Old Fort Keogh an Experiment Station

Turned To Peaceful Pursuits For Benefit Of Montana Farmers - Growing Cattle, Horses,
Hogs, Sheep And Farming Both Dry And Irrigated Land - Always Experimenting.

 

 

The following story of the great changes which have come over old Fort Keogh, is from the Minneapolis Tribune.
Picturesque Old Fort Keogh, famous historical army post, just west of Miles City, has been turned into a peaceful ranch called the U. S. Range experimental station. Here and on the surrounding military reservation embracing an area of more than 57,000 acres of land, the perplexing problems of the cattle and sheep ranching business, of western agriculture and animal husbandry are to be worked out.
One of the principal problems is that of adapting the old-time cattle and sheep ranges to modern methods of feeding and marketing. Here the specialists of the department of agriculture, under E. W. Sheets, chief of the animal husbandry division are co-operating with those of the Montana state college, under C N. Arnett, vice dean of the college, and B. F. Linfield, director of the college experiment station, in tackling these problems on a large and practical scale.

Fort Becomes Ranch

Congress has formally transferred the old fort, used for many years as a “remount station” for supplying the cavalry with horses, from the war department to the department of agriculture. The latter now has charge of its operation and maintenance and of the management of the new experimental work.
The homes formerly occupied by the army officers and enlisted men are now occupied by managers and ranch hands of the station. The other building s are used for administration offices and for housing the animals to be used in the experiments.
The buildings and equipment are valued by the government at more than $200,000, two new barns having been built in 1920, costing $12,000 each. The irrigation pumping plant was put in operation, two silos were built.

Two Railroads Cross It.

Two railroads, the Northern Pacific and the Milwaukee, besides the Yellowstone river cross it. It has about 75 miles of fencing and several miles of good roads. Of its 57,000 acres of land, 2,000 is under irrigation. On the land abundant alfalfa and corn crops can be grown. Beyond lie vast acres of range lands.
The location and topographical characteristics are so typical of the range country that the results obtained will be of great value to many regions of the west which will perhaps never be adaptable to any other type of agriculture except cattle or sheep grazing.
Miles City itself took its name from the old general. It was in existence as a flourishing frontier town long before the advent of the railroads. It was an old and important trading, army and river navigation point; for in the old days the steamboats plied on the Yellowstone river to Miles City from St. Louis, before there was any railroad transportation, bringing in supplies and carrying out buffalo pelts and tongues, the products of the early frontier life tot he east and the south.
Fort Keogh was built in 1877, General Miles arriving in August, 1876 immediately after the Custer massacre, June 26 of the same year.
To the south is to be seen Signal Butte, a high knoll from which the Indians are said to have sent up their smoke signals to those of the Little Big Horn after the departure of Custer and his troopers on their last fatal ride.
Later this same butte was used by the army officers of the fort for sending heliograph messages to the Black Hills of South Dakota, 175 miles away.
The livestock there at present consists of about 800 breeding ewes, 200 head of pure bred Hereford cattle, 20 registered Morgan mares and about 20 grade mares that rae to be bred to the pure bred Belgian stallions.
The cattle and sheep belong to the state of Montana, but the income from them is available to the station. Everything received from their sale is sent to the state college for a fund used in the station experiments.
This year’s plan is to increase the present stand of 200 acres of corn and to grow from 1,000 to 1,500 acres of alfalfa hay. Last year the station had to buy feed, as a hail storm destroyed 500 tons of alfalfa.
A. L. Baker is in charge of the sheep and cattle, R. E. Hutton of the swine and E. b. Brantz of the horses.

Sheep Experiment Started

An interesting experiment has been started with the sheep, which will be of value in two ways; to demonstrate the feeding value of wheat screenings and how to increase the lamb and wool crops by their use.
“The department has been urging the wheat growers,” declared Dr. Sheets, “particularly in the northwestern spring wheat regions, to remove the screenings from their wheat on the farm, and to feed it to live stock.
“This improves the quality and grade of the wheat, obtains a better price and saves for the farm a valuable feed. Screenings are simply a waste or ‘dockage’ is sent to market with the wheat. Only a few experiments have ever been conducted to determine its value as feed, but these have shown good results. The department feels that a few more experiments on this feeding question will show better results.
The sheep are divided into two bands. One band is to be raised and wintered on the range, exactly as sheepmen ordinarily do under the usual conditions.
The other band is to be corralled at night, and fed on mill screenings in troughs, three-quarters of a pound per head daily. The bucks are to be fed two pounds daily.

Accurate Records Kept

Three purebred Rambouillet bucks to every hundred ewes are being used. Every band has its own herder; while one man could tend the whole number if they were all in one flock. Accurate records are being kept on lamb production on weight and quality of wool’ and on the dressing percentage of the lambs.
“If the experimental work at this new station,” continued Dr. Sheets, “is carefully planned and conducted over a period of years, some questions of far-reaching significance should be answered. Some of the changes that have occurred in the west, since the days of the pioneer cattlemen and abundant range; have been troubling not only the west but the nation at large. When range livestock cannot be produced except at a loss the pinch is felt in both the east and west.
“Some economic problems, such as the proper size of the ranch, and of herds and flocks to fit the change conditions of the west are now pressing for solution.
“Many problems in the principles and methods of breeding livestock of suitable feeds to grown, under both dry-land and irrigated conditions; problems of feeding, care and management remains to be worked out. The answers to them will mark a distinct stride forward in agriculture.

To Test Cattle This Year

The cattle experiment is to be started this year. The fattening of beeves on the ranch itself, instead of sending grass-fed steers to the corn belt farms for finishing, is to be tried out.
Feeds such as corn and alfalfa are to be grown on the irrigated land and fed to these beef cattle; as a modern combination of both grazing and fattening on the same ranch. The Hereford calves are to be fed in tow lots, to compare alfalfa hay with the native wheat grass or blue joint hay. Cows will be fed some on alfalfa, others on corn and alfalfa. The swine number 175 head.
Walter B. Ramsay, one of the party and a swine specialist of the International Harvester Co, of Chicago, commented on the hogs as follows: “They have 25 Chester White, 12 Yorkshire and 12 Duroc Jersey sows bred for next spring farrow. During the season just closed they raised a considerable number of hogs of these breeds - mostly on alfalfa pasture and on combinations of various grains that can be grown in Montana and adjacent territory - to determine the best methods of hog raising under dry-farming conditions. Some were finished on corn, tankage, with the alfalfa; others on barley, tankage and alfalfa.

Dressing Percentage Noted

“On going to market the dressing percentages are noted at the slaughter houses on the groups from the several experimental plots.
“I was much impressed with the practical aspects of all this work, and there is nothing in the way of equipment or feeds that would be prohibitive to any rancher and farmers in that vast northwest country. I sincerely believe that the station will be a valuable adjunct and guiding light to profitable, practical farming and ranching.
“The present plans for work with swine include experiments in both feeder pig production and in fattening and finishing.”
Mr. Swartz showed us the barn equipment, made from the willows cut in the river bottoms, instead of expensive steel. Every effort is made to confine conditions to those found on any ordinary ranch.
We spring pigs that were run on alfalfa pasture and fed on pound of equal parts corn and barley until September 15, when they were taken off pasture and fattened until December 1, then shipped to Chicago. There their records were followed through to check up the results.
“We can always raise good corn here,” continued Mr. Swartz, “averaging from 15 to 35 bushels to the acre. Last year we obtained 35 bushels to the acre on 65 acres of Minnesota No. 13 variety on dry land. We are planning a rotation of corn, then alfalfa for four or five years, followed by oats, barley or wheat. We put up 250 tons of ensilage in 1925 and will increase it up about 75 tons this year.
“A wide variety of feed crops can be produced here with absolute certainty under irrigation,” declared Mr. Arnett. “Alfalfa, sweet clover, native hays or blue joint, corn and the various small grain crops can be grown. The grazing lands are typical of those of the great plains country. Some of them have a capacity up to about 50 head of cattle for six months grazing season; while some of the bad-land sections would carry only about 16 to 20 head. (Published in the Hysham Echo February 18, 1926 & December 6, 2013)

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