The curls in the pigs' tails and the 

 sleek, glossy hides of the Angus calves 

 in the feed lot tell their own story. Carl 

 usually goes to market to buy the feeder 

 calves to supplement those raised on the 

 farm. They feed out around 60 head a 

 year. 



Bert has his own ideas about the im- 

 portance of the cattle feeder. "He's a 

 great benefactor," he said. "The cattle 

 feeder is a manufacturer, the best cus- 

 tomer of the corn farmer also the western 

 cattle raiser. He's one of the country's 

 most important citizens." 



Hogs are equally if not more im- 

 portant on the Fletcher farm than cattle. 

 "We need more judges at the swine 

 shows like the Armour hog buyers who 

 pick 'em for meat" said Bert. "We'll 

 get somewhere in Poland Chinas when 

 we breed the kind that the packers want. 

 We've been breeding the medium sized 

 kind for early maturity with good hams 

 and plenty of thickness. The breeders 

 went crazy a few years back with their 

 big rangy stock. We've got to get away 

 from that kind." 



On this farm from 200 to 225 pigs 

 are raised and fed out for market or sold 

 for breeding stock annually. The sows 

 are wintered on ground rye and oats 

 mixed in a slop because they like it bet- 

 ter that way. The pigs are farrowed in 

 a central hog house heated by a stove in 

 cold weather. The pens are kept scrupu- 

 lously clean to kill the worm eggs. As 

 soon as the weather p)ermits, the sows 

 and pigs are moved out on clean pasture 

 in portable houses. 



Bert Fletcher believes that the black, 

 level acres of central Illinois are still the 

 best buy in farm lands. Good land that 

 sells around $125 an acre, or somewhat 

 higher, is worth the money in his opin- 

 ion. But he also agrees with the advice 

 his father gave him and Carl many years 

 ago when he said, "Boys don't go in 



n » .Hi ll i i i im iii _.m ^ 



BEBT FLETCHER 

 "Hara'a wh»r« w« had that big com 

 yield." 



debt. While you are sleeping at night 

 the interest is eating you up." The 

 Fletchers invariably had the cash in the 

 bank before they bought land. 



The Fletcher Brothers keep in close 

 touch with the Farm Bureau and the 

 farm adviser. They think highly of their 

 adviser Ed Bay and seek his judgment 

 and advice frequently on their farming 

 problems. The Fletcher buildings are 

 not fancy but they are the useful, prac- 

 tical kind, kept neat looking with Soyoil 

 paint. Bert and Carl find it profitable 

 to use the many Farm Bureau services. 

 They fully appreciate the value of organ- 

 ization and what farmers have accom- 

 plished in a state and national way by 

 working together. But their chief inter- 

 est is in doing a better job of farming. 

 And the new ideas and improved meth- 

 ods advocated by the County Farm Bu- 

 reau toward producing crops and live- 

 stock more efficiently and economically 

 always get a warm reception from Bert 

 and Carl Fletcher. 



"WEXL GET SOMEWHERE IN POLAND CHINAS 

 whan we breed the land that the paclcera wont Wa need mora |udgaa 

 at the show* who pick 'am ior meat." 



12 



Uncle Ab says that rural electrifica- 

 tion means that a lot more folks ate 

 going to burn their toast. 



Hog prices next fall and winter 

 probably will average as high as, or 

 perhaps higher than in the fall and 

 winter of 1936-37, says the U. S. Dept. 

 of Agriculture. High cattle prices also 

 will prevail. 



Producers who ship to the St. Louis 



milk market must have water heating 

 and washing utensils in milk houses 

 by September 1. Weighted average 

 price of June milk to St. Louis pro- 

 ducers was $1.96 for 3.5% milk f.o.b. 

 marketing area, the highest price in 

 1 2 years. 



Rust cut winter wheat yields badly 



in Illinois with yields running from 

 8 to 25 bushels per acre. Oats are 

 reported a heavy crop in all sections. 

 Excellent prospects continue for corn 

 and soybeans. 



Illinois farmers must meet central- 

 ized buying with centralized selling if 

 their livestock is to be sold effectively, 

 says Prof. R. C. Ashby of the Univer- 

 sity of Illinois. , 



The Chicago Producers, in constant- 

 ly striving to keep shrinkage of hogs 

 at a minimum, have succeeded in re- 

 ducing the shrink from 3. 23 pounds 

 per head in 1935 to 2.42 pounds in 

 1937. j 



The Hoosier Life Insurance Compa- 

 ny is now a licensed and operating 

 company, the Indiana Farm Bureau 

 proudly announces. A quota of ten 

 times the amount of insurance neces- 

 sary to start the company was over- 

 subscribed by 25 per cent. 



The Producers Creamery of Gales- 

 burg Softball team defeated the Producers 

 Creamery of Peoria team at Kickapoo 

 recently 8 to 6. Last year the Peoria 

 team won the adult state soft ball 

 championship at the Farm Bureau Sports 

 Festival. 



In the July RECORD the caption un- 

 der the picture of the scenic waterfalls 

 published with the story of Starved Rock 

 should have read: "Bridal Veil Falls, 

 Deer Park." We missed the location of 

 the falls by a mile and a half. — Editor. 



L A. A. RECORD 



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SEE 



