143 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



4 GEORGE V., A. 1914 



EXPERIMENTAL FARM FOR MANITOBA, BRANDON, MAN. 



REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, W. C. McKILLICAN, B.S.A. 



EOTATION OF CEOPS. 



There is a growing sentiment in the province of Manitoba in favour of increasing 

 the number of live stock kept, growing more forage crops, and thus going in for that 

 system of agriculture, known as mixed farming. This province has long been known 

 as a grain-growing country. It seemed specially adapted to that purpose; the great 

 fertility of the soil, the ease with which large areas could be cultivated, and the 

 quality of the grain produced, all tended to make wheat production the mainstay of 

 prairie farming. Thirty years of that method have begun to bring about the inevitable 

 result. Weeds are becoming more prevalent, fertility is beginning to fail, and soil 

 blowing is becoming more of a difficulty, each year. These difficulties are more per- 

 ceptible on some farms than on others, depending on how well the land has been 

 farmed. 



The very essence of the advantage of mixed farming, is that it makes possible a 

 more scientific rotation of crops than can be practised under grain growing. By 

 causing the various crops to follow each other in the most desirable sequence, it is 

 possible that the fertility and cleanliness of the land may be kept up, and that each 

 crop may leave the land in a suitable condition for its successor. In order to get 

 definite information as to what rotations are suited for Manitoban conditions, eight 

 different rotations have been adopted for this Experimental Farm. Some of these 

 have been in operation for a few years, others are partly in operation, and one has 

 not yet been started. 



In order that the results obtained in various years may be comparable, fixed valua- 

 tions have been established upon which to calculate them. These valuations will be 

 used from year to year, regardless of fluctuations in rates of wages and values of 

 products. Thus, in some seasons the actual profits will really be greater than is shown, 

 in others, when prices for products are low, the profits will be less. These constant 

 values, however, permit of a fairer comparison of the different rotations, and of 

 periods of years within a single rotation. 



