1957: Heavy rains during April kept growers out of their fields

Heavy precipitation during April has kept farmers out of the fields for most of the month, with plowing about half finished and everyone having trouble getting oats seeded. Most of the corn is planted around the middle of May and soybeans can be delayed longer.

Curtis and Enos Groves of Fortville had the National Champion Gilt at the recent Poland China National Spotlight Show & Sales at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The gilt topped the sale at $510 and was sold to Richard Jury of Oklahoma.

A good lightning rod system is a farmer’s best guarantee that his buildings won’t be damaged by electrical storms, reports F.R. Willsey, farm safety specialist at Purdue University.

Shelby County’s Southwestern High School team, coached by Howard Lea, has won first place in the 4-H division in the International Land, Pasture and Range Judging Contest at Oklahoma City.

Team members consist of Brenda Watler, Jeff Gore, Dennis Muldoon and Fred Denton. Alternate members of the team were Kathy Glass, Karen Siebert and Susan Kehrt.

Custom butchering by appointment at Milroy Locker, Milroy, Ind. – hogs on Tuesday, live weight 7 cents per pound (200-pound minimum) includes cutting, wrapping and freezing, curing and smoking extra; beef on Friday, any size beef killed $10, cutting, wrapping and freezing 8 cents per pound; cubing steak and boning hamburger 5 cents per pound; lard, 25 & 50 pounds, 15 cents per pound plus container, and 5 & 10 pounds, 19 cents per pound plus container.

Fire destroyed a barn on the Alvin Evans Jr. farm just south of Rexville on U.S. Highway 421. A tractor, combine, tools and 1,500 bales of hay were lost, but no livestock was in the building. The family was not at home.

Record-low dairy cow herds reported is due mostly to dairymen entering their cattle into the buyout program, according to industry experts. While there are 6 percent fewer cows compared to a year ago, production per dairy cow has risen 32 pounds to an average of 1,180 pounds.

The top-priced bull at the recent IBEP video auction was a bull from Turner Angus Farms in Richmond, selling for $3,100. In all, 115 bulls sold and the average price was $1,538, which is a record high for the 10-year history, said Larry Nelson, Purdue animal scientist.

Used farm equipment for sale: 1505 MF 4x4, $8,500; 4440 JD PFA 1980, $22,500; B Farmall, $650; L Farmall with mower, $1,850; Glenoe soil saver, $3,750; 30-foot IH 490, $2,200; 6-row 694 JD dry, $950; 7000 JD 6-row liquid, $4,500; 469 New Holland haybine, $2,200; 250-bushel Killbros, $1,350 – Bryant Equipment, Bryant, Ind.

Lawmakers drove another nail into the government’s experiment with a market-oriented farm policy, and firmly rejected the Bush administration’s overhaul proposals by agreeing on a six-year bill that boosts subsidies to grain and cotton growers.

Used trucks for sale: 1970 Chevrolet C60 grain truck, 16-foot bed with hoist, 366 engine, 4-speed, with 2-speed rear axle, $5,900; 1996 Dodge 3500 extended cab, 4x4, dually, SLT pkg., Cummins diesel, auto, PW/PL, CC/TW, gooseneck ball, $16,995; New 2001 Chevrolet K2500 HD reg., cab, long bed, 4x4, 8.1-liter V-8, 5-speed Allison auto, locking diff., 4:10 axle ratio, ski plate pkg., trailering pkg., power locks, sale price $25,590 – Mann Chevrolet-Buick, Flora, Ind.

Tobacco growers are undecided as a whole about whether to support all or part of Congressional House Bill 3940. The bill was introduced in March by Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.).