HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



PUBLISHED BY THE 



Hampshire County Farm Bureau 



A. F. 3Iat-l>4tti£:all, County Atrniit 

 Helen A. Harrimaii, Home l>eiii. Ajfeiit 

 C. H. Gould, Koys' and Girls' Club I.eader 



Office First National Bank Building 



Northampton, Mass. 



Entered as second class matter Nov. 9, 1915, at the 

 Post Office at Northampton, Massachusetts, undei' 

 the Act of March 8. 1879. 



Price, 5(> cents a year 



$1 a year, inclndinir membership in Fai-m Bureau 



Officers of the Farm Bureau 



Leslie R. Smith, President, Hadiey 

 William D. Mandell, Treas. , Northampton 

 Ernest S. Russell, Secretary, Hadiey 



ADVI.SORY BOARD 



Leslie R. Smith, Hadiey 

 Charles R. Damon, Williamsburg 

 Perley E. Davis, Granby 

 Clarence E. Hodgkins, Northampton 

 Warren M. King, Northampton 

 William N. Howard, Ware 

 Edwin B. Clapp, Easthampton 



Results of First Year of Food 

 Administration 



Preliminary work began May 19, 1917; 

 Food Control Act passed August 10, 1917. 

 Wheat Exports (since July 1) : 



Estimated surplus for export, 20,000,- 



000 bushels. 



Actual shipments to .Tune, 120,000,000 



bushels. 

 Beef Exports: 



Ordinary rate one to two million 



pounds monthly. 



Largest single month thi.s year, 87,000,- 



000 pounds. 

 Pork Exports: 



Ordinary rate, .50,000,000 pounds 



monthly. 



Largest month this year, .308,000,000 



pounds. 

 Price of Flour (Minneapolis): 



One year ago, $16.75 a barrel whole- 

 sale. 



Present price, $9.80 per barrel. 

 Price Margin (between farmer's wheat 



and flour made from it) : 



One year ago the difference was $5.68. 



Present date the difference is 64 cents. 

 In General: To the farmer going to 



market, 27 per cent more than last 



summer; to the housewife buying in 



market, 13 per cent less than last sum- 

 mer. 



And the Allies have been sustained. 



Farm Bureau l^eorganization 



We print on another page, the law 

 providing for the maintenance of Farm 

 Bureaus, made necessary by the Anti 

 Aid Amendment, which makes impossible 

 the expenditure of public money by any 

 but State controlled bodies. 



The Farm Bureau organization in 

 Hampshire County will not be greatly 

 upset by this new enactment. The Ad- 

 visory Board of the Farm Bureau will 

 hereafter consist of nine trustees instead 

 of seven. 



The principal change comes in the 

 election of Farm Bureau directors. 

 Heretofore, they have been elected by 

 Bureau members at the Farm Bureau's 

 annual meeting. Henceforth, directors 

 must be elected at the annual town meet- 

 ing at which the appropriation for Farm 

 Bureau work is made. This method of 

 changing directors throws on the voters 

 of the town a little more responsibility 

 in Farm Bureau direction, than they 

 have been accustomed to in the past — a 

 responsibility which justifies their best 

 thought. 



Onion Crop Promises Big 



The following onion crop report for 

 June 1, is made by the Bureau of Crop 

 Estimates. By the percentages given, it 

 can be seen that prospects the country 

 over are for a good crop. 



.State 

 Massachusetts 

 New York 

 Ohio 



California 

 United States 



Per ct. condition June 1 



June I. 1918 lO-yr Av. 



92 89 



94 88 



95 91 



93 92 

 92.1 89.6 



At the Flintstone Field Day 



Hampshire County was well represent- 

 ed at the recent field day at the Flint- 

 stone Farm in Dalton. Promises of an 

 excellent outing brought people from 

 Middlefield, Worthington, Cummington, 

 Plainfield, Goshen, Chesterfield, West- 

 hampton, Southampton, Northampton, 

 Hadiey and Amherst. The prospects for 

 a good time were more than fulfilled. 



The tractor demonstration was of par- 

 ticular interest, bringing out some very 

 conclusive points as to the type of trac- 

 tor adopted to New England farms. 



Milking Shorthorns and Berkshire hogs 

 came in for an extended presentation of 

 their merits and the demonstration of 

 Belgian Horses added weight to Prof. 

 McNutt's statements that good draft 

 horses can be bred in New England. 



Use the Drag 



The graded road can be kept in the 

 best condition with the least labor by 

 using the road drag. The road drag 

 scrapes off the projections and fills up 

 the low places, thus leaving no places 

 for water to stand which is what causes 

 the road bed to soften and be cut into 

 ruts. A persistent use of the road drag 

 will keep the road bed well crowned 

 smooth and hard and this will also result 

 in the least dust, as the dust comes 

 largely from the grinding up of the ruts 

 and rough places left by the horses' feet. 



Cheese demonstrations were given by 

 Mrs. Ladd in Plainfield and Cummington 

 recently. She served the Creamei-y 

 cheese at the Cummington supper. 



Gain of over 500 Acres 



The report of the chairman of the 

 committee of public safety, which he has 

 just filed with the Faim bureau shows 

 that the farmers of Belchertown have 

 heard the call of their counti-y and in 

 spite of labor conditions are increasing 

 by a big percentage the number of acres 

 tilled. 



Not included in the report which is 

 given below 40 acres of wheat, a com- 

 paratively new crop. 



While the report as filed is not com- 

 plete, it estimates that an increase of 

 about 15 per cent has been made. 



Clover and Alfalfa 



In talking with any dairyman regard- 

 ing the production of milk about the first 

 question brought up is the cost of con- 

 centrates or his imported grains. Many 

 have found it greatly to their advantage 

 to grow more of their own legumes and 

 ■ grains and as time goes on more and 

 more farmers will find it good farm prac- 

 tice to grow more clover and alfalfa and 

 srnall grains, besides increasing their 

 acreage of corn. 



In some .sections of the country good 

 milk production is maintained by feeding 

 silage and good alfalfa or clover hay. 

 Legumes are second only to corn in im- 

 portance as feeds for milk production. 

 Enough farmers are growing alfalfa suc- 

 cessfully in Hampshire County to prove 

 that it is worth trying on most of our 

 farms. Clovers have always been grown 

 to a more or less extent but have never 

 received the attention they deserve. 



Now is the season to be considering the 

 planting of either clover or alfalfa. 

 Every dairy farm in the County should 

 be well supplied with one of these crops 

 for next year. Chose the one that your 

 farm is best adapted to. 



When the hays are of equal quality 

 neither can be said to be greatly superior 

 for milk production. Alfalfa is superior 

 to clover mainly in the greater tonnage 

 which can be produced per acre. The 

 main point is to be sure your farm is 

 supplied with one or the other. 



Gain 



502J 



A Boys' labor camp has been estab- 

 lished in Hadiey. This makes the second 

 boys' camp in the County. 



