Farm News from Across North Carolina, September 1954

“Personal Mention” by Frank Jeter, Extension Editor, N.C. State College, Raleigh, as published in the September, 1954, issue of Extension Farm-News

It’s not unusual for rural people to assume responsibility when their farm income is endangered. It is unusual, however, when they agree by a 9 to 1 vote to pay for needed research and educational work beyond the reach of ordinary state appropriations.

North Carolina farmers did that three years ago and helped to provide additional funds for 38 different, new and additional projects administered under the direction of their State College of Agriculture, its Experiment Station and Extension Service. It was a vote of confidence. Nor has that confidence been abused.

Dean D.W. Colvard* tells with pride how the extra money, allocated by the Board of the Agricultural Foundation, has been used over the past three years. Director Ralph Cummings asserts that the money received by the Experiment Station has financed badly needed research, and Director David Weaver* says he has been able to supply needed services demanded by the people.

The money they used came from the donation or the gift of a lone 5 cents per ton on fertilizer and feed sold in the state. The 5 cents has returned its value manifold times in dollars. So again, the Agricultural Foundation and its Board of Directors go back to the people for a continuation of this authorization on October 15. That’s the date of the vote. That’s the date when each individual connected in any way with the upbuilding and ongoing progress of North Carolina’s rural life is expected to vote.

This modest magazine believes the people will give a resounding majority to another three years of hearty support to the idea. It’s a place where North Carolina leads the nation. It’s a place where the farm people and their educational institutions work together for the common good. It’s of value to everyone, of harm to none.

So, each person who feeds a chicken, a hog, a cow or a lam, or who uses a package of plant food for bigger yields per row, per plot, per field or per farm has the privilege of voting and the privilege of sharing in the forward march of North Carolina’s rural life.

We start another new thing this late summer also. That’s the farm-unit form of extension work. No one likes that designation, so suggest a better one. Anyway, North Carolina is starting the new kind of Extension in 14 counties. It will work with the whole farm family, and encompass the entire farm, not a project of a beautified room, or controlling nematodes in a tobacco field, or even adding a bunch of aristocratic dairy cows. It’s all that and more. It’s whatever may be decided upon by the farmer and his family for the better economic structure of the whole farm, after studying the situation and taking steps to improve it. So, give it a name. We named Nickels for Know-How. You name this one.

Director Weaver has been honored by Secretary Benson as consultant with a group of outstanding national leaders to advise on “resource conservation problems.” He attends the first meeting of the group in Washington, September 29-30.

The new animal diseases research and diagnostic laboratory is now open for business and Dr. J.c. Osborne, head of the veterinary section in the Department of Animal Husbandry, invites your specimens and cooperation. The new laboratory is on the Western Outlet, or perhaps we should say on Dean Schaub’s Boulevard. It is conducted in cooperation with Commissioner Ballentine’s Veterinary Department. By the way, we wish every state were fortunate enough to have a Commissioner of Agriculture like that fellow. But they don’t. He’s one in 48.**

Our new television studio is out there too. Visit both at your first opportunity.

W.A. Stephen, the beeman, and his up-coming state Association held a successful meeting at Western Carolina College at Cullowhee. They awarded life memberships to F.R. Jordan of Wilmington, J.W. Dickson of Brevard, and G.D. Ratley of Red Springs. Mr. Jordan, now 81, is “Dean of Beekeepers” in the state and even now works with his sons in handling over 1,000 colonies.

Did you know there is an average of 20 persons in the usual African family? Neither did we until Julie Eweka of Nigeria began to visit over North Carolina this summer to study our kind of farming. Julie says whenever a child married in Nigeria, the old folks add another room to the family home. That’s the way it’s done at his home, and he says it works. Maybe so, maybe so. But it wouldn’t work here, despite Mrs. Corrine Grimsley’s teaching about one big happy family.

Paul Sanders said the 17 farm magazine editors brought to the campus on August 19 by the Paul Truitt’s American Plant Food Council decided that the North Carolina visit was perhaps the highlight of their tour. He congratulated Ralph Cummings and Bill Colwell for the interesting and complete arrangements made.

Henderson apple growers also did a good job celebrating their eighth annual Apple Festival at Hendersonville on September 1. Dwight Bennett said the occasion had the solid backing of the newly organized Apple Growers Association. Among the luscious sampling of fruits on display was 30 beauty queen contestants from as many communities.

The last of the 100 North Carolina to be organized into a Soil Conservation District is Transylvania and Frank Doggett sighed with happiness as the State Soil Conservation Committee accepted the petition from that county.

The link from “Manteo to Murphy” has been made complete now that Billy Parker of the Slow Creek community in Cherokee County has found, and is taming, a gull-like bird which swallows a fish at a gulp. L.V. McMahan, assistant to the teller of tall tales, George Farley, reports this final linking and says the folks of Cherokee feel they are now one with the folks on the Outer Banks of Dare.

Speaking of swallowing fish, Virgil Holloway says 250 Madison County folks ate white perch fillets, hush puppies, cole slaw and hot potatoes for three hours the other evening at the Old Mill Wheel on Laurel River. It was the biggest fish fry every held in that part of the state.

Bill Chuber of Iredell tops that with a whopper of about 450 poultry growers consuming 675 pounds of barbecued chicken at the Iredell Fari Grounds, with appropriate string music all the while.

Tyrrell and Chowan Counties, each, held fired chicken dinners in August with sweet Sound-side watermelons as desert to celebrate something. All anyone in Eastern Carolina needs to throw a fish fry, an evening picnic or a barbecue in August, is just the suggestion. The ordinary North Carolina citizen will drive 65 miles to get a free plate of barbecue. That is, the kind of barbecue cooked in open pits between Raleigh and the Atlantic Ocean.

Those eastern Carolina folks want more milk also. Clarence Chappell Jr. of Belvidere is wiping out a blot on Perquimans County by establishing its first and only commercial dairy.

The special Tobacco Edition of the Washington News was dedicated to the farm women of Beaufort County.

Word comes from Catawba, Surry, and countless other counties that their summer tours were happy and informative occasions.

Stuart Noblin of the State College History Department has written a 25-year history of the State Grange to help celebrate the Silver Anniversary of this valuable farm organization on September 27.

Joe Powell tells the story of how R.L. Corbett of Macclesfield is growing 400 goslings. Here again is proved the versatility of Ladino clover. The growing geese spent the summer on the Ladino pasture.

Dry weather not only hurts crops and farmers but it hurts the fishing business. Earl Wade of Williston, Carteret County, says the season has been tough on professional shrimpers and fishermen of his section because “too many people are trying to make a living fishing.” “Miss Hattie” reports 2,277 clippings recovered in July with 4-H leading the recoveries clipped.

Finally, our manners to Craven, Davidson, Moore and Hertford counties for the well-plaqnned county booklets telling of their united agricultural programs.

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*D.W. Colvard was Dean of Agriculture at N.C. State College in Raleigh, and David S. Weaver was director of the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service.

**Our Commissioner of Agriculture was 1 in 48 because there were only 48 states in the union in 1954. Hawaii and Alaska hadn’t achieved statehood at that point.