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 An outline of the future 
 | basis of agriculture in Montana, 
 from the viewpoint of the Montana State College, 
 Montana State College Extension Service, 
 and Montana Agricultural Experiment 
 Station 
 
 As presented before a meeting of Montana bankers 
 at Bozeman, February 2, 1924 
 
An Agricultural Program for Montana 
 
 Every state in its infancy must progress slowly with its agriculture 
 while developing the main factors around which the successful farm 
 practice of that state must be based. The studies that have been carried 
 on by the various agencies of the State College, including the Agricul- 
 tural Experiment Station and the Extension Service, have, we believe, 
 gained sufficient facts and experience to permit us to point out the 
 essentials of agricultural success for Montana. 
 
 It is not presumed that any fixed agricultural program for the future 
 can be presented now, but we are certain that many of the important 
 and fundamental facts are clear enough to be grouped together for 
 presentation to the farmer and the business man at this time. 
 
 We realize, however, that in this program only a general setting 
 ean be presented, and that only parts of it will apply in all sections 
 of the state. Later there will be prepared suggested programs for 
 various agricultural regions of the state. Our irrigated lands permit 
 a different type of agriculture from the dry-land areas, and even the 
 lower and the higher irrigated valleys afford different possibilities. The 
 dry-land areas also differ much in their agricultural possibilities, while 
 the immense range areas, which now have passed largely into private 
 ownership, present a problem all their own. It will be our purpose ‘to 
 vizualize broadly the agricultural possibilities of these various regions 
 of the state. 
 
 PERMANENT FARM HOMES NECESSARY 
 
 Since 1906 we have had too many temporary farmers who came 
 to Montana to “‘get rich quick’’ on a few bumper crops and then retire 
 to other states to spend the wealth which they thus proposed to gather. 
 A few of these croppers-of-passage did realize their hopes, but in most 
 eases the principal wealth they carried away with them was a wealth 
 of experience. Farming in Montana just simply is not that kind of 
 business and Montana’s agriculture will be developed only by farmers 
 who farm to make and maintain permanent homes here. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF INDIVIDUALS 
 
 Thrift and economy are part of the stock in trade of any farmer. 
 Under any system of farm management certain individuals will fail 
 to make a success where others succeed, for no program can assure 
 
 NO05S15 
 
4 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION 
 
 success to every individual. The ability of the individual is important 
 and a program of successful agricultural methods and principles serves 
 mainly as a guide to the best practices for the individual who can and 
 will use them intelligently and efficiently. 
 
 FARM PRICES IN COMPARISON 
 
 Because farming is carried on principally for profit and because 
 conditions beyond the farm itself often influence the possibility of 
 profit, it is worth while to consider the relations between the prices of 
 farm products and the prices of labor and supplies that enter into the 
 farmer’s cost of production. The year 1913, the last year before the 
 World War, is taken as an average year upon which to base comparison. 
 Let the price of all commodities in 1913 represent 100. Then, com- 
 pared to the 100 of that year, the prices of various commodities in 1923 
 were as follows: beef cattle, 121; hogs, 81; sheep, 167; wool, 198; wheat, 
 117; corn, 137; oats, 105; brick, 285; yellow pine, 229; steel, 217; ce- 
 ment, 168; and skilled labor in the building trades was at 2388. 
 
 Some point out that the farmer’s products are above the 100 mark, 
 or pre-war level, but a glance at the other figures will show that the 
 purchasing power or price level of agricultural products is generally 
 below the Ievel of steel goods, building material, and other things which 
 the farmer must buy. In other words, the buying power of most agri- 
 cultural products for 1923 is well below the buying power of manu- 
 factured goods and labor. This means that it takes more bushels of 
 wheat to buy a wagon in 1923 than it did in 1913; more pounds of pork 
 to buy a thousand feet of lumber than it took in 1913. So long as this 
 buying-power difference exists between the farmer and the persons 
 from whom the farmer must buy, just so long will it remain difficult 
 for the farmer to purchase the things he requires or wishes with the 
 things he has to sell. This is an important point in considering the 
 future of agriculture in Montana, and a point that must be solvéd. 
 
 LOW COST OPERATION 
 
 The foregoing situation shows that it is more than ever necessary 
 to carry on farm operations at a low cost. The use of larger teams to 
 increase the value of man-power and the introduction of home-made 
 implements where possible, are vital points. Man-power is expensive 
 now and returns per man are more important than returns per acre. 
 
ay 
 
 AN AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM FOR MONTANA 5 
 
 Hight, twelve, or sixteen-horse outfits will be found an important 
 means of increasing the value of man-power. 
 
 PRODUCING THE FARM LIVING 
 
 There is a general tendency to purchase foods that are in con- 
 venient form and that have had considerable processing. The farmer 
 is tempted to follow this tendency even when he may produce these 
 food supplies on the farm. Purchase of these items of food supply 
 greatly increases the cost of the farm living, because the costs include 
 transportation, labor and expense of preparation, raw material, and 
 other items. Vegetables, dairy products, meat, poultry, and eggs in 
 amounts necessary for the farm table should be produced on practically 
 every farm. This is a most essential point in keeping down farm costs. 
 
 EFFICIENT MARKETING 
 
 Out of the wide distribution of farm commodities now prevailing 
 has come extensive marketing machinery with high costs for handling 
 the farmer’s product. These costs, with the profits on investment and 
 compensation for service, all operate to lower the price to the farmer 
 and increase the price to the consumer. Service of this sort is essential 
 and must be paid for; but since it has an important bearing on the 
 price the farmer gets he should give careful and painstaking attention 
 to the service being rendered and the price he is paying. 
 
 In this connection there is one additional point of major importance. 
 Modern carrying methods on land and sea have brought into competi- 
 tion products from the four corners of the earth. The wheat growers 
 of the American and Canadian west are vitally interested in the size 
 and quality of the crops in Russia, Australia, South America, and India. 
 In the same way the bean growers of Michigan and Montana are con- 
 eerned over the crops that Japan is raising and exporting. The farm- 
 er’s interest in what his competitor is producing, both at home and in 
 foreign lands, is growing with every transportation improvement. 
 
 These two features, cost of marketing and the need of world-wide 
 information, point unmistakably to the need for more cooperation in 
 marketing. Efforts in this direction have resulted in substantial im- 
 provement in the past twenty years. However, there remains much to 
 be desired if the farmer is to get his proper share of the consumer’s 
 dollar. Furthermore, it is only through intelligent group action that 
 reliable information on conditions may be accumulated. Individuals 
 will find extensive market studies too costly to be undertaken by them 
 
6 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION 
 
 alone, but where these may be assembled by a cooperative organization 
 the cost to the individual will be relatively small. The narrow margin 
 of profits and the exacting demands of the present situation should 
 increase greatly the interest in cooperative marketing. 
 
 CASH’ CROPS 
 
 Montana always will produce crops to be raised and sold direct in 
 substantial volume. Such crops as wheat, sugar beets, peas, beans, 
 flax, and apples are almost sure to be important in Montana’s agricul- 
 ture for many years. 
 
 WHEAT 
 
 In 1923 Montana’s wheat production was estimated at 53,000,000 
 bushels. This was the largest crop ever harvested in the state and it 
 is reasonable to expect that the production of this crop will increase 
 during the coming years. The wheat belt of the country has moved 
 constantly westward until all the new west has been claimed for crop- 
 raising. As the cities increase in size to the east and west, the demand 
 for dairy and other more intensified products tends to reduce wheat. 
 production, and this crop passes on to lower-priced land and larger 
 units. In the United States there is no room for further great expansion 
 and the present wheat regions will continue to produce wheat unless 
 wheat production moves from the United States to some other region. 
 
 A second reason for believing that Montana will continue to be an 
 important wheat state comes out of the superiority of the wheat raised 
 in this state. _The experience of millers and bakers, the investigations 
 on bread-making values, and the record of winnings by Montana wheat 
 at grain expositions—all testify to the outstanding excellence of Mon- 
 tana wheat. Even though there may be a surplus of wheat in the coun- 
 try, there is no excess of Montana’s hard winter and spring sorts. 
 
 Success in wheat-raising depends on getting the largest possible 
 returns at the lowest possible cost. This crop adapts itself to the use 
 of labor-saving machinery rather better than most other crops. Large 
 teams and tillage implements of large capacity are essential if the 
 fair degree of success, which should be possible, is to be gained. 
 
 Sucar BEETS 
 As rapidly as markets are provided through the erection of sugar 
 beet factories, the acreage of this crop should be increased. Out of the 
 experience of the Yellowstone Valley it is evident that both soil and 
 
? 
 
 AN AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM FOR MONTANA 7 
 
 climate favor good yields of high-quality beets and as a producer of 
 cash sugar beets are of importance. 
 
 BEANS 
 Beans are becoming an important crop in some parts of the state 
 and because of their quality Montana may easily build up a reputation 
 in the larger markets for the beans raised. This crop is a soil improver, 
 is easily handled, and fits well into an intelligently planned rotation. 
 In many of the valleys of the state bean-raising is almost sure to be- 
 come of higher importance. 
 
 PEAS 
 
 Peas do well in the higher valleys of the state. Pea-canning has 
 a future in this state, and important canneries already exist. Peas of 
 fine quality and flavor are produced in good yields. There also is a 
 demand for Montana-grown seed peas, since the state produces vigor- 
 ous seed entirely free from the pea weevil that is playing havoc in 
 eastern fields. The crop has a double value in that it is a profitable 
 cash producer and is a great improver of soil conditions. 
 
 FLAX 
 Flax is a crop that will continue to be of importance for a number 
 of years. In eastern and northeastern Montana this crop does well 
 and under a fair price level flax-raising may be expected to increase 
 in the state. 
 
 APPLES 
 
 West of the mountains in the Bitter Root and Flathead areas 
 there is sure to continue and increase as the years pass an important 
 apple-raising industry.. These sections now are raising such standard 
 varieties as McIntosh Red and Wealthy of a quality that surpasses 
 similar seasonal varieties from other fruit areas. 
 
 CoRN AND SILAGE 
 
 That more than 9,000,000 bushels of corn were produced in Mon- 
 tana in 1923 proves beyond discussion that a large part of the state 
 is in the corn belt of the United States. The increase in acreage of 
 this crop during the past ten years is most significant and furnishes 
 the most substantial assurance of a diversified and permanent agri- 
 eulture for Montana. The great corn crop with its tillage and feed 
 
8 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION 
 
 possibilities insures permanent and enduring homes on the farms of 
 the state. 
 
 Montana farmers who have raised corn in the central states need 
 to remember that Montana conditions require different varieties, dif- 
 ferent methods of planting and tillage, and different plans for har- 
 vesting from those employed in the corn-belt states. The methods 
 followed and the strains developed by the Indians point the way for 
 success In corn-growing in the Northwest. Of course, these methods 
 and varieties have been much improved, but the corn types that best 
 apply have been built up from early native strains rather than adapted 
 from larger and longer-season corn-belt varieties. 
 
 In deciding what varieties to use, the methods of harvesting to 
 be employed should be kept in mind. If the crop is to be harvested 
 in the field by cattle or hogs, early-maturing varieties with small ears 
 produced low on the stalk should be planted. When silage is required, 
 varieties with larger stalks are best; while if the corn is to be har- 
 vested with the binder and threshed, the fine-stalked sorts should be 
 used. 
 
 In this connection attention should be called to the use of sun- 
 flowers for silage in localities where the nights are too cool to insure 
 a fair growth of corn. This crop was developed in Russia and is 
 hardy to cool nights and short growing seasons. Under irrigation it 
 returns a large silage yield of a quality quite equal to corn silage 
 srown under similar conditions. . 
 
 On a large percentage of grain-raising farms a certain acreage 
 of corn fills a useful place. Under Montana’s conditions as to moisture 
 supply there is need for moisture-conserving tillage between grain 
 crops and this need can frequently be most economically met with 
 corn. Up to the present bare fallow has been extensively used and no 
 doubt will continue to be used to some extent, but the more varied 
 income that corn makes possible contributes to the security of the 
 farm unit. With proper planting methods and careful tillage, the 
 moisture-conserving effects with a corn crop closely approach those 
 where bare fallow has been used. 
 
 SWEET CLOVER 
 
 To balance the ration where corn is used there is need for some hay 
 and pasture crop high in protein, and for the dry lands sweet clover 
 appears to be the most promising. It withstands the drought, yields 
 
a 
 
 AN AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM FOR MONTANA Y 
 
 a satisfactory quality and a fair quantity. On the irrigated farms 
 alfalfa and red clover and certain grasses furnish the hay and pasture, 
 but on the dry farm sweet clover is destined to fill a highly important 
 place. 
 
 SEED PRODUCTION 
 
 Because of the superiority of Montana-grown grain, alfalfa, and 
 potato seed, a profitable market in these seed crops may be built up 
 outside the state. When sold for seed, grains command a premium 
 above the regular market and this offsets the freight charges for the 
 long haul to the out-of-the-state regular market. 
 
 Recent tests in southern states show that Montana-produced seed 
 potatoes yield more than seed potatoes from other states. Because of 
 the deterioration of seed grown under southern conditions these growers 
 are looking to the Northwest for their annual supply of seed potatoes. 
 Montana has a great opportunity to build up a market for her surplus 
 potatoes. It is conservatively estimated that 700 carloads per year of 
 Montana-produced seed potatoes eventually could be sold to southern 
 2Trowers. 
 
 Growers in the east and the middle west are willing to pay a prem- 
 ium for certified Montana-grown Grimm alfalfa seed, so that the pro- 
 duction of Montana seed under careful inspection is increasing each 
 year. 
 
 There is a growing tendency in eastern corn-belt states to pasture 
 off corn, and there is therefore a growing demand for a low-growing 
 type of corn to suit that type of feeding. Many of these states look 
 to Montana for their seed corn of this type, as after the first year in 
 those eastern and southern states corn goes back to high stalks and 
 heavy leaves. 
 
 In all of this seed production work growers will have to cooperate 
 in producing the proper varieties and in putting the product up in 
 clean, marketable condition; also in growing sufficient quantities to 
 attract buyers. Even more than in regular marketing, the marketing 
 of seed crops requires carefully planned and intelligently managed 
 cooperation. 
 
 A PROGRAM FOR LIVE STOCK 
 
 BEEF CATTLE 
 The old range days are gone forever in Montana—too much Mon- 
 tana land is now under private ownership. Under this private owner- 
 
10 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION 
 
 ship, even where land seems valuable for range purposes, values are 
 set too high to permit efficient use by rental or lease for grazing. 
 
 A balance must be established between winter feeding and summer 
 grazing. The five months’ feed of the pastures is not enough to carry 
 over large herds and the industry can not stand the heavy winter 
 losses that come where there is insufficient winter feed. 
 
 There is need for a public range land policy to put public lands 
 under supervision so they can be leased for a period of years, similar 
 in effect to the policy governing in the forest service leases. This will 
 permit the lessee to protect his pastures from overgrazing. 
 
 Low-priced beef and high labor make many changes necessary. We 
 must produce well-bred, early-maturing cattle and get them off as 
 yearlings and two-year-olds. The fat five-year-old steer is a thing of 
 the past. The market now wants 900 to 1100-pound beef animals. 
 
 Stockmen must get a bigger calf-crop percentage and must provide 
 feed to keep the calf gaining through the winter months. The old 50 
 per cent calf crop is too small under present conditions. To increase 
 the percentage may require pasture breeding, and plans for this must 
 be worked out. Again let it be remembered that winter feeding must 
 prevent the heavy winter losses that the stock business can no longer 
 stand in Montana. At the same time there must be greater attention 
 given to live-stock diseases and to the destruction of predatory animals. 
 
 The freight rate situation makes it necessary to ship only young 
 or finished animals to market. The freight to Chicago takes half the 
 value of a thin animal, while the higher-priced young or finished stuff 
 takes a much lower proportion of its value for freight. In many sec- 
 tions the method of finishing is to turn cattle into corn fields for two 
 months in the fall before shipping. A -certain number of stockmen 
 are now growing corn or contracting for grown corn as this lowers the 
 labor costs. 
 
 DAIRYING 
 
 In spite of the natural advantages for dairying in Montana this 
 industry has and no doubt will continue to develop slowly in this state. 
 Dairying is a heavy and consistent labor consumer and many farmers 
 still prefer to devote themselves to grain-raising for which labor-saving 
 devices have been worked out, or to general stock-raising where regular 
 and persistent attention is less essential than in dairying. | 
 
 In communities where dairying is being built up. care should be 
 
a9 
 
 AN AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM FOR MONTANA 1k 
 
 exercised to see that farmers do not undertake it in a large way before 
 they have had actual experience. Where cows are shipped in to be sold, 
 there is much better prospect of success if the sales are confined rather 
 strictly to men and districts that have had some dairying experience 
 and have demonstrated fitness and willingness to follow this.line of 
 work. Even in the older sections of the state where dairying is now 
 thoroughly established there are many instances of failure on the part 
 of inexperienced farmers who have been attracted by the success of 
 those who have gone in gradually. 
 
 SHEEP 
 
 Since the United States does not produce enough wool and mutton 
 to supply its own demand, sheep raisers are enjoying relatively satis- 
 factory prices. Even though the business is profitable there are im- 
 provements in methods which sheepmen may introduce. The use of 
 improved sires to insure lambs of higher wool and mutton production, 
 and more care at breeding time to bring about a higher percentage 
 lamb crop, make for better returns and put the grower in shape to 
 continue profits as the wool and mutton market adjusts itself to lower 
 ‘evels. 
 
 HORSES 
 
 The present price of horses has turned most stockmen and far- 
 mers to other kinds of live-stock production, with the result that a 
 shortage of good horses is almost sure to be felt in the near future. 
 This would suggest that farmers will find the raising of a few colts of 
 good type and quality, to replace the farm needs and also for sale, a 
 good line to take up. Even though the use of mechanical power has 
 gradually increased during the past few years, there will always be 
 a place for large numbers of 1500 to 1800-pound horses for farm and 
 city service. 
 
 Hoes 
 
 Local demand and western markets call for a substantial increase 
 in hog production in this state. Like other kinds of live stock, hog-rais- 
 ing must be handled at low costs. The present low land values make 
 corn production possible at lower bushel costs than is possible in the 
 central west where land values are high. The combination of corn and 
 legume pastures provides for cheap pork production. 
 
12 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION 
 
 THE PROBLEMS OF LAND SETTLEMENT 
 
 Montana needs more people. This enormous commonwealth will 
 support millions of people when its resources are properly utilized and 
 it is ‘‘people’’ that the state needs most. In attracting people to the 
 state, however, it is important to remember that only the settlers who 
 come to the state and meet a fair degree of success are permanently an 
 asset. A person who settles in Montana and fails not only returns 
 little to the state but goes away with an antagonism that expresses 
 itself on all occasions. 
 
 SOIL SURVEY NEEDED 
 
 There is, therefore, pressing need for reliable and thorough in- 
 formation on the soils of the state. .A start has been made toward ac- 
 cumulating this in a few of our counties and the work should be pushed 
 forward vigorously. As a guide to settlers, investment companies, rail- 
 way companies, and business men generally, soil survey reports are 
 most valuable. 
 
 THE FARM UNIT 
 
 In settling the lands of the state consideration should be given to 
 the proper size of the farm unit. This will vary with the condition in 
 any given locality. Enough study has been made and enough expert- 
 ence gained to show that the quarter or half-section dry farm is too 
 small to afford a living up to a reasonable level in most sections of the 
 state. One, two, or three—and in some parts of the state four-section 
 farms—are none too large to permit the effective use of the equipment 
 needed for low-priced production. 
 
 SETTLERS SHOULD KNOW REQUIREMENTS 
 
 Prospective settlers should be furnished with as reliable informa- 
 tion as possible to show the actual conditions to be met.. They also 
 should be told of the amount of money needed to promise a fair measure 
 of suecess. Recent surveys show that many settlers have come to the 
 state and attempted to become farm owners without having enough 
 money to get together the necessary equipment or to carry them through 
 the first year until crops can be harvested. This absence of capital 
 predicts failure in most cases and the need of money for initial expense 
 should be fully stated. 
 
 Finally, it should be borne in mind that if farming is to attract 
 and hold the grade of intelligence essential for success, it must afford 
 
ey 
 
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 AN AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM FOR MONTANA 13 
 
 fair returns on the money and effort invested. Furthermore, farm 
 life must make possible as great community contacts and satisfactions 
 as are available to the family in town. This does not mean that they 
 will be the same as those in town, but agricultural community life must 
 prove attractive if farming is to hold its place. 
 
 Community cooperation for collecting essential business informa- 
 tion, marketing of farm products, and assurance of social contacts— 
 these are vital to successful agriculture. To a greater extent than in 
 any other line of work, farming is a mode of life as well as a means of 
 making a living. 
 
 Through this discussion there has been little mention of diversifi- 
 cation as a necessary element of farm success in Montana, yet the sub- 
 jects discussed and the emphasis placed upon various points will indi- 
 cate our belief in the neccessity of diversification to as great an extent 
 as is possible under varying local conditions. 
 
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