USA > Nebraska > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. I > Part 38
USA > Nebraska > Clay County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. I > Part 38
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CHAPTER XIII
AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES OF NEBRASKA
AGRICULTURAL NEBRASKA-THE CORN INDUSTRY ( W. W. BURR)-TIIE WHEAT INDUS- TRY (W. W. BURR)-FLOURING MILLS-CREAMERIES IN NEBRASKA-THE DAIRY INDUSTRY (J. H. FRANSDEN) -ALFALFA IN NEBRASKA (R. P. CRAWFORD)-BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY (ANDERSON-LASSEN ) -THE POTATO INDUSTRY (R. F. HOWARD) HORTICULTURAL RESOURCES (R. F. HOWARD) -DRY FARMING (C. S. HAWK)- IRRIGATION IN NEBRASKA (GEO. E. JOHNSON )-THE BEEF CATTLE INDUSTRY (HOWARD GRAMLICH)-THE SWINE INDUSTRY (SAM MIC KELVIE)-THE SHEEP INDUSTRY (J. D. WHITMORE) -THE HORSE INDUSTRY (THOMAS BRADSTREET)- THE POULTRY INDUSTRY ( F. E. MUSSEIIL )-BEES IN NEBRASKA ( FRANK G. ODELL ).
AGRICULTURAL NEBRASKA
Nebraska is rich in agricultural resources, development and possibilities. Much of the agriculture has passed the experimental stage. It is more or less specialized and standardized. Land values average higher than in most states. There are practically no public lands left subject to entry. Everything, except tracts of a few acres each, is deeded and managed as ranches and farms.
Rich Heritage-The deep, fertile soils of Nebraska represent a heritage of great value. Though there are more than 100 kinds of soil, much of the land is stone free. Broad stretches of comparatively smooth country have a subsoil 50 to 100 feet deep and as rich as the surface soil except for the lower per cent of humus. Such large areas of this kind are not found in any other state.
The diversity of soils, topography, and rainfall in Nebraska cause a diversified agriculture. They determine the distribution of grazing, dry farming, irrigation, and humid farming.
Nebraska ranches and farms are well improved. Most of them use machinery and motor power. There is more than average efficiency per unit of labor. In other words, the per capita production is high.
Farmers' Organizations-The various branches of agricultural industry are organ- ized to further production and distribution. For example, there are swine breeders, livestock associations, dairy organizations, corn growers and fruit growers, represent- ing specialized industry, and the more general organizations, such as the Farmers' Congress, Farmers' Union, etc.
Farm Papers-The daily press, farm journals, and other publications are found in every country home. The Nebraska Press Association is furthering conserva- tion and state development.
The following articles by competent persons cover the leading agricultural indus- tries of Nebraska.
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THE CORN INDUSTRY
By W. W. Bare. Professor of Agronomy, The University of Nebraska.
Importance of Corn. Corn is Nebraska's principal crop, being grown on about one-half of the cultivated area of the state. In fact, the favorable climate and good soil make the state especially adapted to corn growing. The cash value and acreage of corn is more than the total of wheat, oats, rye and barley. Since 1910 the corn acreage has increased slightly. The acreage in 1910 was 6,595,088, while in 1918 it was 6,954,061 acres. In 1918, however, the total yield was 123,298,649 bushels, while in 1910 with a smaller acreage the yield was 178,923.128 bushels. This decrease in yield in 1918 was due largely to the low rainfall. The total value of the crop in 1918 was $160,288,213. as contrasted with $82.872,546 in 1910. The total acreage in 1919 was 2,639,811 with a production of 182.250,823 bushels valued at $221.813,528.25. War time prices have brought unusual prosperity to the corn- growers of the state.
Varieties. The common varieties for the southeastern parts of the state are Reid's Yellow Dent. Hogue's Yellow Dent. Chase's White Dent, Iowa's Silver Mine, St. Charles White, and corus of that type. The ears grow 8 to 10 inches long and 7 inches in circumference. The kernels are rather deeply indented. have rather distinct keystone shape and are starchy.
For the central parts of the state, modifications of the above varieties as well as ('alico and Gund's White are grown.
Sweet corn. In some sections of the state. especially in the southeastern part, considerable sweet corn is grown on a commercial basis. This is supplied to the canneries in those sections. Several varieties are being grown. The industry has usually brought good returns.
Pop Corn. In the central and northeastern parts of the state, pop corn is grown on a commercial basis, the rice variety being the one ordinarily grown. Under prices that have normally obtained around three cents a pound to the grower, the returns have been satisfactory. During war conditions, the price to the grower was as high as six or seven cents per pound. Some growers are putting the pop corn in cribs in order to hold and find their own markets. Previously most of the pop corn has been grown under contract.
THE WHEAT INDUSTRY
By W. W. Burr, Professor of Agronomy. The University of Nebraska
Acreage and Production. Next to corn. wheat is Nebraska's most important grain crop. The rapid development of the western sections of the state together with war prices has in recent years induced a large increase in acreage. From 1,000,950 acres in 1890, wheat in 1918 reached 3,827,659 acres, with a yield of 13,211,810 bushels, representing in that year a valuation of $88,183,680. Since the Sos there has been steady increase in production per acre. According to figures compiled by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the yield per acre was 10.8 imshels, for the 10-year period from 1886 to 1896 ; the next 10 years 15.4 bushels and during the 10-year period from 1906 to 1915, 17.8 bushels. The average yield
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for the entire United States from 1907 to 1915 was 15 bushels per ace The acreage in Nebraska for 1919 was 4,383,431, and the yield of 60,980,427 on-hels represented a valuation of $121,675,881.10.
Winter Wheat. The increase in wheat growing after 1890 was due largely to the popularity of raising winter wheat. Prior to that time, most wheat grown in Nebraska was spring wheat, but now very little spring wheat is grown. Attempts to grow winter wheat were unsuccessful until the present Turkey Red was introduced. The most extensive wheat area of the state is south of the Platte and west of Gage and Laneaster counties. There are several important areas in the western counties. Wheat is grown in all agricultural districts of Nebraska.
Wherever winter wheat ean be grown, it is more desirable than spring wheat because it gives the larger yields. Winter wheat ripens earlier, thus escaping some danger of dry weather, insects, and disease. In the eastern counties, if the weather is hot and dry, spring wheats are usually shriveled, while if the weather is moist, warm and favorable to the development of rust, the crop will not properly fill. Spring wheat is most extensively grown in the northern and northwestern counties.
Varieties of Winter Wheat. The Turkey Red, Kharkov, and Beloglina or any of the Crimean wheats are well adapted and hardy. Turkey Red is far more eom- monly grown than any other winter wheat in the state. Marvelous, a comparatively recent variety, has given good yields but of somewhat inferior quality.
Varieties of Spring Wheat. Two distinct types of spring wheat are the ('ommon and Durum or Macaroni. The latter does not do well in humid weather. It is adapted to a rainfall of under twenty inches. Durum is grown rather extensively in the western and northwestern parts of the state. Of the common spring wheats the Swedish, Bearded Fife, Marquis, and Early Java have given good results in Nebraska. The Swedish and Marquis are both commercial varieties and can be obtained on that basis.
FLOURING MILLS
Nebraska has beeome not only an important wheat state, but also a great pro- portion of the wheat produced in the state is milled right at the doors of the fields. Nebraska has several of the largest flouring mills in the United States, outside of the vast mills in and around Minneapolis. The mills of the Wells, Abbott & Nieman ('o. at Sehuyler producing Puritan Flour supply a quantity of product, the greatest proportion of which is shipped out of the state, all over the country and to foreign shores. Omaha has the large Maney Mills. A number of the older and important mills of the state were consolidated in 1919 into the Consolidated Milling Co., which took over the Henry Glade Mills of Grand Island, operated by that family since 1883 and the suecessor of a mill started in 1867; the Hastings Mill, the Ravenna Mills and the Blackburn & Furry Mills at St. Edward. The new Lexington Roller Mills are one of the biggest of their kind in the Central West. The Gooch Mills at Lin- coln are among the leading plants of the country. The Crete Mills is another immense plant of this line. Among the Nebraska towns which have built up sue- cessful mills are : Ainsworth, Albion, Alexandria, Atkinson, Avoca, Abie, Arapahoe, Anburn, Aurora, Beatrice. Beaver City, Beemer, Bennington, Blair, Bloomfield, Bloomington, Blue Springs, which has natural water power from the Blue River ; Brainard, Broken Bow, Burwell, with excellent water power from the Loup; Boelus,
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where a great electric power dam is situated upon the Loup; Bruning, Battle Creek, Cambridge, Colelesser, Chappell, Callaway, Campbell, Cedar Rapids, Central City, Clarkson, Clearwater, Columbus, Comstock, Cook, Cozad, Creighton, Crete, Cham- pion, Culbertson, Chadron, Crawford. De Witt, David City, Deshler, Doniphan, Dorchester, Elmereek, Elmwood, Exeter. Elgin, Franklin, Fremont, Friend, Geneva, Genoa, Gibbon, Gordon, Grand Island, Grant, Greenwood, Gothenberg, Gretna, llardy, Hartington, Hastings, Hay Springs, Hemingford, Hebron, Hershey, Hil- dreth, Holdrege, Homer, Howells, Humboldt, Humphrey, Indianola, Jansen, Jaunita, Kearney, Kenesaw, Kimball, Litchfield, Laurel, Lawrence, Lewellen, Lex- ington, Lincoln, Loup City, Lynch, Lyons, Madison, Mason City, Maywood, Minden, Mitchell, Milford for corn; Monroe, Martinsburg, Neligh, Newcastle, Newman Grove, Norfolk, North Bend, North Platte, Nehawka, Orchard, Orleans, Osceola, Oak, Oakdale, with splendid water power ; Ogalalla, Omaha, Ord, Papillion, Pender, Pierce, Plainview, Plattsmouth, Polk, Platte Center, Pleasant Hill, Randolph, Ravenna, Red Cloud, Riverton, Rushville. Royal, St. Edward, Salem, Schuyler, Scribner, Seward, Snyder, Spalding, Spencer, Sterling, Superior, Surprise, Syra- euse: some milling at Silver Creek, Sweetwater, Stanton, Shelton, Springview, Stamford, Sutton, Tecumseh, Tilden, Ulysses, Valentine, Valparaiso, Verdigre, Wahoo, West Point, Wilber, Wisner, Wood River, Wynot, Wayne, and York.
Many of these mills are not very large plants, and oftentimes when a flour mill becomes a poor paying investment, it is continued as a grist mill, and sometimes changed into an alfalfa mill. Numerous mills of those listed herein also have machinery for alfalfa milling. But in addition there are a number of alfalfa mills through the state, notably at Kearney, Lexington, Cozad, Elmereek, Hershey, Mitchell, Seward and Fort Calhoun. Valley and Waterloo, in Douglas County, have large seed houses, and at Ord and North Loup, the pop corn seed industry is impor- tant, this Valley County territory ranking a second pop-corn producing center in the country. A list of mills compiled in 1919 and 1920 will soon be out of date, as mills come and go, but the roster of towns that now have mills, or have had until a very recent date, through the diversity in size, location and other characteristics serves to emphasize the fact that Nebraska is an agricultural state from one border to the other, and that wheat is one of the important agrienltural factors in the state's resources.
Second to agricultural activities of Nebraska, comes her live stock and dairying business. The importance of Omaha as a live stock venter emphasized in another part of this chapter, with her great packing houses and stock yards, serves to bear this out. Lincoln has a reasonable sized stock yards, and a good packing plant. 1 successful packing plant has operated at Nebraska City for many years, and two small packing plants are operating in 1920 at Grand Island.
Practically every railroad station in the state has a small receiving yard for stock, and the important division centers, as Grand Island, Fremont, Norfolk, in most cases have a fairly equipped stock yards, for transfer and feeding purposes as the cattle are en route to market at Omaha or farther points. Grand Island has the second largest horse and mule markets in the country, and a number of other smaller towns are establishing such market places. A number of condensed milk plants have been put in at Curtis, Fairbury, Garland and other points : a number of the ercameries in the state also have ice cream manufacturing plants and a few are devoted to that sole purpose.
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CREAMERIES IN NEBRASKA,
Nebraska has two of the largest creamery plants in the United States, especially the Beatrice creamery plant at Lincoln and the Fairmont creamery plants at Crete and Grand Island. Omaha has several creameries and wholesale receiving stations for creamery companies. Firms located at Omaha are Beatrice Creamery Co., Fair- mont Creamery Co., Kirschbaum & Sons, Waterloo Creamery Co., Alfalfa Butter Co., David Cole Co., Harding Ice Cream Co., Alamito Dairy Co., Fremont Creamery C'o., and numerous other firms. Lincoln comes second as a butter and egg market. with the big Beatrice creamery plant, the Lincoln Pure Butter Co. and the opera- tions of Roberts Dairy Co., which also have a cheese factory at Milford. The Beatrice Creamery Co. have their plants also at Beatrice and Central City. The Ravenna Creamery Co., in addition to the home plant at Ravenna, have plants at Ord and Loup City. The Waterloo Creamery Co. have plants at Omaha, Waterloo and Papillion. Nebraska has been dotted with a myriad of smaller creameries, located, among others, at the following towns: Arcadia, Aurora, Albion, Callaway, Chambers, Coleridge, Comstock, Columbus, Fremont, Fairbury, Fontanelle, Hum- boldt, Kearney, Morrill, North Platte, Norfolk, Archer, Alliance, York, Woobach, Verdigre, Scottsbluff, Superior, Randolph and Minden, for ice cream; Nebraska City, McCook, O'Neill, Louisville, Holdrege, Hemingford, Hastings, Germantown, Deshler, Burwell, Bridgeport, Eagle, Hartington, Hay Springs, Hildreth, Howells, Leigh, Madison, Red Cloud, Riverton, St. Paul, Schuyler, Spalding, West Point, Mullen and Palmer.
Even should a few newer plants have been inadvertently overlooked in this list, or a few that may have closed down in the last year or two not been culled ont, the foregoing list shows conclusively that the dairying industry in Nebraska has reached the stage where it has very evenly spread into all parts of the commonwealth.
THE DAIRY INDUSTRY
By J. H. Fransden, Professor of Dairy Husbandry, The University of Nebraska
Nebraska has importance in dairying, yet the conditions favor a much larger development of the industry. Among the favorable conditions are healthful climate. good water, a large number of suitable feeds, and transportation facilities for marketing the dairy products.
Number of Cows. The number of milch cows reported for Nebraska has increased during the past few years. The 1918 census shows 530,113 cows valued at $47 .- 710,170. This is a distribution of abont seven cows per square mile, whereas there is room for three or four times this number.
Forms of the Dairy Industry. The dairy industry includes the production of milk and cream, butter-making and the by-products connected therewith, and the manufacture of large quantities of ice cream. Creameries, cream stations, con- densories, and milk depots are established in various parts of the state. The largest butter-making centers are Omaha and Lincoln.
Milk is produced and separated on many farms and ranches. The separated milk is fed to live stock and the cream is used or shipped. Many small dairies supply the towns and cities with milk. Some home-made batter is sold on local markets.
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Small and large dairies haul and ship milk to towns and cities. Cream is collected at hundreds of stations and shipped to the butter-making centers.
More progress has been made in the dairy industry in Nebraska during the past two years than during any ten-year period previously, according to J. E. Palın, secretary of the Nebraska Dairymen's Association, upon November 21, 1920.
Although the state still ranks comparatively low in the milk producing states, it is fourth in butter production. "This has been brought about," Mr. Palm says, "by the breeding of better stock, dairymen and farmers realizing that by raising pure bred animals their butter production will be increased."
Nebraska, he says, is admirably adapted to the dairy industry. "Few states have greater possibilities in dairying than Nebraska," he says. To substantiate this statement, Mr. Palm calls attention to the fact that during last year the state pro- duced more than 3,000,000 tons of alfalfa. "Some states that are ahead of Nebraska in the dairy industry produce very little alfalfa and are forced to have this feed shipped in," he said,
Government statistics for last year show that the state had 27.785 milch cows, an increase of more than 6,000 over the preceding year. This year, Mr. Pahn says, the increase will be even greater.
The Nebraska Dairymen's Association has been conducting an educational cam- paign to promote the uses of milk and milk products. Another campaign among dairymen and farmers is being conducted by the association to induce them to kill off the nonproducing milch cows and replace them with pure-bred stock. Every effort is being done to replace the serub eow with better grades.
INTRODUCTION OF ALFALFA INTO NEBRASKA.
Dr. C. E. Bessey, in writing concerning this plant, in 1890, remarked: "It is said the Greeks and Romans grew it, and that to these countries it was brought from Persia, and possibly from regions still farther east. Its cultivation certainly dates back two thousand or twenty-five hundred years."
It is claimed that S. P. Parker, of Curtis, Frontier County, grew alfalfa in 1876; in 1878 it was tried in Harlan County by J. C. Mitchell ; J. P. Nead of Riverton grew it in 1882 ; a field was tried at Guide Rock, Nebraska, in 1877. Martin Slat- tery of Shelton, Buffalo County, tried it in 1887, and H. D. Watson on his ranch found twenty acres growing there when he took charge in 1889, so while not the first, Hall County was among the pioneer counties in introducing alfalfa into Nebraska.
ALFALFA IN NEBRASKA
By R. P. Crawford, of the Nebraska Farmer
Alfalfa is one of Nebraska's main erops, and with the exception of wheat, corn, oats, and wild hay, was credited with the greatest acreage of any crop in 1918. Reports from the State Board of Agriculture indicated 1,164,941 acres devoted to this erop in 1918 with a yield of 2,527.834 tons. The acreage in 1919 increased to 1,180,234 with a production of 3,214,999,1 tons. This shows an increase of 687,165 tons in production for one year. Alfalfa gives the heaviest yield per acre of any hay crop grown in Nebraska.
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Probably the last ten years have witnessed the greatest development in alfalfa growing in the state. In 1908 the total aereage was only a little more than a half million acres, Now there is hardly a county in the state that does not have an important acreage devoted to this crop. Through the west-central section of Ne- braska there is a district that is more famed for its alfalfa than almost any other section. Last year one man sold his crop in the field, stacked but not hauled away, for $70 an acre. This is above the average and the prices received last year were unusual, but it nevertheless gives some idea of the money that Jies in the growing of this crop. Another farmer, a sheep man, estimates that during normal years he can make $24 an aere net profit. That is figuring alfalfa at only $8 a ton.
While alfalfa has attained its greatest popularity in the western half of the state, it is well suited to nearly every section and a good majority of the farms have at least some acreage devoted to it. It is easily grown and the fact that it comes up year after year makes it a crop to be managed with the minimum of care, Alfalfa also plays an important part as a soil builder. It belongs to a legume family and growing it will enrich the soil. Each acre of alfalfa adds over twice as much nitro- gen to the soil as the average aere of red clover. Alfalfa because of its long root growth will also withstand dry weather much more readily than other erops.
Other Hay Crops. In 1918 there were 2,587,678 acres devoted to wild hay and 2,771,234 acres in 1919. During the last ten years there has been a gradual tend- ency, however, to devote more acres to cultivated crops, this being especially true with the development of the newer districts of the state. In 1918 there were 122,162 acres of clover, 154,472 acres of timothy, and 101,441 acres of timothy and clover mixed. In 1919 the acreage was as follows: Clover. 60,213; timothy, 46,724; timothy and elover mixed, 185,233. The yield of wild hay is far less than the yield of alfalfa. In 1918 the yield of wild hay per acre was .88 tons, while alfalfa yielded 2.1 tons, this being a low-yielding year for both crops, but in 1919 wild hay averaged 1.02 tons and alfalfa 2.7 tons. The average yield of alfalfa is close to 3 tons per acre, while the average yield of wild hay is approximately 1 ton.
THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY
By Esther S. Anderson, Department of Geography, The University of Nebraska
Conditions Favorable, Nebraska is one of the pioneer states in the production of beet sugar. The elimate and the soils of the western counties are especially suited for growing beets high in sugar content. The long summer days with abundance of sunshine and the cool nights are favorable conditions. The beet fields are irrigated during the growing season but little water is required later when the plants are manufacturing and storing sugar.
Where Beets Are Grown. The principal beet-growing areas are in the North Platte, Platte, Lodgepole, and Republican valleys on very fine sandy loam and fine sandy loam soils. The land is comparatively smooth, well drained, and easy to till.
Sugar Factories. The first successful beet sugar factory in the United States was erected in Alvarado, California, in 1870. The second, with a capacity of 350 tons of beets per day, was built in Grand Island in 1890 by the Oxnard Brothers, This plant, which has run most campaigns since building, was remodeled and enlarged last year. A factory with a capacity of 400 tons per day was built at
HISTORY OF NEBRASKA
Nortolle in 1891. It operated with indifferent success for a few years and was finally moved to Lamar, Colorado. A plant constructed at Ames, Nebraska, several years ago, operated a few campaigns and was moved to Scottsbluff, where in 1910 it was built into a large modern plant with a capacity of 1,900 or more tons per day. In 1916 a factory, capacity about 1,200 tons, was erected at Gering, and the fourth plant now operating in the state was established at Bayard in 1917.
It has been found that conditions for the beet sugar industry are less favorable in the east-central part of the state than in the western part. The sugar content is lower and it is not possible to organize and conduct the labor activities so readily because the people are more accustomed to the growing of corn, wheat, and alfalfa ; hence, the first factories built in Nebraska were moved to the more advantageous places.
Shipment of Beets. Beet raising has rapidly increased since the development was started in the North Platte Valley. Beets grown in the Republican and Lodge- pole valleys are shipped to the Grand Island plant and to factories in Colorado. The Grand Island plant receives beets also from the Platte and lower part of the North Platte Valley. Most beets grown in the North Platte Valley are milled at the Scottsbluff, Gering, and Bayard plants. Some Wyoming beets are shipped to these factories.
This story of the sugar beet is set out in an interesting way in a volume of biographical and historical memoirs of Nebraska, published in 1890, wherein Pro- fessor Lassen treated the sugar beet industry as follows:
Margraff demonstrated 140 years ago that there was sugar in the beets; and the total product of France and Germany in the last half century alone demonstrated its value. The reflecting reader who sees nothing in Napoleon save that of the great military leader, has failed to note the early, substantial encouragement that he gave the beet sugar industry in France, which in turn gave it greater impetus and suc- cess in Germany, albeit there were three factories in Germany as early as 1805, but the warlike situation was not favorable for such an enterprise. Very soon. how- ever, Napoleon issued his famous decrees shutting out all English goods and mate- rial, which, if the effect was to raise the price of sugar, ruined the French wine trade and compelled the French to look for ways and means to dispose profitably of their grape erops and obtain a supply of sugar. In 1810 he gave two experimenters $28,000 for discovering grape sugar ; the amount to be expended in the erection of factories. Soon after this Napoleon gave $10,000 to twelve grape sugar factories by way of bounty or special encouragement. In 1811 he decreed that 29,000 acres should be planted to beets, and he established six experimental stations to give instruction in the beet sugar industry, ordering that all farmers who desired attend lectures given there might do so free of charge, and the sum of $200,000 was set apart to pay the expense. In 1812 he established four special beet-root sugar schools, directing that 100 students be attached thereto. In addition and by way of special encouragement, he ordered to be granted 500 licenses for beet sugar production, to run to proprietors of factories and to manufacturers of sugar from beets; and those who made a ton of raw sugar were to be exempt from tax on their product for four years. In 1812 he directed the erection of four imperial beet sugar factories to pro- duce 2,100 tons. During this time Germany was not idle. The king of Prussia gave Archard, a pupil of Margraff. a good sum of money to establish a school or factory for instruction in beet sugar production, and from this school Russia drew her prae-
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