SOIL SURVEY OF BANls^ER COUNTY, NEBRASKA. 17 



many tractors in the county. Mowers, hay sweeps, and stackers are 

 used extensively in handling the hay crop. Binders and headers are 

 used on most farms in harvesting the grains. Local thrashing ma- 

 chines handle the grain after it has been harvested. A few farmers 

 own " combines," which cut and thrash the grain in one operation. 

 The fences are all of barbed wire and usually kept in good repair. 

 Runways for automobiles have been built in many fences where roads 

 cross property lines. 



Corn land is disked or double disked early in the spring and the 

 crop listed in on old corn or stubble ground. Occasionally the heavy 

 soils are plowed before disking. Some corn is planted on newly 

 broken sod. The crop usually is cultivated twice with a two-row 

 cultivator. 



Winter wheat is seeded early in the fall and spring wheat is planted 

 as soon after the frost is out of the ground as possible. The crop is 

 usually drilled in on well-disked corn or stubble ground. It is the 

 opinion of most farmers that wheat planted on newly broken sod, 

 which has been well disked, gives larger returns than when planted 

 on old land. The oats crop is always drilled in, usually on corn land. 

 Rye is planted in the same manner as winter wheat. 



No definite and systematic crop rotation is practiced, as the land is 

 new and in no immediate danger of becoming exhausted. On many 

 farms wheat and corn have been grown on the same land for four 

 or five consecutive years. 



No commercial fertilizer is used and barnyard manure is seldom 

 applied to the land. 



Farm labor is rather difficult to obtain. Ordinary wages during 

 the busy season range from $4 to $5 a day, and during harvesting $7 

 a day is sometimes demanded. When employed by the jear laborers 

 receive $60 to $80 a month, with board. Most of the farmers endeavor 

 to do their own work, except during the harvest season. 



The size of farms in Banner County ranges from a few acres to 

 several square miles. In 1910 there were 368 farms in the county, 

 with an average size of 863.5 acres and comprising 66.9 per cent of 

 the total area. The prevailing size of farms ranges from 160 to 640 

 acres. Of the land in farms, 33.4 per cent, or 288.8 acres per farm, is 

 classed as improved land. In the strictly grazing and hay-producing 

 sections the ranches vary from 640 to 23,040 acres, with an average of 

 1,280 acres. 



Nearly all the farmers and ranchers own their land and only a 

 few farms are operated by tenants. The leases are about equally 

 divided between the cash and share rental systems. Cash rent ranges 

 from $150 a square mile for strictly grazing land to $3 or $4 an 

 acre for farming land on the high table. Share rent ranges from 



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