The Sidney Herald

Surrounding counties also show the same variation, in that counties south of Richland have had very favorable conditions, with the counties north suffering from lack of moisture.

General Report Is Given on Crops in Richland County

The crop and livestock situation in Richland county and surrounding counties is following a pattern similar to last year, according to a report released by the County Extension Service Office. In Richland county, the eastern and southern parts of the county have enjoyed very favorable weather conditions for crops and range growth during June and early July; whereas, the western and extreme northern parts of the county have received far less moisture.

Dryland Small Grain Prospects For Richland County

Cool weather conditions favorable for the development of small grains during June and the first part of July has upped the yield prospects considerably. Even in the dryer areas of the county where good summer fallow and farming practices have been followed, 15 bushel per acre spring wheat yields are indicated. In the areas in and around Sidney, Crane, Savage and Lambert, spring wheat yields of 20 bushels per acre should be common. Most of the spring wheat in the county is now in the milk and dough stage of development. Nice plump kernels seem to be developing in all grain crops. The winter wheat crop has developed rapidly and much of it has been swathed. Yields of 25 bushels per acre and upward is indicated for much of the winter wheat. This year there are more acres of winter wheat to be harvested in the county than perhaps ever before in the history of the county. The barley crop looks very good throughout most of the county and it is developing fast, with yields of around 35 to 50 bushels per acre indicated.

Safflower Prospects

The safflower crop seems to be coming along nicely with most of this year's crop being located in the favored moisture areas of the county. Many of the new growers of this crop, though, have been experiencing difficulty in controlling weeds in certain fields where stands are not too good.

Dryland Feed Supply

Due to the extremely dry spring, the hay crop has been very short throughout most of the county.

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PICTURED ARE some safflower plantings taken on July 10th by Jack Knoop of Sidney Drug Store. Glen Hariman, Eastern Montana Branch Experiment Station Superintendent, and Dan Price, Sidney National Bank Representative, are shown inspecting the fields. The views are on the Experiment Station farm in the Valley and on a field in the Brorson Community. Prospects for the new crop appear to be good.
THE SIDNEY HERALD
Wednesday, July 23, 1958

Crop Prospect--
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dryland area. Many of the range area livestock producers will have to be dependent upon the corn crop and catch crops for hay, such as millet and oats. It is too early at this time to predict the outcome of the corn crop under dryland conditions.

Range Conditions
Range feed supplies are very short in the dryer areas of the county, whereas the eastern and southern parts of the county have good to excellent range growth. Water supplies, however, are the limiting factor for range utilization in much of the county, as many stock water dams are dry. Many wells and springs, though, are being developed to help alleviate the stock water shortage. Range livestock, even in the dryer areas of the county, seem to be in good condition where water is available, as range plants during dry years are high in nutrients which helps make up for lack of quantity. Grasshoppers have also been doing some damage to the rangeland in the dry areas of the county.

Irrigated Crops
Crops in the valley all look excellent and are now making rapid growth with the warm weather here. Irrigation of sugar beets is going ahead rapidly and this crop looks extra good over most of the valley. Some of the beets in the Savage area are a little behind, due to the lot of wet weather and weedy field conditions during the thinning period. Second cutting alfalfa hay yields should be average, and it will be only a week or ten days until having will be going full force again in the valley. Favorable weather conditions have made for excellent small grain prospects in the irrigated valley. The bean crop in the Fairview area is looking better after a slow start, with most of them blooming now, along with the irrigation of this crop.

General Outlook
In spite of a rather bad start this spring, it appears now that most of the county will be blessed with a good agricultural harvest this year. In the business of farming, however, many things can come up which will change this bright picture quite rapidly.