616 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Take a compass, place one leg upon Ottumwa, Iowa, and with the 

 other leg describe a circle, passing through Salem, South Dakota, 

 Wichita, Kansas, and Indianapolis, Indiana, and you have circumscribed 

 all the real good corn producing land in the non-commercial fertilized corn 

 area in the United States, that need td be considered as producing 

 an amount of corn in excess of local needs. The burden of producing the 

 excess of corn for the needs of this nation rest upon the farmers of this 

 small territory. 



The question for the statesman farmer should not be, "How much 

 higher price can I get for my corn?" — for the consumer pays enough 

 now. Nor should he ask, "How may I increase my acreage?" For the 

 problem that confronts us now in our farm operations is to secure 

 efficient help to till our present acreage — but the legitimate statesman- 

 like question is, "How may I increase the yield per acre?" 



I believe theoretically and experimentally that one of the funda- 

 mentals in the increasing the yield per acre of our cereals and grasses 

 is the proper underdrainage of our farm lands. When I came to this 

 locality six years ago there was but one farm between the Fairchild 

 corner and six or eight miles south that had any tile drainage upon it and 

 that one farm was the one owned by N. J. Zabokrtsky. Since then Mr. 

 Henry and John Fairchild, John Simanek, Nickloo Zaborkrtsky, Robinson 

 and Sparks, Martin and Jacob Kozina, John and Jacob Lala have each 

 been doing more or less tiling and any one who is in any manner fa- 

 miliar with conditions past and present upon these farms cannot help 

 knowing that underdraining of these farms has been a decided advan- 

 tage to the operator of each from the standpoint of profit and in pleasure 

 in operating them. 



Take for instance John Fairchild's field. Heretofore he has raised 

 some corn upon this field, but I have never seen such healthy looking 

 stalks, nor such large ears as grew this season upon this land that he 

 recently tiled out. 



The same is true of Henry Fairchild's field just across the road 

 and in a more marked degree is it true of John Limarek's field. These 

 men have caused two ears of corn to grow where only one little soft nub- 

 bin grew before. 



Mr. Zabokrsky has had the most of his farm tiled out for so long and 

 has been raising such abundant crops of corn and oats for years and 

 years that it is difiicult to make a comparison with the crops of the past 

 two seasons. 



Allow me to say that when any man in this locality raises more 

 bushels, and as of good quality of oats and corn to the acre, than Mr. Nick 

 does — that man is entitled to consider himself a successful farmer indeed. 



I have endeavored to be a better farmer than Nick. To raise better 

 crops than he. Sometimes I have been successful in my endeavor and 

 sometimes otherwise. This year he beat me raising oats. I don't believe 

 he did so on corn. 



I can not speak advantageously upon this subject further without mak- 

 ing reference to my personal experience. You people that were familiar 

 with the conditions know that when I took possession of the farm I have 



