Corn Planting A Big Task

HELLO FOLKS! — We got the corn in the ground. It took two weeks to do it which wasn't at all bad; considering that we had 300 acres to plant. We got 200 acres planted the first week. Then we had to plow about 80 acres before we could get the last of it in. I don't believe I have ever planted corn with the top soil in nicer condition.

The sub-soil is the biggest concern. It is about as dry as it was last year at this time. That means we will have to get more than the average amount of rainfall this summer to be assured of enough moisture to carry the crops through an extended dry period.

I DIDN'T let anything interfere with my planting of corn. Worked from daylight to dark and sometimes into the night in order to get in the hours. With the late start and 400 acres to cover this column went by the way.

I am shooting for higher yields and that can surely get expensive. Figured out the cost of the attempt. It runs to $77 an acre. That means that I will have to get at least a 75 bushel yield to break even. I have good land and under average conditions shouldn't have trouble getting such a yield. However both the banker and I are anxious about the cost of producing an acre of corn.

WOUDLN'T IT be nice if big girls fixed their hair as nice as little girls usually do?

One of my young daughters had been listening to us talk about out voice box along with something about losing one's voice. One day she asked her mother, "Mother, is someone cut off your head and the voice box fell out on the floor, could the floor talk?"

—o—

EVER HEAR of the revised 23rd Psalm? Here it is.

"The Government is my shepherd; Therefore I need not work,
It alloweth me to lie down on a good job.
It leadeth me beside still factories. It destroyeth my initiative.
It leadeth me in the path of a parasite for politics' sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of laziness and deficit spending.
I will fear no evil for the government is with me.
It prepareth an economic utopia for me by appropriating the earnings of my grandchildren.
It fileth my head with false security. My misery runneth over.
Surely the government should care for me all the days of my life.
And I shall dwell in a fool's paradise forever."

Corn, Milk, Egg Pictures Better

HELLO FOLKS — Got three and one-fourth inches of rain in September. Total for the year is over 26 inches. This appears to be the wettest fall that we have had for quite a few years.

—o—

TWO MORE parties have been to the Rebild National Park in Denmark. Pete The (South Broadway) Welder states in a note that he was there at the dedication in 1912, and still has a program.

Also a letter from Nora Jensen stating that she was there a few years ago and is very proud of being of Danish descent. —So am I.

—o—

THERE ARE a lot of people worried about the corn program as it now functions. Most of them seem to think that with controls off we are going to produce too much corn. I'll admit that we are going to have a lot of it around for some time, but is that bad? I think not, at least not at the price it is. I would say if we had two prices on it, one high support price way up there and another at the market place we would be in a pickle. However, when the price is not too far out of line (and I think the price is about right) a good hefty supply is a mighty healthy thing for the farmers, consumers and the nation as a whole. It helps to stabilize the supply and price, which is a good thing. It also has a healthy effect on the rest of the crops. It cut the soybean crop which should help to stimulate the price on beans. At the present prices will not encourage the marginal producer to go heavy on corn. 

I think the corn famers have used good judgement in voting for the present program. The only hitch is the 65 per cent of parity floor which may get cumbersome if we get much more efficient in producing the corn. 

If we could convince the rest of the farmers that their best interests would be served to have such a program for the other basic commodities we would be well on the road to a sane and sensible farm program. 

—o—

IT LOOKS as though the dairymen are just about "out of the woods." We have had dead milk prices for so long that it seemed that the dairy farmer was doomed for poor incomes. Right now the government is buying neither butter nor cheese, and the amount of dried milk is not too burdensome. Already most of the prices are about the 'floor'. The number of dairy cows is still going down and the production has leveled out. Along with the greater efficiency of the dairy farmer and the increasing population I feel very confident that there is reason for confidence in the dairy barns. I for one am very please about it. I know what it means to head for the barn 14 times a week whether one feels like it or not and knowing full well that unless you are an exceptional dairyman there is less than a dollar an hour in it for you. It doesn't take a very big raise in prices to get that net over the dollar mark; a cent a quart might do it and it should not make the housewife unhappy to know that the farmer who is producing one of the most nourishing foods (and one of the cheapest) is getting a fair return for his efforts.

—o—

THE POULTRY man, too, seems to be heading for better days. Too, liberal credit in the south has been a thorn in the side of the corn-belt farmer. It has given him unrealistic competition which has hurt, especially lately. Actually we can produce eggs cheaper here than they can anywhere in the U. S. but the southern farmers were sold a bill of goods and went over their heads in production and debt. That credit, as it now seems, has dried up and there will be room for the egg producer around here to get a fresh breath. I look for more expansions of laying hens around here and I think we can do it profitably. I know that the people in the 'Twin Cities' would welcome the chance to buy really fresh eggs the year around and are willing to pay the price for them. Incidentally, it costs about 33 cents to produce eggs efficient;y, and allow a fair return per hour.