News: Clark County, Wis. - Soil Conservation (30 Sept 1937)

Contact: Dolores Mohr Kenyon

E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Wilhelm

----Source: The Granton Leader (Granton, Clark Co., WI.) September 30, 1937

Soil Conservation (30 September 1937)

Your soil checks - If you signed and mailed your second payment receipts to W. A. Wilhelm, soil conservation treasurer at Thorp, have not received your check, then write him.  It might be that he does not have your correct address.  No, these checks are not for this year’s program, but the extra payment on last year’s program.

Overpayments - There are always two sides to every question.  For instance laborers would like to get higher wages from the farmer and yet be able to buy the farmers’ products at a lower cost.  If the farmer must pay higher wages he must get more for his products.  Now a similar problem comes up with the over-payments on the 1936 soil program.  For instance in those cases where a farmer earned $24.00 for seeding 16 acres of red clover at $1.50 per acre, but had 2 acres more of depleting crop than what his contract permitted.  At the original rate of $11.30 per acre the penalty would have been $22.60 which subtracted from the $24.00 left him a payment of $1.40 which he received last winter and spring.  But because of increasing the shift payment of from $11.30 to $12.09 these 2 acres of extra depleting figures $24.18 instead of $22.60, so this farmer will be getting a letter to pay the $1.40 back.  He will not have to pay the 18 cents because he never was paid the 18 cents, but will have to pay the $1.40 which he was overpaid.  Of course the 10 per cent expense deducted and the 8:54 per cent county actual expense is to be figured, but was left out so as to not complicate this explanation.  You, the soils committee, or anyone else in the county had nothing to do with it.

Had the shift payment not been raised from $11.30 to $12.09 per acre, these few small over payments would never have been made; but on the other hand, there would have not been the extra payment to about 4,450 farmers.

Yes, there is exactly one month left which will end your 1937 soils program as far as compliance will be concerned.  Where farmers seeded timothy or applied lime this fall, the farm reporters will inspect your farm again to check what soil building practices you carried on and will claim payment for.  So there is one month more to apply lime and get paid on this year’s program, providing you have some soil building allowance left.   Study your soils papers, have your committee-man help you and then group with your neighbors in ordering a small car.

On Tuesday, September 21, I ordered 8 carloads.  Every few days the farmers order lime (because they can be paid from the 1938 soils program.  Get your receipts for grass seed sowed last spring and this fall.  Remember, I make no rules; but am only trying to help you by warning you and explaining.