_PA LMER, ALASKA_\ ' DOROTHY M. BELL, Edit or _
Published every Friday jet Palmer, Alaska, for the Mat anus lea Valley
Farmers' Cooperating Association for the purpose of giving news of the
Association's work, problems, and accompliishments.___
SUBSCRIPTION BY MAIL $1.75 BOX $1.00 SINGLE COPY JLO^,.
WHiiT DOES A PARMER MAKE?
Farmers of the Valley have been walking out of the irodiice Department
with some rather large checks recently. During the summer months the
Dairymen gpt some nice sized ones too., T-hen sometime during the year 1 1
they may get a Dividend check of a fe-.w hun'dred, A little later in the
season we hope there will be a number of nice sized potato checks. Maw
should a traveler, possibly a writer, pass through the Valley about
this time he might leeve with an idea that farmers in the Valley were,
certainly making the money. He is the guy who goes back and says we
can make $10,000. a,year on a small farm in the Metanuska Valley. This
always reminds me of what an Agriculture teacher told us in High School.
The average city man sees only the gross income of the farmer. From
train window he sees a farm on which is a number of nice looking ho i
ready for market. He checks the market price in his paper, estimates
the weight of the hogs, and multlplies--my this farmer will certainly -
make a lot of money this year. There is lots of money to be made in
farming.
Mow anyone who has lived on a farm anywhere knows better than that. :
Let's look at the potato grower. In the spring he buys $400-$500 worth -
of seed for about 10 acres. His labor,bill by the ti'me these potatoes
are weeded,(perhaps the whole patch by'.hand) cultivated, andt-d ig would
Probably reach an equal amount if not more. Then he wouldn’t have much
of a crop if he hadn't added about $125 worth of fertilizer. Some
estimate the cost of production on potatoes at about $125 per acre.If
be plans to raise.that many potatoes, he will need some machinery of
his own-but whether he owns it or rents it, it all costs money. Will
bis cost of production be a third, half, or two thirds? Many people
are going into egg production because of the present high egg prices.
Many of us can remember selling eggs at 30^ fob the. large size, but
feed was much cheaper at that time. There is this advantaee, however,
if one made l/3 profit on 30^ and l/3 profit;'6n $1.10, he would surely
make more money at $1.10. Then again it takes more money to live now _
than it did then.
Farming isn't a snap anywhere, and the Farmers of the Metanuska \ x
Valley can make a good living in spite of the many difficulties they
encounter, but it is not the bonanza that some writers would have y x
believe. It takes some of the most optomistic people in the world to
make‘good farmers,. For instance, last year the cutworms tried to take
first mortgage on everything that grew in the ground. Their allies
were the root maggots, but in apite of everything we came out pretty
much on the top. Then this year Mr. Chamberlain came to help us sc1ve
our pest problems and keep them from taking over the v.alley, but fo
seme reason very little danage was done by them this year.. We don't
know yet what Mr. Ch.amberla.in did to scare them. Everything seemed
to be sailing fine and the crops looked excellent. Most ‘of us had
nearly broken our backs pulling weedathat the cutworms used to eat.
Then it started to rain and blow just when the grain* and hay wore heavy.
Much of it went down or at least part wav down so that reaping it has
been very difficult. . AsJ'ifthnt wasn't enough it even snowed on it.
This hay and grain nean/iror the dairymen's cows this winter and if # ,
he doesn't get.it.from his fields, he may have to pay as high as $60.
a ton for hay from the states. Such is the life of the Matanuska Valley
Farmer and yet he sticks and makes a good living. He must be the most
optomistic of all farmers.
.. * EDITOR
DO YQLJR PART . ;
■‘"".WAR. BONDS 20' ST A
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