Farm News Across N.C., July 1956

“Around the State” as published in the July 1956 issue of Extension Farm-News

PERSON COUNTY

Marvin McCoy of the Lee Jeffers section of Person County agrees that it usually pays to follow a county agent’s advice. Negro County Agent C.J. Ford says that he recently visited McCoy’s farm and the farmer pointed out a particular cow, explaining that she is the granddaughter of a cow that Ford persuaded McCoy to buy several years ago.

McCoy says that the cow cost him $165 and “I thought it was a fool thing to do, but I didn’t say anything about it.”

Now he says he would have been very foolish not to have taken Ford’s advice. He says he sold the original cow for $265, sold the Community Bull Association one of her purebred registered bull calves for $200, and sold farmers in the county two heifers at a nice price.

The offspring of the original heifer is giving a “10 gallon bucket of milk twice a day,” and isn’t for sale at any price, declares McCoy.

SANFORD

Turkeys, like small children, seem to spend a good portion of their time just looking for dangerous situations. The wise turkey grower can anticipate some, but not all, of these. Marvin Burns of Sanford, Route 4, thought he had his poults pretty well protected, but one night he forgot to put a lid on a feed drum, and 30 of his young birds jumped into it and smothered, Zane Futrell, assistant county agent, reports.

BOONVILLE

Add another convert to the “silo congregation.” He’s James Speer of Boonville who fed 15,000 pounds of silage to each of his cows last year, and in return received an extra 1,295 pounds of milk from each, reports County Agent R.D. Smith.

McDOWELL

C.S. Randolph of Nebo, Route 1, thought he was “left out in the cold” as far as growing tobacco was concerned, when he bought a McDowell County farm which had no tobacco allotment. But then he heard about aromatic tobacco. R.H. Crouse, State College Extension agronomy specialist, says that Randolph is growing an acre of aromatic tobacco this year for the first time. Crouse points out that present methods of handling and curing aromatic tobacco make this type of tobacco attractive to many farm families.

LUMBERTON

Stinston Revels of Lumberton, Route 3, found out to his sorrow that 2,4-D isn’t particular which broad-leaved weeds it kills. He sprayed a field of corn next to his tobacco field and the weed killer drifted enough to damage 1 ½ acres of tobacco. G.T. Rodgers, assistant county agent, advised Revels to set a plant between the damaged tobacco and break the tops out of the old plants to let a sucker come out.

TAYLORSVILLE

Willie Childers of Taylorsville, Route 4, has run across some bugs which aren’t very nice. They’re called harlequin cabbage bugs. Alexander County Assistant Agent Haskell L. Shealy says that Childers dusted with 20 per cent Sabadilla dust, which made good (dead) bugs of them.

FREMONT

Waitus West and his son, Tommy, of Fremont, Route 1, definitely saw the value of a farrowing crate demonstrated recently. Wayne County Assistant Agent William S. Lamm says that the Wests were building two crates, but two sows farrowed at the same time before both crates were finished. The sow which was placed in the crate saved 13 out of 14 pigs, while the one farrowing under an ordinary shelter saved only 8 out of 12.

PLEASANT GROVE

Mrs. J.B. McNeil of the Pleasant Grove Community saved 200 pounds of fertilizer on her corn, but she isn’t a bit happy about it. C.J. Jones, assistant Negro agent in Sampson County, relates that Mrs. McNeil gave a helper instructions to put 400 pounds of 5-1-1- under her corn and plant it. After the corn was up, Mrs. McNeil discovered 200 pounds of fertilizer in the shed. Further investigation revealed that the helper put only 200 pounds under the corn. Jones advised her to put the other 200 pounds on when she cultivated.

CLAYTON

Things aren’t always at they seem, B.E. McLamb of Clayton, Route 1, will swear to that. Johnston County Assistant Agent W.G. Maxwell says that McLamb had an 8-acre field of wheat last year. When the field became green this year, McLamb thought the wheat had volunteered. He had the field measured by the A.S.C. office and top dressed it, hoping to make a good crop of wheat. He made a good crop all right—one of the prettiest crops of rye grass around.

COLUMBUS COUNTY

W.A. Mahoney, superintendent of the Columbus County prison camp, admits that his guineas may be noisy fowl that don’t lay many eggs, but they do have a long suit. County Assistant Agent Victor H. Lytton says that Mahoney’s guineas roam over the fields at the prison farm. And as they go, they gobble up insects at a terrific rate. They’re so good that Mahony says he wouldn’t trade them for a hundred pounds of insecticide.

RANDLEMAN

Dewitt Richardson of Randleman, Route 1, is thoroughly convinced now that a good boar can really make a difference in the profit and loss column. Randolph County Assistant Agent E.M. Stallings says that Richardson is using a Minnesoto No. 1 boar for the second year. He also bought another boar and used him for half his 30 sows the last breedings. The sons and daughters of the Minnesoto boar were larger, there were fewer runts, and the litters averaged three more pigs.

JACKSON

The value of a good Ladino clover-fescue pasture was recently dramatically illustrated to Buck Turner of near Jackson in Northampton County. Assistant County Agent Bruce H. Woodard says that Turner, a dairyman, started letting his dairy cows graze the lush new pasture for the first time this spring. His milk average of 85 pounds for winter quickly jumped to 105 pounds. Yes, he’s planning to expand his pasture program soon.

TRENTON

A junked automobile may not be pretty, but it can be useful. Walter Jarmon, a Negro Farm and Home Development Family of Trenton, Route 2, converted an old car into a brooder for 115 chickens, which he started in the spring. Negro County Agent Fletcher Barber reports Jarmon lost only one chick, and the lot averages two pounds now. He will freeze the roosters and save the pullets for egg production.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

John Lee Wilder of the Mitchiners community, Franklin County, agrees that a little nitrogen goes a long way on grass pasture. Assistant County Agent L.C. Hasty says that Wilder had one pasture with a fair stand of fescue but no clover and no grazing. He applied 200 pounds of 20.5 per cent nitrogen early in March. “The nitrogen fertilizer really paid off in early grazing and increasing feed production,” Wilder enthusiastically proclaims.

MACON COUNTY

It looks like school is being conducted in the Charles Ferguson home in Holly Springs community. Macon County Assistant Agent Roy W. Isley says that Ferguson put up a bulletin board and black board on which he posts information on livestock, hay, and other farm products he has for sale. He also lists machinery he plant so use so that the family can answer inquiries from neighbors wanting to borrow machinery. Now there’s no misunderstandings when the man of the house is not at home.

AVERY COUNTY

Onard Winters, test demonstration farmer at Elk Park, is convinced that a small farmer can compete with the big mechanized farmer. But only if he utilizes his time between crops. Avery County Agent Sam Cartner says that Winters is developing a small nursery, has 10 beef cows, produces one-half acre of burley tobacco, two acres of beans and cabbage, and enough hay to feed his cattle. It’s a safe bet that Winters stays busy all year.

JONES COUNTY

Even a stubborn sow can offer little resistance to the machine age. Jones County Agent J.R. Franck says that a sow belonging to I.H. Eubanks of Trenton, Route 1, can attest to this. Franck says that Eubanks wanted to move the brood sow from one lot to another but several attempts to drive her failed. Not to be outdone, Eubanks passed several ropes under the sow’s body while she was eating corn, and attached the ropes to a power lift on his tractor. Then he lifted the protesting sow off the ground and deposited her safely in the other lot.

GLEN ALPINE

Norvil Clonts, 13, of Glen Alpine was selected forester of the week at the 1956 North Carolina 4-H Forestry Camp at Millstone. Clonts received the honor and a briefcase as a reward for scoring the highest on a written examination given near the end of the week-long event. He competed against 95 other 4-H Club members. Delegates chosen from the camp were the 4-H Club members with the outstanding forestry records in their counties last year.

FARM ELECTRIFICATION COUNCIL

J.A. Ward, Rose Hill farmer, was elected chairman of the N.C. Farm Electrification Council at its annual meeting held at State College in late May. Ward succeeds J.N. Howard of Greensboro. Other new officers are James McBrayer, Williamston, vice chairman; and H.C. Klose, Raleigh, treasurer. E.S. Coates of Raleigh was relected secretary.

N.C. STATE COLLEGE, RALEIGH

Dr. D.W. Colvard, dean of the School of Agriculture at N.C. State College, judged the Holstein cattle show at the National Livestock Exposition, Lima, Peru, May 16-19. While there he conferred with a School of Agriculture research team on assignment in Peru.

Mamie Whisnant, Extension home management specialist, has won a scholarship to attend an Agricultural Extension Workshop in family financial management at the University of Tennessee. Twenty-eight scholarships, valued at $100 each, were given by the Institute of Life Insurance to personnel in the southern states and Puerto Rico.

Dr. J.W. Pou, head of the department of animal husbandry at N.C. State College, was one of the five agricultural college leaders who selected the 10 outstanding agricultural college students to receive Ralston Purina Fellowships for graduate study during the 1956-57 school year. Pou met recently in St. Louis to assist in the selection.

Dr. J.M. Jenkins, research professor of horticulture at State College and breeder of the “smoothie” cucumber, was selected “Tar Heel of the Week” by Raleigh’s News and Observer recently.