OCR Interpretation


Montana farmer-stockman. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1947-1993, November 01, 1949, Image 1

Image and text provided by Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86075096/1949-11-01/ed-1/seq-1/

What is OCR?


Thumbnail for

A
y * à
No». 1, 1949
°pfl O
\ p Mo
A
&
m
%
ym
?/.
...
*
M
IMÊm
Crested Wheatgrass Plus Cattle
Make Profitable Dryland Program
Bf nuatr imrm
-V

m
—Montana Farmer-Stockman Photo
There's plenty of green fall pasture on this crested wheatgrass land at the William Snider ranch. Johnson
county, Wyoming. The 200 acres of grass gave spring grazing up to the middle of May, then a seed crop
was harvested in August from 80 acres of the best stand.
CRESTED WHEATGRASS and cattle
beat farming year in and year out on our
dryland," says William R. Snider, Sheridan
county, Wyoming. Some 12 years' experi
ence on the ranch has con
vinced him that there is " . . .
just about as good a profit in
crested wheatgrass and cattle
as there would be in raising
wheat, with a lot less work and
less money in equipment.
Snider homesteaded in 1920
and started breaking up the
sod for wheat. By 1926 he had
over 500 acres in wheat. The
next year he sold 10,000 bushels at $1 per
bushel. He always kept from 100 to 300
head of cattle, however. In 1927 and 1928
he sold $24,000 worth of wheat and cattle.
And then came the crash—the Wall
street bust of 1929. By 1932, Snider's wheat
was worth 17 cents a bushel, so he fed it
to cattle and hogs. Both weather and mar
ket conditions continued poor to 1937 and
in the meantime, Snider went more and
more into livestock production.
Saw Merits of Wheatgrass
Crested wheatgrass was fairly new then,
and Snider got his first look at an experi
mental plot in the spring of 1937 when he
went after some cattle he had wintered
down in Cook county, Wyoming.
There was plenty of grazing on that
plot even before I got my cattle out that
spring," said Snider. "I decided then and
there that we would give it a try up at the
ranch.
He had tried alfalfa, with as much as
155 acres at one time, but had trouble with
winter killing in open years of freezing and
thawing.
The first crested wheatgrass seed was
obtained the next year, 1938. About 48
acres were planted with a seeder attach
( i
\
•s
a
MONTANA AND NORTHERN WYOMING
ment at 2^2 pounds to the acre. Some of
this original planting is still in good shape,
but later plantings at the rate of from 6 to
8 pounds have proven best. Snider found
that if 10 pounds to the acre are seeded,
the growth is too thick and the grass doesn't
grow the way it should on his soil.
Seeds With Grain Drill
After trying hand broadcasting in wheat
stubble or on light snow in the winter and
other methods, Snider is sure the only way
to seed the grass is with a regular grain
drill. The holes should -be plugged alter
nately so that only 6 to 8 pounds of the
seed are used per acre. The seed should be
weighed and a test plot measured at the
start to assure the desired seeding rate. The
seed should not be put more than 1 to IVz
inches below the surface if possible.
The seeding is done on the contour with
periodic furrowing so runoff water is con
trolled and the grass given more growing
moisture. Soil conservation district engi
neering help was obtained in laying out the
contour furrows. PMA repayments have
covered the cost of the seed.
With 200 acres of crested wheatgrass now
on the place, Snider is looking forward to
the day when a considerable part of the
remaining 1,000 acres of potential hay land
will also be in grass. Only 100 acres of
winter wheat remain on the ranch. About
200 head of cows could be kept on the place
now.
Best Paying Proposition
Snider thinks there is no better paying
proposition than to put this type of dry
land into crested wheatgrass and run cows
and calves or sheep. He points out that he
gets out of all the seeding, cultivating and
harvesting work connected with raising
grain as well as escaping the heavy invest
ment in machinery. Then too, there is no
wind or water erosion problem when the
land has a good grass cover.
Here is what crested wheatgrass means
on the ranch now: Plenty of early spring
calf pasture; a seed crop in August if the
cattle are taken off by May 15; sizeable
stacks of good hay after threshing the seed
out and also good fall pasture in the stubble.
According to Jack Myers, Snider's son-in
law and present ranch manager, the seed
production this year amounted to 100
pounds per acre on about 60 acres. It sold
for 30 cents a pound for the clean seed.
This production was in spite of a very dry
year and grasshopper damage. Production
the year before was 200 pounds to the acre
and has reached above 300 pounds to the
acre in past years.
Threshing vs. Combining
Snider has tried combining the grass but
doesn't recommend it. The most seed can
be saved by cutting and binding the grass
' aMa
m
i
*
■ :
ii
■ it *
fm
III!
I
f
?|fa
mm
I, kj I
III
iV
if
I is v
f.
3
%
Éï k
r m
§
,6
J
im
I a I \
MM
sr
i
Mil
ii

m]
|K:f
I
%
f:
mt
i
im.
<1
■M\
I ill Hi
l i
Î
<
%
At
4 Iwi

til
This is what the crested wheatgrass looks like when
ready for mowing for seed. Below, Snider holds a
bundle ready for the thresher. In the background
is a pile of crested wheatgrass straw which makes
very palatable hay for the cattle, a by-product of
the threshing operation.
Mm
I
\
i
■i '
lif
Mm
Wl
■ aZ.
mm
m
f
■ A
* '%Aj.
W0.
rr

xml | txt