Montana farmer-stockman. [volume], January 01, 1948, Image 2

About Montana farmer-stockman. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1947-1993

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
Take time to
save time
♦
v
Have you ever mapped—with pins and thread,
with pencil on paper—the daily "chore route" of
your farm or ranch? Have you figured how much
back-tracking you do, how many unnecessary extra
steps you walk in a day? Have you taken time to
save time, and steps, and labor?
A number of agricultural colleges and experiment
stations have made practical work studies on farms
and ranches, with some astounding results. For
example, one dairy farmer (who thought himself
pretty efficient) adopted improved machine milk
ing techniques, rearranged his bam to save steps
and time in feeding and watering. He saved him
self two miles of walking per day, cut his daily
chore time by two hours and five minutes. That's
730 miles of walking and 760 hours of work in a
year. In making the changes, he spent less than $50.
Indiana tells of farmers who, by planning their
work, are raising hogs with one quarter their for
mer hours of labor . . . There's a report of men
making hay in 90 man-minutes per ton; while
others using similar equipment—but older, harder
ways of working—spend twice that time .. . There
are scores of other examples.
Perhaps you cannot make such great savings in
your operations. Maybe you can m -.ke more. It's
certainly worth looking into, for even little savings
are important. Five steps saved a day makes a
mile in a year. Five minutes a day gives you three
extra days a year.
There's no master plan to fit every farm and
ranch, because no two are exactly the same. You
have to work out your own plan of improvement.
But the time it takes may well be the most profit
able time you've ever spent.
A four-step scheme is suggested. First, consider
each job or chore separately. Break it down into
its parts. Check each part with a watch or tape
measure and see if steps or time can be saved.
Second, compare your work methods with those of
your neighbors. Third, examine and check the de
tails of your work methods. Fourth, develop and
apply the new method. In a nutshell, "Plan your
work and work your plan."
Time studies and job analysis have helped Swift
& Company increase efficiency and make impor
or
savings. why we so confidently suggest
similar studies in your operations. One excellent
bulletin on the subject is N umber 307, published by
Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. It's inter
esting reading and well worth writing for. Your
county agent, or state agricultural college can tell
of other bulletins on the same subject.
I The American Way
I j In the livestock-meat indus
I I try, as in all American busi
f j ness, profit provides the basic
IjOb incentive for work, enterprise
bIÆ and action. Profit makes the
mare go for livestock produc
ers, meat packers and retailers. Too little
profit by one section creates an unbalance in
the industry. If one part of the livestock and
meat industry suffers continued loss, all of
us are hurt in the long run.
However, a margin of profit fair to one
section of the livestock-meat industry might
be quite unfair to another. For instance, we
Swift & Company know perfectly well
that both livestock producers and retailers
require a higher margin of profit, because of
their relatively small volume. On the other
hand, nationwide meat packers must build
up a tremendous volume of sales to make up
for a very small margin of profit per unit—a
margin that has been consistently lower than
that earned by any other manufacturing in
dustry in America.
Over a period of years, Swift & Company
has earned, on the average, less than two
cents on each dollar of sales (a fraction of a
cent per pound of product handled). Over
the same period, the average amount re
turned to producers for agricultural raw ma
terials, including livestock, wool and hides,
has been 75 cents out of each dollar we re
ceived. This is not a profit. (
cents producers must pay the cost of pro
duction.
Whether livestock prices are high or low or
whether meat is high-priced or inexpensive—
Swift & Company can earn a reasonable
profit only by adding together many tiny
savings on a large volume of business.
:
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of this 75
Vice-President, Swift & Company
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Controlling Roundworm in Sheep
by Walter Armer
(ùit/Au 9Poÿ€t*t'b IRecefie i
HAM LOAF
(Yield: One 8V4 X 414 x 2% inch loof)
*
14 teaspoon pepper
1 cup milk
14 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons vinegar
Beat eggs. Combine meats, eggs, crumbs, salt, pepper, and
milk. Mix thoroughly. Form into loaf in 814 x 414 x 2% inch
loaf pan. Combine sugar, mustard, and vinegar. Spread over
meat. Bake in a moderate oven (350° F.) 1 hour, or until meat
has reached an internal temperature of 185° F.
Vi pound ground ham
1 Vi pound ground fresh pork
2 eggs
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
I
Track Down the Facts
A great family
Fiber Zibethicus, better
known to American farmers
as the muskrat. He raises his
many offspring in marshes,
and about streams, lakes and ponds. Muskrat
tracks are easily recognized by the drag of his
knifelike tail, wjiich shows up well in soft mud.
The muskrat-trapper works hard to make a liv
ing out of muskrat skins, and generally his efforts
are rewarded. But there is one fact about his busi
ness that he tracked down long ago. He knows the
price he can get for muskrat skins depends on the
popular demand for finished pelts.
In the business of processing livestock into meat
for people's use, we at Swift & Company have to
keep track of the demand for meat everywhere in
the nation. We must know, too, the weights and
grades of cuts preferred by housewives. Experience
has taught us that the price the producers receive
for their livestock is governed by what the meat
packer can get for the meat and by-products.
is \ J
man
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SWIFT & COMPANY
NUTRITION IS OUR BUSINESS—AND YOURS
UNION STOCK YARDS
CHICAGO 9, ILLINOIS
Right eating adds life to your years—and years to your life
University
£
The control of roundworm on sheep
ranches has been successfully tested
by Dr. W. J. Pistor, University of
Arizona Animal Pathologist. It con
sists of feeding a mixture of 1 part
phenothiazine with 9 parts of ordi
nary granular salt. Roundworm, a serious plague, es
azed on irrigated pastures, can
be checked by phenothiazine and salt. Of course, it
is not a cure-all. Badly infected sheep may still have
to be drenched. But feeding the mixture throughout
the pasture period will prevent the worm population
from reaching the dangerous level in the majority
of cases.
Phenothiazine, alone, is but one of a number of
drugs known to aid in controlling roundworm in live
stock. But during World War II, animal husbandmen
discovered its effectiveness was greatly heightened
when used with salt and fed throughout the pasture
season.
Experiments begun in 1943 with sheep grazing on
irrigated pastures in Arizona proved the remarkable
value of the new mixture. It resulted in cutting down
loss of sheep and in marketing lambs in better con
dition. Today a high percentage of sheep on Arizona
farm lands receive the 1-9 phenothiazine and salt
mixture.
This new treatment is economical as well as effec
tive. It practically eliminates the necessity of drench
ing each animal individually to control roundworms
—a costly and possibly dangerous practice.
i
Walter Armer
pecially to sheep
OUR CITY COUSIN
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1
City Cousin cannot see J
Why "you" is spelled E-W-E...
Neither con we! C
Soda Bill Sez:
. .. the man with a dull hoe is wasting
nobody's time but his own.