mention just about any mite Kelthane controls it. What made you decide to switch miticides? For one thing, I get more action per pound of Kelthane AP. It gives me high initial kill and long residual action, and it can be used with most other pesticides. you're really soli on Kelthane AP, aren't you? Why not? It's the best miticide I ever used. FARM RESERVOIR Caspar Meyer, Ramsey Canyon id., Sams Valley, pointed out his farm reservoir 10 nis visuors recently. This, he said, was the big reason he bought the 130 acre farm through the Mail Tribune classified ads. The reservoir irrigates Meyer's vegetables and apple trees. &jgK DUE Se(L ROHM Broilers Gain, Turkeys Down Corvallis - Supplies ot broilers during the remain der of 1963 will be larger than the same period last year, but about the same quantity of eggs and turkeys will be available to consum ers, according to C. N. Fisch er, poultry specialist. An expansion in broiler production is in the making with the May output of broil er chicks the largest output for any month on record and up seven per cent from May, 1962, he noted. The number of eggs in incubators June 1 in dicates the June hatch will be larger than the same month last year and the largest on record for that month. Most of the prospective in crease in turkey production this year may be otfset by smaller cold storage holdings. Holdings on June 1 were 11 per cent smaller than on the same dale last year, Fischer reported. LICENSE DEADLINE Salem-The Oregon Depart ment of Agriculture has Is sued a reminder that July 1 was the deadline for renew ing licenses for all scales and weighing and measuring de vices. This also Includes scales, gasoline pump meters and liquid petroleum gas meters. Timber Industry mployees Buy 3,463,000 Gallons of Gasoline Each Year! 5,200 employees of the timber industry In Jackson county, each with only one car and driving 12,000 miles per year (national average) at an average of 1 8 miles per gallon would use over 3,463,000 gallons of gasoline. Now add the oil, lubrication, tires, repairs, accessories, insurance and other auto costs and you will have a rough idea of the importance of the timber industry employees to other business in this area. 3,463,000 gallons of gas sold means $346,300 (at 10c per gallon) in State and Federal taxes. SOUTHERN OREGON CONSERVATION & TREE FJVRM ASSOCIATION Gardening Tips Peach Borer SDrav the trunk and low er scaffold limbs of peach, cherry, plum, prune, necta rine and apricot trees and English laurel by July 13. This is a preventative spray to control the peach root borer. Thi insect bores Into the inner bark and cambium lay er of the tree and girdles the tree. The borer holes are read ily seen near the base of in fected trees. Thoroughly soak the trunk and scaffold limbs of the tree with a spray containing eight tablespoons (one-half cup) of 50 per cent DDT wettable powder to a gallon of water. Apply enough of the spray solution so that it will run down the trunk of the tree and puddle at the base. (Use about two pints of spray for a tree six inches In diameter.) Apply a second spray for the control of the peach root borer three weeks after the first spray. Corn Suckerina Suckering corn, that is, tliei removal of side shoots or suckers is often claimed to increase both yields and the size of ears. Numerous tests have shown that the removal of suckers is not beneficial to Golden Cross Bantam and similar varieties. Gladiolus Pick gladiolus flowers that are used for indoor decora tions as soon as the flower at the base of the stalk opens fully. The rest of the flowers will bloom indoors in water. Leave at least four leaves on the plant to insure a healthy rorm for next year's flowers. Tomatoes Continue to control weeds in the tomato garden by shal low cultivation and the use of a mulch. Weeds compete vigorounly with tomatoes for the moisture and nutrients necessary for good fruit pro duction. I Meet Mr. A. B.C. n o n n n LVi n . s.. Remember that blossom end rot is caused by a lack of soil moisture and wide fluctuations in soil -moisture supply. This physiological disease produces a sunken black leathery rot around the blossom end of the fruit. If you smoke, be sure to wash your hands with soap and water before handling to mato plants. The tobacco mosaic virus which causes mottled foliage and fern-like leaves is most often transmit ted to plants by the fingers of gardeners who smoke. Do not do any unnccssary pruning as this reduces the total yield and exposes the tomatoes to the sun. This ex posure contributes to blotchy ripening or yellowing of the fruit. Harvest ripe tomatoes as this encourages continuous flowering and fruit development. YOUR NAME IS THERE! - He Works for our Advertisers He is one nf the experienced circulation auditors on the staff S 'the Audii BureaTof Circulations, Just as . makes a periodic chock of the records of your bank-w does Mr. A.B.C visit our office at regular intervals to make mm exacting inspection and audit of our circulation records. The Stion facta thus obtained are condensed in "asy.hvread audTt rcporta which tcU our advertisers: How much i area, ktlon we have; where it goes; how it was binc "drX other FACTS that tell advertisers what they get for then money when they advertise in this newspaper. Yes, the odds re 10 to 1 that YOUR NAME IS THERE. You got ft service, when you want to charge. You hve difficulty buying 00 credit. NOW IS THE TIME to do tome- thing ehout It. Pay promptly io the Redbook will ihow you with a record of prompt pay ment. CREDIT BUREAU of HEDFORD V MEDFORDfe Adversers ore Invited to oik for a copy of our latest A.B.C. report. The Audit Bureau of Circula tion!, of which this newipoper it a member, It o cooperative, nonprofit attociation of nearly 4,000 advertisers, advertising ogenciet and publisher. Or ganized in 1914, A.B.C. brought order oot of odvertinng chaot by etfablithino-. A def inition for paid circulation) rules and standardt for auditing and reporting the circulation of newspapers and period'icott. T T QiWrRIBUNE 1 OQ (Jtn-Ot) f3' O !' CI CI Ul ' SJ aHMffJ i MCK- T i
