COOPERATIIJI EXTENq ION ORK I
A GRICULTURE ~AND HO E CONO ICS .
Stat e
Agr io
lturalCol le
ofColorado, U.B. Depart
ntof Agr icultur e,
and. Del ta County, Coo :t ting.
ANNUAL REPORT ! MDEX
County • s Agr 1oul t ur a l Re sour ae a •••.••.•.• · •...••••••••••• I Intr oduction ... ... ... l - 2
OTgani zation ... . ... . ... II-III. 2- 3 Cr op Improvement •••••••••.••.•••.•..••..•..•.••. .• ..•••• IV-VII. &- 5 Li vestoo ... .. .... ... . . . .... ... VII- I II. 5-6 Li vestock Shi pi ng Asaociationa •••••••••••••.•••••••• ~ •• IX-*IIV. ~ .
Pest C ntrol ••••••.•• .. .•.•. • · . ... . . . . ... ... • 'X:fl- X. 7 Or eharr e ... . .... . . .... . .... . .. . .. .. .... . ... ... . .... ~ •• XX- XXI. 7- 8
Fertilize s (s ··lphur ) ... . ... . ... . . . ...
a
Boys &. Girls Club·s ... ... .. ... . ... . XXI. 8-9 Proba le Pro rt..m for 1 20 •••••. . • •. . . •••....•••• • .... . . 10
Tote:
There having been t o County
Agen
s 1n Delta. County during the past ye r, the r i t t en report ar necessar i ly ado out e ara ely. To ·1atinguisb, i n the 1 dex, betveen the t o, there-port of the former County Agent 1a numbered (by .age) wi th the
oman nur. e als , ·hile the report of the present A ent is n bered. with ·i d Ar bic nun e · .. a.ls . Other tl a.n the l"itten pa.rt, the
,,, ... /""~
/ /
f""r
A~ricultural
/""'. 0 Resourses of Delta County.
~ontains
17?8 squ_a_r_e_m--il_e_s-.---About 102, 880 acres in farn-s.Total population 15,500. Rural population 7,000
umber of farms 1,215.
Average a.bout 84. 7 acres eacb.
Elevation of far lands from 4750 feet to 5500 .eet.
Principal crops in or:1.er
or
Aerea.ge
are ao
to.llo~n:Alr
lt:a;oats; ,,_.cat; potatoes; corn; o
':a!' e _. ts;apples;
peaches; pears.
I.
The . verage yield or each crop th1a year as: Alfalfa 3 tons1 oats 75 bu.; wheat 30 bu. ;potatoes 125 bu. i corn 50 bu.; su .. gar beets 10 tons.
There are in the County livestock as !ollo s: 51912 horses;
29,000 cattle; 6,386 hogs; 32,976 sheep.
And pure bred animals as follo s; 20 stallions; 500 mares;
50 bulls; l,OOO
cows;
aoo
boars; 500 r a s;i.aoo
so s;a,ooo
e es. There are a total of 65 silos filled this year.(
l.
INTRODUCTION
Having been in the County only since Sept . ber f 1rat 1919, no
definite project could be launched and co pleted this fall. The great-er part of the t1 e as spent in finding out just hat the problems
are and in setting acquainted 1th the people in general.
In getting acquainted and finding the will and needs of the people the County Agent has made 337 farm visits in the three months he has been here . He has had 142 callers at the off ice and has traveled 2497
miles in an old Ford doing i .t. In getting in touch with the people
there have been 340 personal letters ritten, 836 copies of circular let ters and 33 ne s paper articles furnished to the aeven ne~s ·apers
of the County. The paoera have co-operated in every ay in handling these articles . The official County · paper .ha given half of the front
page on three occaaions and runs a a ecial sect1on for this office every eek. In the itemized report, the farm visits etc., for both Agents ar~ co~b ined so in order to a cer- in the n ber ade by the
former Agent, the difference bet een the figures here sho •m and the
to-tal in the· 1 te· ized ·report · 111 give it.
There as a sort of Farm Bureau formed in tbia Co 1nty but they had never accorr lished anything. There is an lxecutive Committee aP-Po1nted but, evidently, because
nothing
definite as aimed at there was very little interest taken in it .It is believed by some of the leade a in the County that, because there was nothing acco ~Plished by the Far Bureau , this was the
dir-ect r eason of aome issatief ction in the County r lative to the
County Agent work.
(..,.
ard finding out just hat the proble~s ie e in each Co mun1ty. This
ork as done along lines recomr ended by the ashington Off ice. It has \'forked very sat ief actor 1ly and the people seer to oee here it is the proper angle from hich to ork.
Thia County is a system of ~esaa at different elevations and each
Mesa. constitutes a definite separate Community. Seventeen different Communities have been orked in so f~r. There
ar.
tventy-t o definiteCo,mun1tiea. The othe r five that have not be.en reached so f .r ill be ·
wo.rkei in in a. fe · days, After working in seventeen Communities it is very easy to pick out the lines of work the County should select for 1 ts program of ork.
ORGANIZATION.
At present there is a list of one hundr d eight ( 108) n&vnes in
the off 1ce of tbeCounty Agent, of fa era who are to constitute the County Farm Bureau. So far there are no paid memberships. The big tas now is to get the people to ether and working on one or two definite projects. Then the orking organization of the
Fann
Bureau will beas-sured~ We are planning the Annual eeting for the first eek in
Dec-ember.
FARMERS• U1 IONS. Tbe Farmers' Unions are very etron~n this County
and the leaders arc very anxious to help in any way
possible to ard the betterment of all agriculture. Co-operation from
these organizations in helping the F
rm
Bureau is assured. There areseven local Unions, one Grange,
&
one
Farmers' Club in the County. They are all doing good ork.ORGAN I?. A rr1rrn
f
f IIl
c
No work upon Farm Bureau organization has been done since
December 1, 1918. The can~paign had been planned for early
win-ter~ but the influenza starting in October and lasting thru
until _.arch made the organization work impossible. Control
meas-ures with quarantine regulations were lifted from sections at
diffe~ent times during this period, hawever, they were in effect
in so1ue part during the whole period making county-wide work impossible. After spring farm work began, we decided it would
be wiser to postpone organization until fall or early winter
rather than attempt to organize at a season of the year when it
wou
a
be dif:icult to secure attendance at meetings.FAR~;~E'RS 1 TTNinN!~. The Farmers' Unions have gained greatly in
strength, and are now and will continue to be a very important factor to conside: in any and all agricultural de".re lopn-ent work.
FAR'~ BTJRC.:AU BUL~ETIL The Farm Bureau Bulletin was started in
. anuary and five n~bera issued. This
was financed entirely by advertise.r.ents. The first few numbers
failed to meet expenses. This was overcome later. The circulation in the County was abo·t 1200 which was confined entirely to
fann-ers. A1ver~ising rates ware from forty to fifty cents per colurnn
inch depending upon the amo~nt of space teken. The County Agent
solicited advertisaments and collected for them. He also was chief editor and very nearly sole adi tor. This would not hav.e
III
been taken up in this manner eJroept for the impossibility of organizing the Farm Bureau, the numerous requests for its con-tinuance, and.the inquires and favorable corr.l!!lenta ·received.
IV
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tJ
CROPS
POTA1"'}l~f=!. The work with potatoes was about the sai.1-.e as
previous-ly. This spring many calls came to the office relative
to seed, where obtainable, eJfS.r-r.ination for disease, etc.
The Fuaarium field wilt was the disease most guarded
against, altho where dry-rot was present we recomffi ended that all
of the seed be discarded or that at least those specimens
show-ing disease be thrown out.
But very little really clean seed was obtainable this
springe Several efforts were made to secure eno~gh interested
parties to import some disease-free seed, but no direct results
were obtained. The class of seed planted this-spring was far bet-ter than that used the previous season, however.
An effort was made to interest a number of men above
6edaredge in sead growing.
There
were seven menwho
took themat-ter up. An effort was made to secure good seed locally. "Nothing doing" Endeavored to secure enough orders to make a car ship-ment; sa:a:e story. There weTe no direct results frqm this work however, the iiea is developing and we hope it can be worked out
next spring by starting early in the season.
Mr.
LQcklin, Deputy State Horticulturist, isplan-ing work of field selec~ion of seed this fall.
P0'1'Arr10 ~111"'\RAGE. Cellars constructed last season gave remarkabl'J good results and the : en are enthusiastic. Re-ports of several more cellars to be built along similar lines
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me to this office .
The work done with corn in previous seasons is beginning
to show resul ts . It is being universally grown in all of
the lowe~ altitudes . The acreage planted this spring was at
least 50% greater than last year, or ~hree times as great -as
two years ago .
v
The work this spring was largely in inducing increased
p
planting and in testing seed. The samples of seed tested were
numerous . Practically all sold thru seed houses were tested and while there was so~e seed sold that should never have been ·
planted, the an.aunt was comparatively small. The raising and disposing of certified seed must be taken up in this
The Olathe Corn Show was postponei until late
ei1ery effort was made to support it. Del ta County was well rep-resented.
SUNFLOIF~s . The work with this crop has given gratifying resulte .
As a feed we foun1 it to be hardly equal to corn en-sila e, and not quite as palatable, hov:ever, st-.ck ate it
readi-ly except -.-hen changing from corn ensilage to sunflower ensilage.
The work this spring has been to encourage plantings
for trial. 2500 lbs. of seed were sold in t~e County, planting
an acraage of approxim~·)ly 2 C ac~3s. ~oms of ~he seaa was poor
a~~ good s~~~~s w3~e not nee red in all cas=s .
This work can well be continued because of :(1) The
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VI
altit~d~s, (3) The varied conditions cf tiLe of planting,
harvest-ing, ate., under ~hich sunflowers can be grown successfully.
~FA. Whi~e
we are not yet certain as to~he
beat variety of/~
aHlalfa for this County, Grimm and Baltic had beenuni-versally encouraged. About 2200 lbs. of Grimm seed were shipped' in this spring as a direct ~esult or the Cou~ty A ent•s erfo=ta.
ormerly it has bee~ i~por~~~ o~ly in s~all a~ounts and
h~ld in s~ock . ~here m ~ la e b n a tot l
or
four or ~iveFA~M BUREAU BULLE~IN. The Farm Bureau Bulletin as discontinued hen
the new Agent t arted ork. e 1n·tend to take it
up a.gain
just
as soon as there are funds available. Themethod.a
used in the past, of soliciting advertising to pay expenses by the County( Agent is not a good plan. One County ne.i;s paper has offered to solicit
the~dvertisem nt and print the paper. It 111, no do bt be handle
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in this .1ay as oon as the Executive Committee acts on 1 t. The people
a
kfor
it a greatdeal.
BETTER SEED.
Better seed is . one of the thins moat called for by the Com unitie~ The calls ere for seed pot '-l.toes and Alfa lf sead. We have 4, 445 a.ores of potn.otes in 191 • This being a. great .pot ' to County, the pot~ to eeai
question 1a serious, because of the Stem Rot· (Fusa.rium Wilt). The Fann
Bureau is .preparing to launch dri for Cert1f1~d aeed. ·The
l·n .1a
to get just as.~ ny gro ers a possible tog t nough Certifie seed to _start a seed plot. In this ray 1t is hoped .. hat . by atching this
seed after it is shipped in and a ing that it is planted on clean
ground and 1'1111 select ion used. for the co .ing years' seed plots, that our seed can be kept in good shape. Iot a single field as found in
the County that was free from Stem Rot. The question is serious so
the
Farm Bureau must get res ~ lts.~FA
Alfalfa is our big orop, e.have 23,593 acres in alfalfa hay,• Good alfalfa seed is hard to get and costly, Some good seed as raised in this County th1s year and aome few sections oan grow
it
4.
~ell. The Far~ Bureau is going to push the gro ing of alfalfa s d,
/ .Q;IB!.
There a.re 3,297 acres of corn in the County this year. A fe. yea.rsa o peopl thought that corn oc ~lA not be gro non land at this
elevation--5,000 to 6,700 feet.
It aa an e ay matter to select from the field both white and
yellow o<?rn a ·:plea (from
a.
1eld. 6, 000 feet in elevation) that took both fir ts at the ontrose Fair. Ten ears of yellow from a. field /5,200 feet high took a first at th
Stat~
Fair. /~
The Far Bureau inten s running variety ex:per1.ents next e on.
A . it looks no innesota #13 ill in an be the favorite. Silver King and Silver Yine ar e also doing well here.
Boy a~d Girls' corn clubs a-v to be at· rted and Certified aee
introduced through them.
s
tested.
OATS. The
-Good Sunflo er seed is haru to get . By the poor standa that
ere secured thi ye~r, it is evident tbat thcseed muat 'be
ite Russian side-oats 1 probably the best kind for this particular County. At least 1 t has been trie out here with so ·
good pure seed and ha. hon e_cellerit res lts. Further or on v r-1eties 111 be done in the future. 4•828 acr s are in oats in thi Co. WHEAT. Mostly spe1ng heat is gro.n
here .
4,661 aores of spring heat compared. to 677 acres of winter heat is the record. It imost-ly Defiance,,arcus, and Turkey.
start next ye r.
ork on variety tests of heat is to
SWE ~ ~LOVER. It is found that Sweet Clover does exceptionally 11
b re and very high clasa s eed can be raised. It affords a. very ood cover crop for our orcha.rde. mhis plant is adapted to tv·o
I
(..s.
d1ff erent Mesaa in the County and the Farm Bureau is going to encourage ita culture. Seventy-nine acres ere planted for seed purpos a this year.
LIVESTOCK,
A great boost in the raising of good Livestock in our Coun·ty was
given when a Livestock Pure Breed era Aasociat1on was formed the 10th. of November. The Association takes in Montrose, Mesa and Delta Counties.
It started out 1th a membership of thirty-eight paid merfbers and the
livest leaders they could find. They are 1orking on the Sale problem •
One of their strong points is the mutual well-being apirit which they have adopted. Their.Vice-President, a Holstein breeder, is help.. ing a Je rsey bre3der to place a Pure-bred bull at the head of 31a grade
herd which has been using a scrub sire.
We now nave one hundred f armera who own Pure-bred stock. We hope to inc.c ease that number to 1'315, the nu.rnber of farms in the County.
That is one cf· the programs that our Li vestook Committee hopes to push.
There have been no serious outbreaks of disease in the stock th1s
fall. Hemorragic Septicema is the moat prevalent, ca.using a !ev. deaths. The veter ina.rians a re t ... king oa.r3 of it 1n good shape.
DAffiYING. Two orchard. sections in this County have taken up dairying • They have ha i this to fall back on in case of bad years in
fruit. The last two years have been exoeptionallp good one~, especial-ly for fruit and feed being high some of them are discouraged. With
the help of the Pure Breeders Association, and cheese factories we hope to keep them going.
fac-6.
tories are being at a rt..,d by f r :er t hei selves. Thia gives a. good out-let for their :·ilk. They are mak ing an e cellent produc t.
LIV ·.1STOCK SHIPPING ASE'OCIA't'!ONS.
Two
associationswere
formed in the spring, one at Hotchkiss and one atDelta. The one at Hotchkiaa has a lire man as !anager a nd is doing a
thriving business, He haa shipped as high as five carloads of stock
one day. A b~~er ho lives very close to this Manager went to another
part of the County, handled by the Delta Association and bought hogs
at $13.00 the a.me day that this Hotchkiss
Aaaoc1at1on
was receiving14,75. I aske the Delta anager hat the atter as vith him nd he sa id that t he stuff aan't ready. Sinply sho s what a live man can do.
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SHW.FP . Work along this line has been si~ply "follow up work.• The raising of sheep on -:he farms seems to be firn1ly
established.
The hard, long '7inter caused. a hea.vy percentage of loss among all classes of sheep. Even the oest ewes in many
c~ses failed to produce enough ··ilk for ' he lambs . This loss
occurred ir- all fl~cks, irrespective of .~ he kind o! feed used .
Hemorrhagic Septiceffiia caused heavy losses of vwes an~ lambs
in nany flocks .
HIJGS. Hoga are continuing to play an important part in our
fa~ ing ooerations . The classof pigs produced is
stead-ily improvingo Purebred boars are the ru e &n the Coun ty and are leaving their rrarks .
Hog Cholera broke out last winter in the vicinity of Eckert . Five herds were infected before we we:::e able to bring
it under contrcl. The total losses were less than 125 hogs and· pigs . The. ·County Agent assisted the Veterinarians by spreading
inforffi&tion, lining up the work in exposed iistricts, and i n che cking up on cleaning up meas~res where cases had broken out .
The last case developed 0everal nion-ths ago and. we hope that the
outbreak is conpletely under control at the present ~ime .
Colony Hog Houses . The loss of pigs at farro .iing time
has b~em so heavy inder all condi.tions that we have taken up
the colony hog ho ·se, recS>m1 .en:ling it strongly and wxclusively .
VIII
results secnred by :he fen n.en -vvho have adopted this system. This is one impro~1° ent t-: at j1Jstif ies conside-r·a11le work . My
e.x:per-i,::lnce ts tbat the single ho1_ise type of farrowing pen is not a success as en:ployed by the average farmer, while at Jhe same time ha has but little troi.ble ·v1i~h the colony type.
Parti9u-larly is this the case when he is endeavoring to raise two lit-ters each year from each sow.
DAIRY. But little work was done along this line . I was able to assist in placing a few pure-bred bulls, also se-lect a fe v· head of registered f en:ales. In addition to this, I
IX
Two livestock shipping associations were organized in the
Bunty thi · spring.
One
covers the East half of the County or theNorth Fork district. The other the West half of the County
includ-ing Surf&ce and Tongue Creeks, the Gunnison Valley, and the lower Uncorrpahgre Valley.
The first of these was organized in time to start shipping
~his spring. I have not a written report on all the business
done. The prices received were in all cases above those being
paid on the local market . On two shipments of hose, the differ-ence in prices was as great as 1-1/2
¢
per pound, while the'best steers bro1ght from $20.00 to ~30.00 per head more than
the local marKet o fered.
The membership of this association is above 130.
The other Association was organized within the Farmers•
Union. Each local ha-ring a rneu-ber on the Board of Directors. his
was the only real difference between the two associations, the
Directors of bhe first being elec~ad by istricts. The
mem-bership of -his association includes all merrbers of the four
local unions in the district, r~presenting practically four
hun-dr 3d· fa.rllie7s.
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Report of
THE ~OR~H FORK CO•OP .
LnrEsirorK SHIPPERS A880CIA rr'IOM . Office of _.(an. Hotchkiss Co~o. July 5, 1919.,
x
First shipment Mar . 3. One car of cattle to Denver and one car of stock hogs to Nebraska. hon,e buyers paying from 11-12-1/ap
~e got 13-1/2¢ per hundred weighed up at Hotchkiss . The load of cattle, I.would be safe in saying, the good end sold from $20 to $40 per head more than they would have brought here .
The ne~t shipment was a car of cattle to Denver . Every one
was well pleased e:.xlcept those who shipped three or four canners. One load of hogs shipped to Denver, Apr. 18, 72 head, brought $19.75 per Lundred, 6 pigs $17 . 7~ per cwt . One load stock hogs
$16.50, home buye r s paying $15.
May 20, sold to Crabill of Delta, 53 fat · hogs . Couldn ' t get a full load to ship.
Will weigh a car of stock hogs July 8. Wi ll go to Nebraska $17.50 per hundred at Hotchkiss . Will sell 40 fat hogs the same day to home buyers for $17 . 50 per hundred . On account of the scare i ty of hogs au! at t he rne.rcy of home buyers and compelled to sell these hogs for $17 . 50 per hundred, while hogs are now the highest e~er known at Denver .
Very truly yours,
(Signed) M. J . Keough, Manager .
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CONSTITUTION •
. A rT"IICLE I . ~ame
The name of this organization shall be the Delta Coopera -tive Livestock Shippers' Association.
ARTICLE II. Place
The place of o eration shall be in Delta and vicinity, and all regular and special meetings shall be held in Delta, as pre-scribed in the by-laws.
ARTICLE III. Time·
The time over which this organization shall extend shall be in-definite .
ARTICLE . IV. Purpose.
The purpose of +-his organization shall be to obtain
reson-able prices, and to secure the best possible results in the
mar-keting of livestock, and in the co-operative purchase of feeds supplies.
ARTICLE V. Membership.
Any men:bers of the Farmers' Co-operative and Educational
u.
making use of the shipping facilities of this Association, shall be entitled to meiY1bersbip by paying a n1erL!bership fee of $1 . 00 .Article VI. Mamagement .
This organization shall be managd by a board of directors
corJposed of +-ive rverr:bers of the Associa~ ion, one member from
each of the following unions: Cedaredge, Read, Ash Mesa, and Delta, to ba elected by the several unions, and one
member-at-large . The one mEJmber-at-member-at-large is to be elected at the annual
meeting of this association. In case of vacancy, caused by
re-signation or a.therwiae, in the mer.rbe.rship of .-:he board, the same shall be i'illed by the remaining members of i~he board, and the
member so elected 3hall hold off ice for the unexpired term or until ne0 merbers are elected and qualified.
ARTICLE VII Officers.
Immediately after the annual meeting, the Boari of Director s shall elect from their own members a 1
resident, a vice-president
and a secretary-treasurer. The officers shall hold the same
off ices in the Association as in the board, and shalJ hold office for one year or until their successors have been electea and
qual-ified. The board of directors shall also appoint a ~anager . They
shall decide on the system of accounting to be used and shall provide for suitable a~1diting of the man&.ger1s accounts.
ARTICLE VIII. Amendn.ents.
Ame-:-d'.::ents to this constitution icay be made at any regular
meeting, by a two-thirds vote.
ARTICLE IX Quorum
XII
and may do business that may properly come before said board.
ARTICLE X.
By-laws.By-laws and rules covering the operation of this organization may be made from time to time in the manner prescribed for the
amendments to this constitution.
ARTICLE I ·
Shipment o4 Stock.The shipment of stock in this association shall be regardless of inen:bership, and the deliv-ery of stock to the manager and the acceptance thereof by him, binds the shipper to the rules and
by-laws of this association. All who desire to ship stock with the Association shall report to the manager the kind· of stock, the number of each kind, ana the approximate weight of each when it is ready to be marketed. When a sufficient amount of livestock
shall have been reported ready for shipment to make a full car~
load, the :c:.anager shall order a car for n-:.aking the shiproent and shall notify each party having stock listed, and state at what time the stock is to be deliyered for loading. It is also agreed by all members that ·i'vhen stock has been listed with the manager
for shipment, it shall be delivered at such tin.e and such place
as the ~anager shall designate, unless the shipper has been
re-leased from such delivery by the rranager. Failure to comply with this requirement shall subject the shipper to pay ;,ent o: dan:agec
to the Association ~qual to the freight charges to the central
market on the estimated weight of the stock listed •
.ARTICLE II Duties of the Manager.
The ffi&nager shall be at the yard on the day the shipment is
to be made, unless he shall_bave secured a corepetent substitute,
ad shall receive all stock, and weigh, ma rk and load the same in the car. He shall have charge of and direct the sale of all shiprrents. He shall instruct the core~~ iasion firm to send
re-turns to s1Jch banks as shall be 1esigna ted by board of directors. It shall be his duty to determine fr0m the corrm~ ission firm's re-portof the sale of stock, the eXipense of the shipment, and shall
issue a detailed state~ent on each shippers stock, which
state-ment shall be given the designated bank to be attached to the check for each shipper. He shall keep on file all statements
re-ceived fro~ the co~'.ission firm selling the livestock for the
Association. In a book kept for that purpose, he shall keep a redo.rd showing the nurt1ber of cars shipped, and the amount of
stock in each car, during the year. He shall also keep an account of all disbura~uents and receipts for '~ he association. At the
an-nual meeting he shall furnishet a detailed state~ent of all
XII
A~~ICLE III . Compensation of Manager .
Seel. The Manager shall receive as compensation for his services, the amount of ten
(10)
cents per cwt . for sheep and hogs, and six (6) cents per cwt , for cattle and horses, and noother corr~pensa.tion from ~he Association, except that he shall
have the right to charge for any outlay of materials needed in
making partitions to separate the stock in any ca:r, and for bedding, said s.Fi.ount to be charged to the expense of the
shiP-ment for $hich it was incurred.
Sec . '3 . Non-members of the Association, but who are members of the union, may ship through the Association by paytng an addi- · tional fee of one (1) cent per hundred on a~l shipments . Those
who are non-members of the union may shi;> through the Association
by paying an additional fae of two (2) cents per hundred. Such
adiitional fees shall go into the funds of he Association.
A TICLE IV . Bond of Manager .
The Manager sh 11 furnish a ~f tisfactory bond, which
shall be approved by the board. of directors . Said bond shall be for fai~hful discharge of his duties .
A?mICLE V. Protection Fund.
There shall be deducted on every hundred pounds of 1eigt of hogs, and sheep, three cents, fo_r every hundred pounds of weight of cattle, two cents, ani the sa. e shall be placed in the
sink-ing fund to "ue · .sed for bhe paving of losses that may occur to any stock fror the tiir.e it cor:!es in the hands of the Manager until final dispoai ti on of same is m.ade.
AKTICLE VI Losses--How Paid.
Any shtpper whose stock has been damaged or injured while
in the hands of the Manager, ahal'l receive the full amo1int of
same, as though the stock had not been injured, but shall be
subject tA the same ratio of ex ense on the sbipment . ·The ay-n!ent of the dad age shall be bas~d on a state·. ent from the
com-mission firm having charge of .!,;he shiprnent, which staterr:ent shaJ. l show the acioi..:nt receiYed for ~he darr:aged animal, the amount in
their opinion it would have brought had it not been injured0
This stater.1ent shall be the final basis for settler.uent . No dairage shall be paid for an amimal which was not in a healthy condition
when received at he local yards by the manager. Or the board
or
directors can take out insurance to cover the loss of shipments.AR~ICLE VII\ Unhealthy Stock.
All s1~ock which must be sold subject to inspection e xcept such as has 1:)een injured while in a heal thy condition and in charge of the ~.[anager, or any diseased ani.i.al, shall be received
at the owners' risk, and shall receive such payment therefore as
.is received by the co1rimission firm, less all e:x:penses figured· pro rata on the shipment .
AR~TCLE VIII Meetin~s .
•
XI I
the seconft Tuesday of January at two o'clock P.M. in Delta.
Spe-cial meetings may be called by the boar1 of directors at any tirre by giving ten days written notice to all membe ·rs. On
writ-ten request of twenty-five (25) percent of the rnen~bers of the
board of directors, a special meeting shall be called and all the
PEST CCHJTR~L .
P'RAIRIR DOG
rn:r.rr"Rn1_.
This work was followed out under the diree-tion and with the assistance of the U. S.Biological Survey . Pest districts were organized early in the year. Influenza again interfered hindering meetings and orgnizar-tion of work, so that the campaign was not as .effective as it
mi ght have been . The Commissioners were finally prevailed
UP-om to supply fun1s to haddle the work, and to appoint the County
Agent as County Pest Inspector . The prepared poison was handled
by the stores in the different places without charge to us . The poison had been previously sacked and labeled so tha t the labor of distribution was light . However, in one case , the storeman at the end of t he season seemed to ~hink that he should have
been paid for his trouble.
The inclosed report of the field forer::an gi·1ea a more de-tailed sum~ary. I wish to make a modification to part of it,
however . The Commissioners we=e rather unwilling co-operators in this work also. The majority of i:he board was opposed to
con-tinuation of County Agent work so that we felt it necessary to
have e-ery thing "ship shape" a~ the end of J...he fiscal year . I
believe that ~h3e effecti~eness of this work wo~ld have been
in-creased 50% if we might have proceeded with a "free hand. " As the s i tuation now stands, the whole County is inclined favorably toward2 the work, can be ea1ily orgnized into districts . The farmers wi 11 gladly co-ope..ca te to abtain maxim urn efficiency in this work another year .
PBAI~I~ DOG C~fPAIGN.
The Prairie Dog Campaign in Delta County has been handled
by the County Agent in connection with the Farm Bureau. The
funds to purchase supplies for this work being loaned by the
County Commissioners.
XVI
The topography of the County is such that it gives the
prairie dog ample room to make their burrows in uncultivated land
and feed off the nearby cultivated areas. Nearly the whole County
is a system of Mesas, of various elevations . The slopes of these
:~esas from one to the other are very steep and rocky and so never
. cultivated. On these hillsides a great many of the dogs make their burrows a:ld feed. froni the cultivated fields on the .le sa above atld the one below. In these aases the dogs really do more damage to crops than where they are in the fields because of the fact that
they cannot either be drowned or gasses with any success.
Poiscm-ing was the only apparent way of e~ten.inating them.
Some poisoning had been done in the County previously but of no extent. Only a few individuals used it and in r:any cases 1t was poison they had· iTixed hhemselvea so did not kill many doss.
In fact, they made so little showing that in a very short time do gs from adjoining territory would reinfect the land again. In Jan. 1919 a movement was started for a County-wide campaign on prairie
dogs on the infested areas. Up to Lhe present time there have been
eight pest districts organized containing an area of approximately
140,000 acres of d ee1ed governrent land. Several of the districts
XVII
to mix poisoned grain which was to be sold to the land owners at cost ·of ffiaterials ar 55 cents per gallon. We also arranged to furnish them with poisoned grain free of charge for use on
gov-ernrrient lands that joined their deeded lands. The poisoned grain was placed at fo ur c~nvenient places in the County where the
farmers co ~ ld obtain it. Notices were sent out to all land
own-ers who had land infested and we r e in pest districts stating that 60 days would be given them in which to corr plete the work .
When the time caa.e to send out the second notices the un-settled state of affairs with the County Commissioners giving funds for the County Agent to carry on the work has put the work at almost a standstill until they decide to continue the County Agent work and give him funds with which to work.
The amount of poisoned grain used may give an idea of the extent of the car.:.paign. Up to date there has been 1140 gallons
used for deeded lands and about 100 gallons for gov't lands.
To show what darr.age has been done the amount of land treat-ed an1 the aavtng to the ~armers in one season. We have from the
approximate 325 co-operators written statements from 273 giving
a tQtal infestation of 13,449 acres with a total yearly damage
of $13,204. Thus ~iving an average infestation of little over
48 acres each and an average yearly loss of about $1 . 00 per acre for deedad land, The loss to there from government land is very hard to es·tiroate "because many of the dogs that are on adjoining land feed off the culti ated crops which ar-3 much more valuable than the grass on the pu,)lie lands. In the infested area in the
XVIII
of infested land 41,000 acres have been treated or about 291
leav-ing 99,000 acras in pest dlstricts not treated. These figures
in-clude both dee1ed and government lands.
Placing an estimate yearly darrage on the basis of the
poison-ed grain uspoison-ed and the total amount of infestpoison-ed land in the County, we find a yearly loss of $45,000 which is not too high if we con-siier the kind.of crops grown and the value of the infested land.
It is rather hard to estimate the per cent of dogs killed but where constant work has been done about 90% of the dogs have been ex-te r1 inated. Takin: the County as a whole about 25% of all the iogs have been exterrr inated, but I believe more dogs r· ight have
been ki led had t~P prope~ spirit of bhe Commissioners been shown
by letting the County Agent continue the work . No def intte
assur-ance has been given us that the work will continue but we are in ·hopes that it will. If it is I am sure we will be able to make a much better showing next year by having a good supply of poisQn on hand this fnll for use next spr~ng, also now that he pest
dis~ricta are orga~ized and notices can be served earlier and so
kill a large portion of the dogs before the new grass and green food con:es on.
Some poison from this County has gone out to adjoining terri-tory but mostly to a few individuals and not in large amounts as
in other counties.
Taking the Ccun y as a whole I feel that we have done some v
ve~y goc1 ~ork and nave s~own ~1~ ;
rme-the ext~n~ ~n ~we will do o~~ c.ar~ tori the County of these
(
IX
DEL A
ror
'T'YST ~ A P..Y O'P R~D7 J'r CA'!PAIG: O JU E 30, 1919.
Private .Lands Poisoned Cost of 'Acres
grain bait 'treated , Va ue of'iur.a1'er'."lo!"tPe!" crop and' C~;~P~r-,or erri-•of Q~:p.t•Percent
in- '
•Acres notprepared ' p~epared'
gallons '
1 a -·1...· • ci..,ncy .... .i.. d
range 1 , '"" r rrest.e
•treat-Damage 1 ,or bait , lantls of1ed.
' , ,CJ.treat+ 917 347 T 0 1246 T A L ' -w429.65 I Est. 41,462 I '0 hown on' ' card.s ' f 13 447 I Damage $40,384
---I ed I . 25 '90?'
w iere usl' /''
'ed e..1. · 1-, t • 1 'c nu y. ' I f 29% It Public Lands $148.31 : $577. 96---r-'
-'
I Includ-' Includ-, ed ''edabove 'a' ove
I ,41,463 t 'i, 40' 384 I
'
t 50 375' 90%
•where us-' 1edto
'best ad- ' 'tantage(Signed)
G.V.Boyd, Field Foreman. I t t t I 1 99,000 Included above 99,000xx
GPA~oponPF.RR . The grasshoppers were more numerous this year than last. Work with poisoning was started early . Instructions for
preparing poisoned mash were sent out . Poison was shipped in for some
( of the farmers . Universally good results were obtained. There was much
· complaint and criticism from the bee men to the effect that the gr~sshopper
poison was killing the bees . I believe this subject should receive
thor-ou~h investigation by the experiment station.
ONION mHRIPS . One spraying demonstration ~as started but the co-operator
de
desired to discontinue the work so it was dropped.
1. The beet worm became a serious menace to several fields
-We had no literat ·re at hand giving formula for spray0
I wired to Professor Gillette for instructions but went ahead ith
tew
work while waiting for a reply .
6 lbs . of arsenate of lead and 3 lbs . of soap to 100 gallons of water made a very eff ective spray •. This was cheaper mixture than an;
recommended later so we continued to use it . Good results were univer-sally secured.
ORCHARD..
More attention has been given the orchards this year than for sev-eral years past . The usual line of information and work was required of
the County Agent , 9 In addition, however, we endeavored to disseminate in
co-ope~ation with the S~ation r.en at Paonia, inforrc.ation relative to
jf>
spraying dates .This is difficult as there is so much variation in the development of the fruit and worms within a di stance of a few Liles.
XXI
We endeavored to obtain a check upon this by securing blooming data from the different localities and nudging of the con:parative develop-ment and spraying dates accordinggy. This was only partially successful
however vve vrnre able to regulate a great. deal of tte spraying and give approximately correct da~es for all localities. I believe this work well
worth continuing and improving upon.
BnYR AND GIRL~ CLUBS.
We gave more attention this spring to the organization of ~oys
and Girls clubs than ever before. However, in organization :vork only such communities were reached as showed a rea 1 interest in the work, and where there was promise of strong clubs.
Eight clubs were organized. Many of +hese have not been vi ited sinee but some good work was started in each. They are as follows:
Coalby ..•••••.•••••.••••• Pig,Sewing Fairview .•...•.• Pig
Delta .•..••...•.••.••• c~nning
Lazear .•..•••.•••••.•...• Pig, Rabbit Bone Mesa •.••••...•... Pig, Se~.: ing
(
I /' (/;
PEST· CON'rROL.
One project that the peopl e did ca.fl for i'laa pest contr ol . They
had done goo work 1n Prcir1e Dog control. Most of the work was done
i n the spring and is covered i n Mr. Divelbi ss ' report ,
7.
One peat district waa formed t bis fall ho eve~, to fight Prai r i e Dogs .
The people oa.n see the gooti gained fror the work and in fact , th1 s
work a.lone haa ca.us d the retain1ng of the Dounty Agent work in the
County.
ILK'WEED. One peat that everyone is aroused about i s the Who
r~-.----~-...---... ..--..
ed Milkweed. I t 1s a native of th i s country and is a reading very fast of late years . I t has just been found t o be a
poison plant . Nattll'ally the s took ill not eat it bu t wh .n hu.ngry they
wil l ea.t anything gre~n. Consequently.when the Qtook 1s driven down
from the re.nge a gre!1t rt.any head re lost . One veteri na.ria.n says that rr: . .,i:;;t f hie oalls ;; .. re • ... 1lk ieed Poisoni ng,• and that. t .. is t i me of yeB'Z he 1s kept C?;Oing all the ti .le .
No ea.sy ay to get rid of thie e ... d a.a been found a.a it is a
perennial a.nd very ha.rd to kill .
The people do insist that something bt,; done , ho ever , so a cwnpai gn will be started next summer against i t .
CODLI NG MO~HS A.D COYOTES. These are among the peats that the people
a.re going to f i ,ht th i s com i n0 se.aaon.
ORCHA D
WORK,.
.IJu. '/
It ()-7 11.a.
an Experimentcl Orchard in this County, When this 1a accomplished they will carry on exPerimente with orchard pests and also experiments in
PO watoes, ,. e are pull in for this f rm an expect good !'6Sul ts when 1t
is es t~b lished, De, onstrations 1n a ruying are being planned by th
( Farm Bureau no •
F~TILIZERS. A great many inquiries
have come
tc the office relativeto the use of sulphur as a fertilizer for alfalfa, The
yield of. alfa.lfa has ropped from 5 and 6 tons per a.ore) to 2 l/2 and 3 tons per acre) in the last few ve~rs. A call has corn~ from tht:: fe: r n.er s to find the -.. ea on. The Far Bureau plans to reake a. Sulphur demonatra-t ion and a Lime demonstration in each Community. We have a Sulphur mine in the County so e can start th1s at a very little cos~. We ish
to show the people just what the results will be,
.BOYS' A!TD GI'RLS I CLUBS .
Altho t ere ere nine club or anize th1s year, only one se ing
and two pig clubs did anything.
The best Pi - Club boy was sent to the .State Fair at the Fairs'
lx-pense . The boy's father did not see fit to urn1sh 4 he boy 1th money
to send him even tho' it was to be returned to hia by the St~~te . So •e
got busy and 1oui1d m ney enough to c;;n hinu He c · .t.e bt:tck i th enoUfjl
enthusiasm to repay .. 11 effort4 that ~re given to sen him.
One se· ing Club did well at the County Fair an:~ there are prospeots of more and better Clubs a.not her year.
The County Superintendent is very enthusiastic about tl. work
am
offers to help
o
t 1n ev~ry way po sible. We expect to let her lea ds.·
Another year the Boys' and Girls' ~ork ill be carried on, not
as an individual project but in connection 1th other projects such aa pig clubs under the tivestook Projects and lead 1n the Community by
ANNUAL REPORT OFrCOUNTY AGENT From December 1st., 1918 to August 1st., 1919. DELTA COUNTY
(
ANNUAL REPORT OF COUNTY AGENT.
From
August 15, 1919 to
December l, 1919.
DELTA COUNTY.
10.
PROBABLE PROGRAM FOR 1920.
Taking all of the Com unity Programs into considerat ion i t looks to the County Agent aa if the follo ing would be the County Progr . adopted. Ho ever , i t will be left for the
Farm Bureau to choose.
PROGRAM OF ORK
1.~ 0rganiza.tion .
3 . y.J1veatook.
THINGS MOST URGENT.
3. _(ark et ing •.••••..•••••.••••••••• Ca.r Shortage.
4. !est Control .••....•....•...• , Milkweed .
5. Better seed •.•...•••••....•...•• Potato seed.
s.
Labor.
The Farm Bureau realizes that the three things ·entioned
are probably the t hings that the biggest sho 1ng can be made on, ind they propose t o push them to he limit.
I
Jl
Form No. 6. (Revised 1919.)
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION WORK IN AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS.
U. S, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES
COOPERATING.
STATES RELA~ SEBVICE, OFFICE OF EXTENSION WORK, NORTH AND WEST,
WASHINGTON, D. C. \
ANNUAL REPORT OF COUNTY AGENT.
\ \
Due November 30, 1919.
State, .. -______
C_
01-0.T_~ __ Jo_________________ ______________ County, ______ --»~-~j';-~ ____ · ___________________________ _Report of _______ ):_t:Ah..
c_i.._s ______
::D_,
---tt-~A_J5
e__ \"'.'. ______________________________________ ,
County Agent. · - From __{1_\..b_d_lAs± __
J_k __ ,
to November 30, 1919.(lf age.nt has not been employed entire year, indicate exact ~~iod. Agents resigning during year should make out this report before quitting the Service.)
Approved:
Date, ___
/µ]£W_~
___
ff /';'_ ______ _
Approved and forwarded by: .2
SUMMARY REPORT OF WORK OF COUNTY AGENT. To THE CouNTY AGENT:
In the annual report due from each agent it is desired that the agent give a clear, concise account of the work of the year. This report should be divided into two parts: (1) A narrative report, and (2)
a tabulated or summary report.
(1) Narrative Report: This is by far the more important part of the annual report and should be in effect a statement in orderly fashion, and under appropriate subheadings of the work done and the results secured under each project undertaken, as well as the miscellaneous work accomplished. This report may be illustrated with photographs, maps, diagrams, blue prints, or copies of charts used in demonstration work.
(2) Summary Report: This is really designed to be a summary of those features of the narrative report that can be tabulated. In order that comparable State and national summaries may be made, it is necessary that each agent use practically the same method of tabulating. To secure such uni-formity, the accompanying \>lank has been prepared. It is based on the report blanks used by the agents since the work started and covers only the more usual phases of the work. Under each sub-division of the blank, space is provided to accommodate such entries as an individual agent may wish to make. Some of the questions will not apply to the work in a certain county, and these, of course, need not be answered. It may often happen that the added items are more important than the pro-vided headings. It may also be necessary at times to make estimates, but, so far as possible, all data should be based on office records. The following pages are designed as a form which the agent may
use in accounting for such phases of his work as it may be possible to put in tabular form.
Instructions for tabula.ting results of demonstation work.- Below are given instructions for use in
filling out tables on page 5 of the summary report.
These tables are for the purpose of ·tabulating the definite demonstration work* of the agent where accurate known results were secured. Under each. of the following titles with appropriate subheadings list all demonstration work in relation to that subject: Corn, Oats, Wheat, Potatoes, Alfalfa, Other Farm Crops, Orchard Fruits, Small Fruits, Truck Crops, Soil Demonstrations, Liming, Green Manuring, Drainage, Miscellaneous Demonstrations in Relation to Crops and Soils, Feeding Demonstrations, Stock Judging, Hog-cholera Control, Blackleg Treatment, and Miscellaneous Demonstrations in Relation to Live Stock.
(1) In column 1 give the total number of demonstrations in regard to each particular subject, whether a meeting was held or not, but do not list demonstrations given at miscellaneous public meet-ings, such as institutes, short courses, farmers' clubs, etc.
(2) In column 2 list all demonstration meetings held.
(3) In column 3 give the total attendance at meetings listed in column 2.
(4) In column 4 give a measure of the total number of units involved in the demonstration in terms of acres, tons, bushels, etc.
(5) In column 5 give results of demonstrations, expressing results in terms of increased yield in bushels, tons, dollars, acres, etc. Indicate the measurement used. Do not give the increase in percentage.
(6) In column 6 give the total profit secured due to increase as given in column 5 after all addi-tional expenses of the method demonstrated, including the extra cost of harvesting and marketing, have been deducted.
*A demonstration is an effort designed to show by example the practical application of an established fact. Demonstration may be of methods or results.
. .
i
.
1 l1.~1
.
'1 ~~ :~• ;3
b..t i.l
On this page draw or attach a map of your county, showing community
boundaries~n~
d
nmb~r
pf
farm bureau members in each community. ~~ ~ : ~
Locate officers and executive committee with an X. ~ . ~ ~ ~
Locate community committeemen with a dot. . · . -....,. :..
- - tv) -~
.
w.J'
" I
I
4
On this page draw or attach a map of your county, showing community boundaries, and locating thereon demonstrations listed on page 5 of this report.
/ I fllil ____ .. _ _ ._ ... ,
__
- ---
-.....
. / :----+----4 I I ./ J..-..L
i
I1----0
II
·----J I "L_L
~-
·-·-
•
5
SUMMARY REPORT OF WORK OF COUNTY AGENT.
(A) LIST OF DEMONSTRATIONS.
l* 2* 3* 4* 5* 6*
Number
Number of Total Total units Resultant Total
Name of demonstration, classifying under of meetings attendance in demon- increase (yield . profit du~ to (1) crops, (2) live stock, (3) s::>il, (4) demon- at at strations, per acre or other rncrease given
farm business, (5) miscellaneous. strations, demon- meetings, measurement), in column 5,
1919. strations, 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919.
1919.
-ILLUSTRATIVE ENTRY.
CROPS.
Oat Smut Control__ ______ ___ ----·-- 15 12 250 1,200 a. 8 bu. to a. $4,200
DISTRIBUTION OF WORK OF COUNTY AGENT. (Inrlude both field and office work in each project.)
PROJECT.
I
December.I
January. __ j February.I
March. April.I
May. _j June.I
July. ~ August. \ September.I October. I November. I TOTAL.Days. I Days. Days. Days.
I
Da1;s. Days. I Days. Days. Days. Days. Days. Da~s.
{ }:'1
q~-i,x
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ce~t
time in field _____________ _3_5 ____ , __
,5_2 ______ '2_q_r J_7__ ____{,__fe _____
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