yield benefits to flax as well as to other crops in
the farm program.
Personal contact in the survey with over 1500
farmers served well as a person to person advertis
ing campaign for use of the various weed controls
considered. This illustrates too the importance
placed on getting the right information into
farmers’ hands. Splendid cooperation of the flax
seed crushers’ agricultural office, the Flax Develop
ment Committee, was a major factor in bringing
weed control emphatically to farmers’ attention.
Working closely with this group, attractive book
lets and newspaper ads, posters, color movies and
educational meetings helped to keep the better
methods of handling flax foremost in farmers’
minds. The combined efforts of the Minneapolis
Crop Improvement Office and cooperating groups
resulted in the highest acreage, the highest in
come per acre and the highest seed yield farmers
had ever experienced, in 1947 and 1948. Much
of this grew out of the desire on the part of Mr.
Straus to see farmers prosper with the fast grow
ing specialty light weight linen paper industry
to which they supplied seed flax fibre.
As Dr. Brookins says, "Many other factors
have contributed to the present success. We can
expect to see further striking results in the near
future, for the job is really just begun. These are
the results of team work, cooperation, vision and
free enterprise.”
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1.ji
This Minnesota farmer, like
thousands more, found his
flax on August plowed land
in 1948 yielded 3 bushels
more seed per acre than his
neighbor’s because of better
weed control. And besides,
he had clean straw to sell.
Studying results of farm
handling of flax. Dr. W. W.
Brookings, Agronomist of
Central Fibre Corporation,
considers how to interest
more farmers in adopting the
best practices.