1948 Annual Narrative Report Greenlee County

Item Type text; Report

Authors University of Arizona. Agricultural Extension Service. CountyAgricultural Agents.; Sears, John L.

Publisher University of Arizona

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Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/580577

AN1ITJAL REPORT

OF TEE

COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AGENTFOR

GREEl\'1:..EE cotmrr

PERIOD

FROM J1ThTE 16, 1948 to l;OVEMBER eo, 1948

BY

JOHN L. SEARS

COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AGENT

OONCAN, ARIZONA

INDEX

PAGE

Cover PageIndex. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 1Summary of Activities and Accomplishments ••• 2Changes in Extension Organizatlon ••••••••••• 5Problems Determining Extension Program •••••• 6Activities and Results

V"A. Soils •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 8�. Farm Crops

(1) Cotton ••••••••••••••••••••••••• 9(2) OthSr Farm Crops ••••••••••••••• l1

�C. Horticulture(1) Home Beautiflcation •••••••••••• 12(2) Vegetable Production ••••••••••• 13(3) Melon Production••••••••••••••• 14(4) Orchard Management ••••••••••••• 15

�. Irrigation Practice •••••••••••••••• 16�. Livestock Production

(1) Beef Catt1e •••••••••••••••••••• 17(2) Other Livestock••••••••••••••••19Poultry Production•••••••••••••••••20Publiclty••••••••••••••••••••••••••21Weed Control ••••••••••••••••••••••• 224-H Club Work•••••••••••••••••••••• 23Farm Labor ••••••••••••••••••••••••• 25Miscellaneous ••••••••••••••••••••••26

t..--F•'G.H.I.J.K.

Outlook and Recommendations ••••••••••••••••• 28

III. SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

With cotton leading all other crops in acreage a great dealof the agents time was put on this enterprise. Cotton in-sect counts were taken regularly throughout the aeason.Farmers were advised on proper irrigation methods, land level­ing and the rewards to be gained by plOwing under green manure

crops and trash. The Duncan Valley Pure Seed Committee metwith the agent several times to work out problems of seedstorage, seed inspection and administration!f/ Cotton fieldsthat were poor producers were analyzed, soil and water samplestaken and plants were sent to the University Plant PathologyDepartment to det�rmine whether any disease was present or not.Root rot is a real menace to cotton in the county. Farmerswho had infected fields were advised to rotate crops.

Wilt-resistant 1517 Acala cotton continued to be the onlyvariety raised 1n the Duncan Valley. This program was con­

tinually encouraged by the agent. The Extension otficeassisted pure seed growers in procuring their lint certi­fication tags.1fcotton prices dropped this year to governmentsupport prices. The agent advised the seed association thata vigorous campaign would be necessary to sell the 171 tonsof registered and certified seed they had saved.

Mexican June and the Duncan dent continued to be the leadingvarieties of corn planted. Funks G 7-11 Hybrid produced verywell and was accepted as a good variety. The agent recommendedthe growing of yellow corn for feeding because of its vltaminrA content which the white corn lacks.

With two different types of ranges in the county it is quitedifficult to make the same recommendations for each. Very littlesupplemental feeding waw necessary this fallon the ranches northof Clifton while in the southern part of the county it was verynecessary because of the continued drought and shortage of feed.These ranchers have bought fa� in the last few years to supplythe needed feed. 'Jesse stacy continued to spray the cattle -

north of Clifton to the Blue on a custom basis. The agent spent ";two days at the stacy Ranch dealing with insect control, feedingproblems and predatory animal control.

--

W. R. Van Sant, Extension poultry specialist, visited the county(August 26th and 27th, 1948. A culling demonstration was givenat the C. T. Bourgeous farm in_Franklin. Fifteen 4�H members

__-­

and two adults were present. [All of the leading poultrymen were

visited and advise was given on culling, diseases and all were·encouraged to show at the Greenlee County Fair. The GreenleeCounty Fair Poultry Show was a real success with over 140birds entered.

2

4-H club work took great strides in the county. The FranklinFarmers' Club was organized in June. With another club in thevalley competition between the organizations was developed injudging and games. The Duncan Wildkat Club finished its yearOctober 1, 1948 and Achievement Day was held at the GreenleeCounty Fair. The leaders of the two clubs are both young men

but very capable. fMr. Bob Cusick heads the Franklin club wh1JeMr. David Price is in charge of the Duncan club. The agenthas been in close contact with these two clubs assisting inprogram planning and judging work in an effort to keep 4-Hwork progressing. Six new me�bers signed up for projects atthe first meeting of the Duncan Wildkat Club after theirAchievement Day.

Ten milk fever and mastitis control demonstrations were givento dairy farmers during July and August. A "clipping for cleanmilk production" was given at the Greenlee County Fair by theagent.

Rodent control consisted of giving information to farmers on

proper baits and methods ot control. The agent also cooperatedwith the Interstate Farmers' Inc. of Duncan who handled thebait in furnishing them with posters and literature on thecontrol of rodents.

Weed control work was carried on by means of demonstrationplots on the tarms of E. A. Stevens and W. D. ChIldress Duncan,Arizona. 2, 4-D Esteron 44 was used as a spray and proved verysuccessful on all weeds except Russian Knapweed.

A fertilizer test on lettuce at the M. E. Frazier farm using,

26% ammonium sulphate proved that on his soil the nitrogenfertilizer was a great benefit. Next year he plans to put 250pounds of 26% ammonium sulphate on all of his lettuce land.

Safety and Fire Prevention was brought to the attention of thefarmers through films, posters, radio talks and newspaperarticles. Safety and fire prevention is carried on as a yearround project when visiting farmers.

Many transient workers come to the Extension office inquiring \/about work. As near as possible the agent has endeavored to 1

keep a list of farmers needing help and plane these peoplewhere they were most needed. The representative of the U. S.Employment office in Safford spends one day each mont� at theExtension office in Duncan.

The agent assisted the Greenlee County Fair Commission in making

\plans for the Greenlee County Fair held 06tober 15th to 17th atDuncan. Farmers were urged to en.ter exhibits and some assistancewas rendered in the selecting of exhibits. The administrativework of the fair commission was carried on by the county agent'soffice.

III. SUMl�RY OF ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISID!8NTS (CONT)

The agent cooperated very closely with the Soil ConservationService and County Production and Marketing Administration.These two agencies called upon the agents office many timesfor information and the Extension office likewise used theIr'staff with their knowledge in a particular field to a realadvantage in the county Extension program. Other miscellaneouswork was in cooperation with the Farmers Home Administration,U. S. Employment Service, and Employment Security Commission,Veterans Administration officers, and county social securityemployees who used the County Agricult,�al Extension Officeas headquarters when working in the vicinity of Duncan.

IVeterants training under the G. I. Bill received considerableI attention by the agent. Men just out of service were ad­vised on buying livestock, treatment of livestock diseasesand solI management. Mr. H. H. Cosper instructed the veteransin this program. They met once a week at the Duncan HighSchool for class room work. The agent met several times witht�. Cosper on livestock problems that had confronted his class.All of these young men seemed willing to learn the latest infarming methods but have very little capital to operate on.

They need and deserve all the assistance they can get.

4

IV. CHANGES IN EXTENSION ORGANIZATION

There.have been no Changes in the Extension Service re­

sponsibilities during the period covered by this report.

5

V • PROBLEMS DETERMINING EXTENSION PROGRAM

The greatest over all problem Is the lack of sufficientrainfall to maintain the ranges and supplement the ever

depleting supply of pump water. Rainfall Is also nec­

essary to maintain the present water level. Pumps thatwere pumping water in the Duncan Valley at 20 feet a fewyears ago are now pumping at 80 feet. Insufficientrainfall of course cannot be controlled by man but wecan make better use of the water we do have available.

Cotton acreages have increased steadily in the past severalyears. This year there was about 2,000 acres of 1517 Acalacotton planted. A large percentage of the farmers dependentirely upon their cotton crop for a livelihood.

Crop rotations have been forgotten about and the aim of mostfarmers has been to plant all the cotton they can as long asthe price is high. As a result the land is building up inalkali with nothing being done to control it. Many cottonfields were destroyed by Texas Root Rot.

More and more of the ranchers are treating their cattle forparasites but there are still plenty of them who do not.Ticks were particularly bad this summer. With the new sulfadrugs now on the market more progress in pink-eye controlshould be made. Pink-eye has always presented a real problemon the ranges.

Most farmers keep from two to three brood sows. Most of themare kept in small pens without the advantage of pasture andgains are slow and expensive. During the past year many casesof internal parasites in swine have been reported. With propereducation on swine raising many of these conditions can beovercome.

Poultry products continue to�e in large demand. On most farmspoultry raising is a minor enterprise. Witha proper managementpractices there is no reason why poult�y shouldn't be a payingbusiness. The climate Is ideal for year round egg production.

With the exception of one large dairy, the dairy industry isconfined to two or three milk cows per farm. As a result ofthis condition good sires are hard to find. There is a defihiteneed for the introduction of a few good sires to maintain gooddairy stock. A program of artificial insemination would be theanswer to this problem if it could be made available at a

reasonable cost.

Perennial weeds continue to be a problem. Most farmers feelthat the expense of applying 2, 4-D and buying spray outfitsare not warranted. Many of these weeds can be eliminated bycult1vation but to kill most of the�e injurious weeds it takesa powerful spray applied many times.

6

v. PROBLEMS DETERMINING EXTENSION PROGRAM (CONT)

Control of mastitis among dairy cattle is very difficultbecause of the lack of sanitation in milking and generalmanagement of the herds. With very little milk pasteurizationinfected cows become a real problem in public health.

Experienced 4-H leaders and people interested in being4-H leaders are hard to find. It is a continued problemto find suitable leaders and train them to take over clubresponsibilities.

7

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS

A. Soils

A continued program of plowing under refuse, barnyard manureand green manure crops was carried on by the agent. Manyfarmers adopted these practices and they are already,showinggood results. They have found the initial cost of water ishigher but the returns warrant the extra cost.

Soil and water samples were taken on many farms in the Duncanand Franklin areas. Most of the tests showed sufficient min­erals for growth. The thing that was really lacking was or­

ganic matter. Without organic matter the minerals can not bereleased. The plowing under of more organic matter has beenbrought to the farmers attention by the agent through personalcontact, newspaper articles and radio.

The agent established a fertilizer test on the farm of M. E.Frazier, Apache Grove, on August 18, 1948. 26% nitrogen sulphatecommercial fertilizer was applied on fall lettuce at the rateof 250 pounds per acre. The land was pre-irrigated and thefertilizer was broadcast and dlsked in. The control plot andthe fertilized plot were strips the full length of the plotside by side. Observed on November 4, 1948:

Fertilized: Deep green leavesHeads large andluscious

Un-fertIlized: Yellow pale leavesHeads small and

Sickly

Mr. Frazier was thoroughly convinced that nitrogen fertilizerwas a definite asset to his lettuce crop. He is planning on

fertilizing his whole field next year.

Many fields where farmers thought they had a soil problem wasjust a matter of leveling, the water ran off before it had a

. chance to penetrate the soil. They were advised by the agenton the proper methods of leveling. Many of our cotton fieldswere suffering from a serious infestation of Texas Root Rotand wer' not soil problems.

8

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CONT)

B...

Farm Crops

(1) Cotton

Between 1800 and 2000 acres of cotton was planted in thecounty in 1948. All plantings were of the 1517 Acala varietyand practically all of the acreage was of the wilt-resistantstrain of 1517 cotton.

Fields were continually checked for cotton insect infestationby the agent during the season. The only noticeable damagedone by any insect occured late in the season. The boll wormdid some damage in the vicinity of Franklin and York. Dr.Roney, Extension Entomologist, was invited in by the agent todetermine the extent of insect damage. Dr. Roney examined thefields most severely damaged and it was hisqpinion that itwould not have payed to dust.

The cotton crop was considered above average this year, withmany farmers reporting yields of a bale to the acre on thefirst picking.

Heavy frosts came about the 20th of October and defoliationwas not necessary.

Pickers were plentiful most of the season. It is thought therecruiting program put on by the Arizona cotton Growers ASSOB­clation helped to get many of the pickers to come here from Texas.

The Duncan Valley Gin served both the farmers in the DuncanValley and Virden community. Virden was allowed two days a weekfor ginning and Duncan the rest of �he week.

cotton prices were down to government loan prices. Most buyerswere advancing $160.00 per bale with the provision that theywould hold it uhtil April, 1949 when the seller would eitherput it under government loan or sell it which ever was thehigher. The seller would have to pay 3% to the buyer forcarrying charges etc. All of the farmers sold their cotton thiswa�. The cotton buyers would not buy under any other circumstances.

All cotton growers who bought 1517 Acala seed from the Duncan

Valley Pure Seed Association were eligible to participate in thelint certification program. Tags were mailed to the individualsand one tag was placed in the bale and one outsMde to insure the

buyer of the cottons lint certification.

In general the government grades on the cotton were the highestever received since the 1517 Aca1a pure seed program was started.

9

, VI. B. (1) (Continued)

A meeting of the Pure Seed Committee was held October 25, 1948and they decided to quit saving registered and certified seedfor the year. The gin records indicated there were 171 tonsof seed for sale in the bins at that time.

The committee decided to hire a seed salesman and hired Mr.J. Roy Johnson of Duncan as bookkeeper tor the coming year.The agent acted in an advisory capacity at the meeting.

It was generally agreed that cotton seed would be harder tosell in 1949 and that a more vigorous campaign of sellingwould be necessary to move all the seed saved.

10

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CaNT)

B. Farm Crops

(2) Other Farm Crops

On farms where plenty of water was available hegari madeexcellent yields. The price of hegari is somewhat lowerthan it has been in several years. It was selling Novem­ber 1, 1948 for 2¢ per pound at the local market. Manylocal farmers bought hegari for hog feeding. With hogsselling at 22¢ feeding was advised by the agent.

Some smut and rust was observed by the agent in barley. Thefarmers were advised by the agent to treat seed before planting.

The alfalfa crop was generally good on the better well irri­gated land. Alfalfa sold for trom $40-$45 per ton at Duncan.

The agent v�sited the Safford Experimental Farm several timesduring the season to observe variety experiments and otherwork being carried on there.

Guar was planted by the agent on the farm of Victor Evans ofFranklin on July 15, 1948. This experiment was carried on incooperation with the Agronomy Department, University of Arizona,in an effort to determine the value ot guar as a green manure

crop and also to find out what growth it would make at differentaltitudes around the state. The guar did not make the growthexpected. Perhaps a shortage ot water about this time hadsome effect on its growth. Most of the plants didn't getover 8 inches high. The experimental farm at Safford hadsimilar results when their guar was planted late. Theyrecommend planting the first part of June. Earlier plantingmight be the answer to making a better crop here.

11

Dairy Production

A permanent irrigated pastureon the Mary Lunt and Sons farm.Pasture mixture, rye grass,sweet clover and red clover.

August 1, 1948

/1 A

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CONT)

c. Horticulture

(1) Home Beautification

The agent completed two demonstrations on the control oflawn weeds at the home of Archie Hext in Duncan. Twospraying of 2, 4-D was necessary to kill all the weedsin the lawn. Merchants in Duncan reported an increasedsale of 2, 4-D materials following these demonstrations.

Mr. Harvey F. Tate� Extension Hortifulturist, assistedthe agent in making field visits. We found that manyof the rose plants inspected were infected by nematodes.Persons having ground infected with nematodes were ad­vised to bring in new soil or fumigate the soil.

The agent has consented to act in an advisory capacityin aiding the Rotary Club in a Home Beautification pro­ject in Duncan.

Numerous individuals were given advise on shrub va­

rieties to plant, disease control and general managementpractices to follow in home beautification.

12

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CaNT)

c. Horticulture

(2) Vegetable Production

There are three types of vegetable growers in the county.They are (1) The large commercial grower (2) Small commer­cial grower and the (3) Home gardener. The large commer­cial growers confine themselves to onions, potatoes andmelons. The small commerfial grower sells his products tolocal consumers and local produce men. He confines hisproduction to tomatoes, peppers, carrots, melons, sweetcorn and squash. The home gardener just figures on raisingenough in the garden for his own use.

Over 30,000 sacks of onions were produced in thetcountythis year. Buyers from San Antonio, Texas trucked mostof the onions. The price started at $2.95 per sack andat the end of the season dropped to $1.20. Even with thisdrop onion raising was a very profitable business.

White Rose was the predominating variety of potato raisedthis year. All potatoes for commercial purposes were

graded at Virden.

One of the greatest problems in the production of sweetcorn in thl. county has been the corn ear worm. The agentrecommended injectIon of one-fourth teaspoonful of medic�inal mineral oil at the base ot the silk mass as soon as

the silk begins to dry or about 4 days after being formed.As a result the corn that was treated in this manner

suffered no damage from corn ear worms.

Recommendations were made by the agent on the HowardSexton farm for the control of the cabbage worm using5% DDT. The cabbage was dusted every two weeks. Aftertwo dustings excellent control of the worms were made.

13

Onion storage shed and gradingmachine on the Heaton Lunt farmbuilt in 1948. Onions must be

kept dry while in storage.

13A

VI. ACTIVITIES AND �SULTS (CONT)

C. Horticulture

(3) Melon Production

The total acreage planted to cantaloupes was approx­imately 34 acres. They were marketed at Franklin wherea buyer made up the cars for shipment to the east.

Although the total acreage planted to cantaloupesthis season was greater than that of last year theyields were smaller. Against the advise of thecantaloupe field men many farmers put water on thefields when the melons should have been allowed tomature. There wer� approximately 25 cars shippedfrom the packing shed at Franklin with a small num-ber being trucked out. A large part ot the cropwas out-sized melons not wanted by buyers.

14

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CONT)

c. Horticulture

(4) Orchard Management

Chlorosis gave the orchard owners more trouble thanany other thing. The agent recommended the use ofiron sulphat6 implanted around the roots as a controlmethod. This control method was not always effectivehowever. It is estimated in 50% of the cases the ironsulphate treatment controlled chlorosis.

Orchards in the Eagle Creek district were visited bythe agent in July and recommendations and advise was

given on the care of orchards.

A circular letter on spraying of fruit trees was sentto every fruit grower in the county during the monthof October. Spraying and the care of orchards was

the subject of many newspaper articles in the agentscolumn in the county paper the "Copper Era".

15

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CO:NT)

D. Irrigation Practice

Much of the land now being irrigated is not level andis the cause in many cases of spotted fields because ofthe bard dry spots where the water does not set longenough to penetrate the soil sufficiently.

Leveling of fields has been brought to the attentionof the farmers by individual demonstrations, news

articles and radio talks. Leveling on farms in theDuncan area was started in the fall of 1948.

'16

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CONT)

E. Livestock Production

(1) Beet Cattle

�eed was generally short on all the ranges. Many rancherswere forced to sell cows from their breeding herds becausethey didn't have the feed for them. In the lower rangessupplemental feeding started in mid-summer. Most all of theranchers on the marginal range land have bought farms in thelast few years where they can raise some hay and grain forsupplemental feeding and pasture. This is a good recommendedpractice for anyone ranching in the so�thern part of the county.

�t the time of the Cattle Growers' Association meeting at EagleCreek on August 21, 1948 buyers were contracting for 281. ByNovember, 1948 they didn't want to buy at 22¢. The Californiaranges were dry and the buyers had no outlet for feeders. ByNovember 30, 1948 very few feeders had been sold in the county.

�everal demonstrations on Blackleg vaccination were given bythe agent during the summer months. In several cases propermethod of castration was demonstrated at the same time. Eight�r ten calves were castrated during July in these demonstrations;Smear 62 was used on the wounds and there never was a sign ofscrew worm infestation in any of the cattle.

During the fall months of 1948 the agent attempted an

experiment on pink-eye control at the Lazy B Ranch using�ri-sulfanal as the drug. Since the experiment has beenset up there hasn't been a case of pink-eye. We are hopingthat the spring of 1949 will give an opportunity to test the Grug.

\/There were a few cases of "Creepers" on the Stacy Ranch. Theagent examined the animals affected and recommended they be

kept in the corral and fed cod-liver oil for a few weeks. Intwo weeks the calves were walking without any trouble. Inthis disease as in rickets due to the lack of certain vitamines,the formation of bone does not take place as it should. Thecalf will walk with its ankle or wrist joints turned back.This is one of the reasons why a supplemental range feed ofcottonseed meal and salt have been recommended to be fed on

the range.

The agent attended Ranch Day held October 11, 1948 at Las

Cruces, New Mexico. Very instructive demonstrations on

various range problems were given.

No cases of Blackleg were reported to the agents office this

year. Ranchers are doing more and more vaccLna.t fng as a

regular procedure in their livestock program.

17

VI. E. (1) (Continued)

stacy's continued to do the spraying up and down theBlue River and in the Eagle Creek district. Jessestacy,who is president of the Greenlee County CattleGrowers' Association, has done a lot toward gettingranchers to adopt modern spraying practices in Green­lee County.

18

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CONT)

E. Livestock Production

(2) Other Livestock

Eight cases of milk fever occured among dairy cattle inthe Duncan area during the months of July and August.There were no more cases reported atter the month ofAugust. Most of the cases were Jersey or Jersey crosses.The agent demonstrated the use of intravenous injectionin the treatment of milk fever in all cases. It was theaim of the agent to initiate the farmers and ranchers inthe use of calcium gluconate treatment. Many of thefarmers have outfits of their own now and do their Olm

work. The agent recommended feeding procedures and gen­eral management measures to eliminate milk fever.

Lunts Dairy cooperated with the agent in a mastitis con­

trol program that 1s being carried on at the dairy. Cer­tain sanitary precautions are being taken and penicillinused in udder injection.

Ten demonstrations with a total of 30 persons inattendance have been held by the agent on the abdominalmethod of the castration of young pigs. There are three

advantages to the abdominal method: 1. heals faster,2. less danger of screw worms, 3. less danger of otherpigs bothering them.

19

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CONT)

F. Poultry Production

W. R. Van Sant, Poultry Specialist, visited this countyAugust 26th and 27th. The leading poultrymen who hadbeen having trouble with disease in their flocks were

visited. Culling practices were demonstrated at eachfarm and disease �ontrol methods explained.

Sanitation of course comes first in the prevention ofany disease outbreak in poultry. The agent recommendedthe use of sulfa drugs in the treatment of intestinaldisorders and results were very satisfactory.

Egg prices have held up very good and poultry pro­ducts have been in great demand throughout the year.

In September of this year chicken feed dropped $1.00per hundred in price. According to the orders now

in there should be more chickens raised next yearthan ever before.'

There were over 140 chickens shown this year at theGreenlee County Fair.. It was an outstanding poultryshow.

20

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CONT)

G. �blicity

July 9, 1948 was the first time the agents collli�appeared in the Greenlee County paper the "Copper Era".The column is called "Greenlee County Agent's Notes".The paper is published weekly at Clifton, Arizona andhas a wide circulation among the ranchers and farmersof the county.·

The column is designed so that it contains a littlebit of everything that might be of interest to thefarmer. Happenings of local interest and the mentionof names and the accomplishments of farm folk are

always appealing to them. Latest methods in agricul­ture, meetings, market conditions and many more notesof interest are included in the column.

Articles were also written by the agent in the �RlZONAFARMER, ARIZONA STOma�N and the CATTLELOG.

The agents schedule and program titles of radio pro­grams participated in during 1948 over station KGLUSafford, Arizona are as follows:

July 3 with Steve Owens several livestockproblems

August 7 -- alone feeds and feeding

August 14-- alolj.e poultry diseases

August 21-- alone orchard and dairyhead management

The agent also gave a talk August 25th before the RotaryClub of Clifton-Morenci on Extensi on work. There -was an

atteridance of 60 at the meeting.

The Extension program can not be over publicized and

many times there isn't enough of it done. If we are

doing the work we should let other people know whatwe are doing.

21

The Greenlee County CattleGrower's again chose Jesse Stacyto head their organization at theannual meeting last Saturday,August 21, 1948 at the Eagle CreekSchoo) House. Arthur Wrigh a

elected vice-president cHid \ . G.Edwards was chosen to hold do nhe secretarial job for the c

year.After the barbecue w

and e er vono had all theyto eat the group were ent rby several speakers. Some of m

were: Mr. Mercer, district agel -

WIld Life Division; Mr. StO\'er-staff member of district fore ryoffice at Safford; Mr. Baker As-sistant Director of the exten Ionservice for Arizona; Mr. PickrellDirector of the extension ser icefor Arizona; Mr. Walt Armer Ex­ten ion Animal Husbandman J{the Universitv of Arizona' 11'.

Fritz, substituted for Ca 1Hi,()m;taIlt, president of the nz na

ttle Growers' Association:is Harrisori, home dcrn n

agent for Greenlee and G -

Counties.Each speaker being a sped IItheir own field talked on t pICt were of interest to the cattle

of Greenlee County. After Ir--���--�--��� _election of officers was over boys all gave oralMercer met with the ranchers reasons on the class.discuss coyote control. judging we all went over to

Juniors held their meeting ron's home where Mrs. Virl Luntioultsilde the school while the old- entertained with ice cream and

inside. Mr. Armer ad- pop. About the time the meetingir group on s me of broke up the boys discov ercd a

nrobrems of cattle rai ina and watermelon patch right beside theThese Juniors in no 00 house. I think everyone including j

years ahead will probably myself took a melon home. after Ileaders. of the Greenlee eating all they could hold. jCattle Growers' As ocia- By the way t hose bogs we judg- ,

were right on the j b d were the propert� ,of Hea ton. ,"pop" and tickets to the Lunt and SOilS. They were really: I

which was held that night fat hogs. The}' went to market at'1the school house, Phoenix ,August 24th. I'll bet they I'We mustn't forget the ladies were a welcome sight to thoseof the organization, they call

I buyersat the yards there. and a

the "Cow-belles,". The good price now too. Hog prices!ies certainly did a splendid job are always highest in August. Byfeeding that hungry crowd. I marketing now you beat the Mid­

was everything on that tab- die-West hog raisers to the punch.potato salad to apple pie Bulletin' No. 214, "Upland Cot-

sure tasted good. ton Production", is now availableCow-belles are planning a, at the county agent's office, Dun­

old-fashioned "cowboydance" can. This is. the bulletin cotton:'£"'\ __ .1._11... __ 1, 1948 at the Eagle Creek I farmers have been wanting. It is a I

house. Pot-luck supper will complete coverage of cotton farm­served at midnight. They fig- ing from preparing thc ground tif the dancers get a Iittle harvesting. Includes in oct CO,1-

hment about midnight they trol, fert.ilizers, inigalHlll, time (Ifable to continue on until planting, rate of planting, etc._This ought to be like Amateur ropers will have plenty

of those dances the old tim- of opportunity to perform at til11 about at Eagle Creek. coming Greenlee County Fair toDuncan Wildcat 4-H Club be held October 15-16-17 at Dun­onday evening August 23rd can, Arizona according to Elmer

e home of Sharron Lunt. A Stevens, in charge of the Sportsfat hogs were judged. The Events.

Robert Cusick the localfore September 1.During the past two�

have received several inquiriesregarding the subject of sleepingsickness in horses. For your in­f(lrmation here are a few notesI have made on the subject,

I 14hought perhaps you 0'.110 LEEPING SICKNESS OR

bs i,rlterested in knowing what's EQUINE ENCEPHAWMY�L1TISne n agriculture and what vour Encephalomyelitis is a disease1 u 1 neighbors are doing- in of horses and mules caused by an

G rse n lee county. With that organism known as a virus whichth �t in mind I've jotted dow!' 1 so tiny that it will pass through

notes while traveling around a fine porcelain filter that holds

unty, back ordinary bacteria. It at­tackss the brain and spinal cord,received the latest cotton causing irreparable damage and,control bulletin by Dr. .

D r, Thi is a very good'bulle- 111 a very high percentage of.,", cases, death ..cotton 10 sets. We have Horses and mules of all ages are

of them On hand. usceptible. The disease appearse Greenl County Fair Com- to be spread by mosquitoes and'�n met in the county agent other biting insects, which wouldat Duncan met last Monday explain why it appears during the

ing, .Iuns 28. They are plan- ummer months.ni big thing for the Greenlee SYMPTOMS: At the very onsetCo nty F�hr to be held October of the disease there is a rising15 d 16 at the fairgrounds at temperature with a certain de­Du can. There will be hor _ gree of dullness which may passracin and calf roping daily and unnoticed. An unsteady gait and a

larie exhibits of farm products more Or less degree of sleepinessanCf�' lh estock. The co nrnittee appear v�ry suddenly and are veryma e plan for additional build- noticeable. There will be a lower­in� nd many improvements to ing of the head and a tendency toth ound . The t:ntative prern- lean against stationary objectsiuIt !Ii t ha been published. If such as the manger or sides ofyo 'hav e not received yours yet the stall. The horses may attemptwr the county agent's office at to support themselves by backingDu can. into a corrrsr- or lean tl'ieir breast

hf Franklin boys organized a against the manger to st�dy""tffem-I4-H club Tuesday evening, June selves. As the disease advances,29. They call themselves the the drowsiness becomes more ap­Frc{l:lk.lin Farmers club. Robert parent and the lips hang down:Cusick is the local leader and the Little attention is given to foodoffjcers are president, Adrian Or water. In very acute cases ttreGale; vice-president, Lonnie Skin- animals may get down and be tm­

ne�' secretary-treasurer,' Aulvie able to arise.: In- such cases thereBourgeous: reporter, Rex Arnett; may be an uneasiness or violententertainment committee, Ken- floundering which may result inn�th Goodman and Ronald Wilson. serious injury,"Th=.· boys are planning big things PREVENTION: The use ence­

tor this club in the coming year phalomyelitis vaccine (chick-em­and have all ready selected their bryo origin) has proven �o be

ects. Any other boys between I the most effectiveages of 10 to 21 in the

Frank-I agent against this disunity who wish to join rurthsr information see a

can do so by contacting narian.__ . . �

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CONT)

H. Weed Control

Bindweed 1s one of our greatest menaces to field cropsof this county. With that thought in mind a plot ofbindweed was sprayed with 2, 4-D for experimentalpurposes on the farm of W. D. Childress of Duncan.Two sprayings of 2, 4-D Esteron 44 was necessary tokill the weed.

Russian Kaapweed was sprayed with 2, 4-D Esteron 44 at

varying strength. The Knapweed died down but thefinal results will not be known until next season.

The �w Chemical Company, the inventor of 2, 4-D,havenot as yet been able to say that 2, 4-D Esteron 44 willkill Russian KBapweed.

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VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CONT)

I. 4-ll Club Work

A 4-H club was organized in the Franklin area Tuesday, June 29th,1948 with Mr. Robert Cusick as the leader. The agent con-

ducted the initiation ceremonies and outlined the programfor the coming year. Officers were elected and recreationcommittee appointed. This club has the full support of theL.D.S. Church and all parents in the community. This clubis known as the Franklin Farmers' Club. It meets the lastMonday in each month. On November 1, 1948 there were ninemembers in the club, all having projects. The agent helpedthe leader with the first few meetings by arrangtng formovies and conducting judging lectures and contests. Withleaders who are not familiar with club work it takes con­

siderable time and effort on the part of an agent to keepa program goin&but it is well'worth the effort.

The Duncan Wlldkat 4-H Livestock Club met regularly throughoutthe year. The agent suggested the boys meet at a differentmember's house each meeting during the summer. The firstpart of the program being a demonstration on judging workfollowed by a business meeting and refreshments. The parentswere very much interested in this type of program becauseit brought them into the picture too.

All of the Wildkat Club members were required to showtheir projects at the Greenlee County Fair held October'15th, 16th and l�th. On October 15th at 1 o'clock infront of the grandstand the six boys completing theirprojects were �resented with their certificates of .meritand pins by the agent. A special department in the fairpremium book for 4-H allowed all the boys wh� successfullycompleted the years work to compete against each other forprizes.

.

At a meeting of the TIuncan Wildkat 4-H Club held on

October 26th six new members were enrolled to start offthe new year, making a total of 12 members in the club.Five of the members are in their third year of club work.

David Price, last years president, will be the JuniorLeader in 1948-49 of the Duncan Wildkat Club.

The Junior Livestock Judging Team that represented Greenlee

County at the state Fair on November 13, 1948 at Phoenixconsisted of five boys from the Duncan Wildkat Club. TheBe

boys were Sharron Lunt, Laurie Golding, David Price, BillHill and Henry Brubaker. The Greenlee County Fair Commissionand the Greenlee County School Board sponsored the trip.

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VI. I. (Continued)

The members of the teams were as follows:

Livestock

Laurie GoldingSharron LuntBill HillHenry Brubaker

Vegetables

Sharron LuntHenry Brubaker])9.vi d Pri ceBill Hill

Placings in the contests were

Dairy

David PriceHenry BrubakerSharron LuntBill Hill

Livestock Team 1st Junior Division

1st Junior DivisionDairy Team

Vegetable Team 3rd - Junior �vlslon

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A Lesson in Fitting a 4-H Calf for Show:

Dwain and Adrian Gale of the Franklin Farmers' Clubare demonstratin& the proper method of fitting a calfto other 4-H'ers at the 1948 Greenlee County Fair.

4-H Judging at the Lunt Dairy,Duncan, Arizona

The agent is giving instructionin the points to look for in

judging dairy cattle.

The Junior �vision 4-HCha�pions in Livestock and DairyJudging at the Arizona state Fair

Phoenix, Arizona �ovember 13,1948.All of these boys are members of the

Duncan Vlildka t Club

VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CONT)

J. Farm Labor

Even though the placement of farm labor was transferredto the Safford Employment Office January 2, 1948 theagent placed many workers on farms in the county duringthe cotton picking season this year. Representativesof the Arizona state Employment Service from the districtoffice in Safford may be contacted in the county agent'soffice one day a month for the purpose of taking re­

quests for farm labor and taking applications of men

desiring work.

cotton pickers were paid $3.00 per 100 for the firstpicking.

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VI. ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS (CONT)

K. Miscellaneous

A fly control campaign was conducted by the agent in thetown of Duncan and Clifton and throughout the county. TheExtension posters on fly control were distributed to allmerchants handling fly insecticides for display on theirshelves. The merchants were very cooperative and glad toreceive the posters. Through newspaper articles and per­sonal contacts it is estimated 30 farmers and ranchersmade a dedided effort to get rid of flies.

For Fire Prevention Week October 3rd to 9th posters were

placed in conspicuous places about th� county and theDuncan 'Valley Cotton Gin was advised to put up"No Smoking"signs at various places throughout the gin. Newspaperarticles were written and a report of these articleswere made to Mr. A. B. Ballantyne, Specialist in RuralSociology at the University. Trips were made into cottonfields and the workers and owners were cautioned aboutthe danger of smoking near cotton wagons.

The 1948 Greenlee County Fair was held October 15, 16, 17at the fairgrounds at Duncan, Arizona. About 2500 personswere 1n attendance. According to the judges and otherExtension workers most of the exhibits were doubled insize and the poultry exhibit trebled in size over the 1947fair. The secretarial work of the fair was carried on bythe agents office. The agent also encouraged farmers toexhibit at the fair and advised superintendents on pro­blems concerning the fair.

The Greenlee County Cattle Growers' Association held theirannual meeting and picnic at the Eagle Creek School on

August 21, 1948 with some one hundred persons in attendance.After a Barbeque dinner, prominent members of the stateExtension staff and state Forestry and Wild Li�e Servicegave talks regarding their particular field in connectionwith ranching. New officers were elected for 1949. Theywere Jesse stacy-President, Arthur Wright-Vice-president,and a secretary.

The Juniors held their meeting at the same time. Mr. Walter

Armer, Extension Animal Husbandman, made plans for a rangegrass collection project for the Juniors. These grasscollections are to be made during the year and judged �t thenext annual cattle growers meeting.

The ladies of the Greenlee County Cattle Growers' Associationhave f'ormed an organization called the t'cowbelles"r They hold

dances and pot-luck picnics at dlffer4nt parts of' the countyevery two months. The agent attended several of these get.Dogethers •. It serves two purposes that are very beneficial.It gets the men toget�er as well as the ladies and what we

really have is a cattle growers meeting every two months.

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VI. K. (Continued)

The county agent's office in Duncan has been throughoutthe period covered by this report the headquarters ofthe district Farmers Home Administration advisor whileworking in Greenlee County. Mr. Hansen was continuallykept informed of any inquiries or business regardinghis program on days when he was not in the county.

The Extension agent cooperated with the U. S. EmploymentService, Employment Security Commission, Social Securi�,and Veterans Administration officers.

"Information was provided by the extension office on dateswhich representatives of these organizations were to be inDuncan and services available through these agencies.These organizations used the Extension agent's office as

their headquarters while in Duncan.

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Barbeque Dinner at theAnnual Greenlee County Cattle Growers'

MeetingEagle Creek, ArizonaAugust 21, 1948

VII. OUTLOOK AND RECOMMEN�TIONS

4-H work should be one of the most important phases of anyfuture Extension work in the county. Two very active clubsare now functioning in the Duncan and Franklin areas. Thereis a possibility of forming another club in the York area

providing the interest there becomes high enough in the nextyear. The agent has found that through his contacts withthe boys the parents very often adopt new practices thatwould have never been adopted through any other method.During the fall of 1948 football games between the two clubswere held several times in Duncan, a basketball sChedulebetween the two clubs is now being worked out. Athleticcontests always arouse spirit and interest.

It is pretty difficult to make farmers realize a crop ro­tation system is important when cotton is a high price.It is also easy to see the farmers viewpoint; the priceof water is high and cotton can be produced with a rel­atively small amount of water and the returns are high.�any cotton growers are now experiencing for the firsttime trouble with water penetration, and spotted fields�A continued program showing the benefits of green manure

grops, plowing under all trash and putting in part of thefarm each year to legumes will be necessary.

The purchase of better beef and dairy cattle should beencouraged. At the present time there is a definite lackof good dairy bulls. A program of artificial inseminationas it is carried on in many places might fit the needs ofthe county.

Every farm and ranch in the county needs a good strongprogram of weed control. Most farmers and ranchers are

aware of the methods of weed control and latest sprays.Most of them have seen them demonstrated but continueto be very slow about using them. The high cost of thepresent sprays together with lack of proper equipmentare the two major reasons for not spraying.

To date cotton insects have been no problem but a con­

tinued chec� should be made throughout the season for anyinfestation.

.

There is a high local demand for vegetables. Vegetablegrowers in the York and Sheldon areas sold all the vegetablesthey could raise this year to people in Clifton and Morenci.Vegetable raising is a profitable business in the Duncan

Valley if properly managed. There are several commercialoutlets for vegetables grown here besides the local trade.If the mines in Clifton and Morenci were not working this

picture might change 6ntirely.

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