f -v.- 



,*:■.- 



They Get A Kick 



Out Of Farming 



Bert and Carl Fletcher 



V I OU don't have to talk very long 

 vJ/ to a man on the farm to dis- 



.~7 cover whether or not he is get- 

 ting a kick out of farming. In fact you 

 don't have to talk at all. Just take a 

 look at the farm, the livestock, the build- 

 ings, the fence rows, the crops. If you 

 find them in tip top order, nine out of 

 ten times there's a fellow around who 

 likes his job. And usually he's doing 

 well at it. 



If you should drop in some day on 

 the Fletcher brothers, Bert and Carl, 

 down in Auburn Township, Sangamon 

 county, prepare to enjoy yourself. They 

 are not only fine gentlemen, hospitable 

 to the core, but they'll inspire you with 

 their enthusiasm, their salty philosophy, 

 and their love of thrifty, well bred live- 

 stock and good farming. 



Bert and Carl Fletcher love the land 

 as their father and grandfather did be- 

 fore them. As a young man Bert, who 



is a bachelor, took a job for a while 

 keeping books and helping run the af- 

 fairs of a man who had more property 

 land, local utilities and what not than 

 he could handle himself. 



"My employer offered me something 

 pretty good to stay with him," Bert said, 

 "but I got tired of life in town. The 

 farm always looked good to me so I 

 went back and I've never regretted it. 

 Work in the city is all right if you like 

 it. But I like it better on the farm." 



And because Bert and Carl like farm- 

 ing they have been loyal Farm Bureau 

 members throughout the years. They 

 won the 10 acre corn yield contest of 

 the Sangamon County Farm Bureau years 

 ago with an average of 116.4 bu. p)er 

 acre; they have one of the few herds of 

 medium type, purebred Poland Chinas 

 in the state; they are inveterate crop 

 rotaters, alfalfa growers, and producers 

 of market topping cattle; and they al- 



ways have some good mules around to 

 work and sell when a buyer shows up. 



Speaking of mules, Bert said: "He's 

 the only animal on the farm that's got 

 a governor on him. He won't over-eat, 

 over-drink, and he seldom gets into 

 trouble. A man's foolish to use a trac- 

 tor to plow com when he can use mules 

 that eat up the surplus we complain 

 about." And the Fletchers have a trac- 

 tor, too. \ 



One of the secrets of high crop yields 

 on the 320 acre Fletcher farm is plenty 

 of grass. In fact, about one third of 

 this level, black land is kept continuously 

 in alfalfa, red clover, sweet clover, tim- 

 othy and blue grass for pasture and hay. 

 This year much of the winter wheat went 

 down because of the heavy growth. The 

 com averages 65 to 70 bushels an acre. 

 Wheat made 60 bushels an acre in one 

 of the war years when it sold for $2.15 

 a bushel. 



"THE CATTLE FEEDER IS A MANUFACTURER . . . 

 one of the country's most important citizens — the best 

 customer of the com farmer and the western cattle raiser." 



"HE'S THE ONLY ANIMAL ON THE FARM 

 that's got a governor on him. He won't over-eat, over-drink, 

 and he seldom gets into trouble." 



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SEPTEMBER. 1937 



11 



