| Summary: | The Williston Story could happen. The story is told of an ex-college professor from Missouri and a ice man from Indiana trying to rim a binder with the 3 horse whiffle tree or evener turned with the two horses on the grain side of the tongue so that one horse was walking in the grain when a full swath was taken. Another story is told of the fellow who tried to plant corn with the valves closed on the planter which he had borrowed from his neighbor who had finished checking his corn in using the "check wire." During the 1920 decade most years saw good crops, better than average rainfall and of course with good rains, more than the usual number of severe hailstorms. The occurence of so many hail storms caused the insurance companies to raise their rates and as a result people either dropped their insurance or didn't take it out as money was tight. Between 1923 and 25 tractors began to be used quite generally as farmers were still paying $400 and $500 for a good team of draft horses. Even so, from 1928 to 1935 some fellows had 50 head of horses and a few had as many as 200 head, mostly broncos. Tom and Pill Freman ran a big cattle and horse spread. Tom had cattle and Rill had horses up in Montana. In 1928, during spring seeding time we had a big snowstorm which piled snow six feet deep in places. Some farmers lost 30 head or more of cattle in that storm. The 1930's were tough on everyone and when we did hit the good production years, especially during the 40's, war came and the American farmer rose to new heights in providing the food that helped to win that war. We, in this Great Plains area, were fortunate to have exceptionally good crop and livestock production when our country most needed that production. Agricultural techniques of production increased rapidly during the 40's and 50"s. In 1940 each farmer was producing enough to feed himself and five other people; by 1950 he had increased his efficiency so much he could produce enough for himself and 17 others and by 1960 he was producing food for 25. The addition of several thousand acres of irrigated land in this area during the early 40's by the Bureau of Reclamation and sale to farmers has served to diversify those farms and stabilize the livestock economy in the area. Surplus alfalfa from these irrigate!- farms has been a big help in many years to the dryland livestock man who would otherwise, sometimes, find it difficult to raise sufficient roughage for his stock. In the last 20 years farms have increased in size from 656 acres to better than a 1200 acre average. What is to happen in the next five years when much of the land which wa.s put into the Soil Conservation Reserve for ten years five years ago starts to come out? Many of those older fanners who put their land into the Conservation Program will not start farming again, consequently those farms will either be sold or rented to other farmers. It is inevitable that farms will increase even more in average size. Much of this land with good grass cover may never be broken out again, at least not until our growing population demands for food increase to the extent that such land may again be needed to produce crops. Better that it be managed wisely and left in grass that could again be axle high to a wagon or buggy, to produce the meat our population will continue to require in ever-increasing quantities as the years go by. Our County Agents The following was contributed by Evan W. Hall, Williams county's first county agricultural agent, who served five years from 1913 to 1918. Now retired as agricultural agent for the Milwaukee railroad and living in Warden, Wash., where he is still active in local affairs. He is presently a member of the Warden Town Council, having been elected in Mard'i this year to a four-year term. He was secretary of the Warden Chamber of Commerce several years. It was fifty years ago when I was hired as the first county agricultural agent for Williston county, North Dakota. I was twenty-six years of age and had been graduated from the North Dakota Agricultural College in 1909. In 1913 farming was new in Williams county and the most profitable farm practices had not been established. There was much to learn about climate, soil, and adapted crops. To the young county agent this was a very real challenge. This challenge was partially met by studying the results of the work at the experiment station at Williston and other field trials in the Northern Great Plains. Farmers' clubs were organized where the above information was given and discussed. Many farmers tried new suggested methods, and if successful, others were told about them. All this resulted in the use of better varieties of grain and forage crops for livestock. 1 learned much from experienced farmers. These men taught me more than I had learned in college, and I have appreciated this help and advice throughout the fifty years in which I have been in agricultural work. My first advice came from PI. A. Nelson, a farmer on the Nesson Flats. Bluntly Mr. Nelson told me that I'd make a better impression on farm calls by driving a horse and buggy rather than an automobile. Since it took me five days to drive from Casselton, near Fargo, to Williston in my new Model T Ford, 1 was inclined to agree. Fifty years is a long time. A long time, yet a short span when one considers the centuries. This particular era was a great leap forward, however, as everyone knows. From the horse and buggy to the jet. But niy thinking about agriculture has not changed much. I still contend that the farmer should manage his own business—that the county agent, the politician, the so-called expert can not possibly know as much about farm problems as does the man who actually lives on the farm and tills the land. Those who have served: June'13, - July'18 Evan W. Hall, Collaborator Aug."18 - April'27 E. G. Schollander, Co. Extension Agt. ("deceased) June'27, - June'43 Karl Swanson, Co. Extension Agt. (deceased) July '43, — D. G. Hotchkiss, Co. Extension Agt. 83 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited in Multi-page TIFF Editor.
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