John Mjrers Remodels His Pasture 



McLean County Farmer Finds that Proper Pasture 

 Management Controls Erosion^ Boosts Yield 



y^N 1934, the 20-acre pasture was 



l/l very much "run down", literally 

 \^_^ and figuratively. It had been 

 heavily overgrazed by all types of live- 

 stock, 'including hogs, and two gullies 

 had started in bare spots and were work- 

 ing back through the area. The gully 

 banks were bare of vegetation and erod- 

 ing rapidly. Weeds and worthless 

 grasses covered most of the pasture. 



That fall, John C. Myers owner and 

 operator of the 200-acre farm near Say- 

 brook in McLean County decided to do 

 something to halt the destruction of his 

 land. His soil, he realized, represented 

 the basic capital of his farm enterprise, 

 and he didn't want to lose any more of 

 it than he had to. Accordingly he built, 

 with the aid of Soil Conservation Service 

 technicians, a system of contour furrows 

 in his pasture, placing them above the 

 gullies and along the slopes, plowing two 

 furrows in the same place and throwing 

 the dirt to the furrow ridge. Then he 

 seeded the area, using 3 pounds of tim- 

 othy and 3 pounds of red top per acre. 



In March, 1935, all of the 20 acres, 

 with the exception of a small plot left as 

 a check to measure results, was limed at 

 the rate of 2 tons per acre, and during the 

 first week in April a mixture of 6 pounds 

 of sweet clover, 8 pounds of lespedeza, 

 4 pounds of Kentucky bluegrass, and 4 

 pounds of timothy were drilled in with- 

 out any seedbed preparation. The more 

 seriously eroded parts of the pasture — 

 on which the contour furrows had been 

 built — received, in addition to the lime, 

 500 pounds of rock phosphate per acre. 



From November, 1934, to June, 1935, 

 all livestock was kept off the pasture, 

 and only a few cows and horses were 

 permitted in the area during June. Dur- 

 ing July and August of that year, all 



livestock was removed from the pasture. 

 In September, 14 head of cattle and a few 

 sheep were turned into the area and 

 kept there until the middle of October. 

 Since 1936, the pasture has been alter- 

 nately grazed with another pasture to 

 the south of it. Hogs have been kept on 

 rotation clover pasture and kept off the 

 bluegrass. 



Today, the area is a striking demon- 

 stration of the value of sound pasture 

 management. The gullies have been 

 healed over, and no new ones are form- 

 ing. The soil is now "tucked in" under 

 a blanket of vegetation. 



Pasture Yield Data 



On May 31, 1938, yield tests were 

 made on this pasture by Soil Conservation 

 Service technicians. "Three plots 1 /4000 

 acre in size were clipped, one on the 

 check area which had been neither 

 limed nor phosphated, one on the 

 area which had had lime but no phos- 

 phate applied, and one on the area 

 that had been both limed and phosphated. 



Following is a tabular summary of the 

 results of the tests: 



Another pasture demonstration on 

 the Myers farm, showing the effect of 

 superphosphate on red clover, was car- 

 ried out at the same time the demon- 

 stration discussed above was under way. 



Myers is one of the 2,741 farmers in 



Illinois who are cooperating with the 

 University of Illinois and the Soil Con- 

 servation Service in erosion control 

 demonstrations. A soil-saving pro- 

 gram has been worked out to include 

 every acre of the farm, and whatever 

 control measures were needed to con- 

 trol erosion on the various fields have 

 been applied. 



Broad-based, soil-saving terraces have 

 reduced soil washing to a minimum on a 

 considerable part of the farm and good 

 crop rotations, including a legume every 

 few years, are followed on all fields. 



"The program has certainly been a 

 paying proposition on my place," Myers 

 told Service officials recently, "The way I 

 look at it, conservation farming is simply 

 GOOD farming. " 



IMew Equipment For 



Moline Co-op. Creamery 



While wars and near-wars continue to 

 hold the interest of all peoples, the 

 Producers Creamery of Moline last month 

 started a re-armament program as part 

 of an offensive against operating costs. 

 First and biggest gun on the list was an 

 automatic coal stoker designed to use 

 less costly though better quality coal. 

 It is expected to operate with telling 

 effect on the year's coal bill which 

 averages more than $100 per month. 



Second item was a used, 300-gallon 

 cream vat which was purchased, retinned, 

 painted and made ready for use. It will 

 replace a vat of the same size that will 

 soon be retired. 



A new Chevrolet truck for butter de- 

 liveries recently replaced the six-year-old 

 truck that had served for 100.000 miles. 

 Color design of the new vehicle matches 

 the butter yellow, royal blue and bright 

 red of Prairie Farms butter cartons. 



Early in December the Moultrie Shipping 



Association of Sullivan distributed a 4"^ 

 dividend on all Blue Seal Feed purchases 

 to Farm Bureau members. 



SUPERPHOSPHATE MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN RED CLOVER 

 stand here. The entire field was limed, but only the area at the 

 right received superphosphate. Both views from John C. Myers 

 farm, Soybrook. 



CLOSE-UP VIEW OF SWEET CLOVER PASTURE 

 Shows effect of rock phosphate. Area to right was limed, 

 seeded, and got 500 pounds rock phosphate per acre. Area at 

 left was limed and seeded, but received no phosphate. 



mm 



-in ~ >. . 



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