source of supply. He found in California and in
the Midwest, particularly in Minnesota, that seed
flax was being raised on a large scale. The flax
seed was being sold to linseed oil producers but
the straw was regarded as waste and was usually
burned or destroyed in some other manner.
It was discovered also that there were facilities
in and near Minnesota for the production of fibre
from seed flax straw. These facilities had been
built to produce upholstery tow, a material used
quite extensively in the manufacture of furniture
during the early 1900’s. However, due to the im
portation of better fibres from abroad, plus sev
eral other happenings, the sale of upholstery tow
had practically diminished by the 1930’s.
The owners of these facilities were glad, and
understandably so, to have the opportunity to pro
duce seed flax fibre for Ecusta. A few modifica
tions in their process were necessary, but they
were only minor.
In 1937, for the purpose of diversifying the
company’s activities, the California Central Fibre
Corporation was formed, with Mr Dixon as Vice
Pr'sident and Mr. Ramsey as Vice President and
Resident Manager. The Corporation built a flax
processing mill in El Centro and began purchasing
and processing seed flax fibre for shipment to cus
tomers, primarily, of course, to Ecusta.
Although not related to them, flax is very sim
ilar to the cereals—wheat, barley, oats, etc.—in
its growing habits. In the Imperial Valley, flax is
planted in the fall of the year, around November
15, and is harvested during the latter part of May.
In harvesting, the usual type of farm equipment
is used, enabling the farmer who raises grain crops,
in addition to seed flax, to get by without the ad
ditional expense of special flax-handling machin
ery. For example, the straw must be baled before
it can be brought to the El Centro storage yard.
This baling operation is accomplished through the
use of typical pickup balers.
Farming in California is a vast and businesslike
operation. Once maturity of a crop has been
reached, harvesting proceeds on a strict and speedy
time table. Such a program necessitates rapid
handling of flax straw, the result being that in
some years, as much as 25,000 tons of straw are
received by the Company within a 60 day period.
This tonnage approximates 5,000 truck loads, 650,-
000 individual bales, all of which is stored prior
to processing.
The storage yard at El Centro covers approxi
mately 100 acres. To keep the danger of fire to a
minimum, the bales are arranged in stacks contain
ing about 100 tons each. In addition, the stacks
are spaced 100 feet apart.
The processing at the El Centro mill is a year-
round operation. The mill, a decorticating plant,
is made up of machinery which roughly separates
the fibre from the straw, eliminating a portion of
the inner woody part of the flax stalk known as
"shive”. The machinery consists, basically, of a
series of paired, corrugated rollers. The flax straw
is fed between upper and lower rollers which
crush the stalk and allow the shive to fall beneath
the machine where it is removed by a dragline.
Following this separation, the resulting fibre is
baled in tightly compressed bales, loaded in box
cars and shipped to Ecusta and other customers.
In Minnesota the flax scene is similar to that
in California. The notable difference is in the
flax growing area. Flax areas extend over practic
ally the whole state of Minnesota, resulting in that
state’s having a larger flax acreage than California
—since flax is grown there in a relatively small
area. The straw concentration problem is consid
erably more difficult than in California, and, too,
in the Midwestern area the straw must be dried
before processing.
The seed flax straw industry may be looked up
on by the individual Imperial Valley farmers as
no more than a "sideline business”—a means of
picking up a supplementary income from their
flax crop. But when the purchases by California
Central Fibre from individual farmers are com
bined, it no longer appears a "sideline business.”
In 1951 the flax growers received $345,426.53 for
their flax straw—more than 44 times as rriuch as
they received 14 years before. By the end of the
1952 season the Corporation had paid to the Val
ley flax growers approximately $3,750,000 for
flax straw since the first purchases in 1937.'
Yes, 1937 is a year that will be long remem
bered by the flax growers of California—and those
of Minnesota as well.