Farm News from Lenoir, Columbus and Rowan Counties, 1944

From the November 1944 issue in The Southern Planter

Down in Lenoir County, John E. Smith has a permanent pasture consisting 40 acres seeded to Dallas grass, Kentucky bluegrass, white Dutch clover and lespedeza. All summer, this 40 acres has provided adequate grazing for 65 head of Angus beef cattle and the other day, Mr. Smith cut an average of a ton of good hay per acre from the pasture. The beef cattle could not keep it grazed down. Edmund Aycock, farm agent, says the pasture is one of the best that he has seen in the State and shows what may be expected when a pasture soil is well prepared for seeding, if fertilized, and heavily seeded. The pasture has been clipped regularly all summer and few weeds can be seen in it. “It definitely answers the question as to whether an Eastern Carolina crop farmer can have a good pasture,” Aycock said.

Forestry Management

“The other day a colored farmer came into my office and asked that our extension forester come out to his place and estimate the timber trees available on an 85-acre tract on his farm,” observed Charles D. Raper, farm agent in Columbus County.

The farmer wanted the forester to help him sell his timber to best advantage because, as he reasoned, there is a demand for all of the lumber that can be cut at this time, and he said, “I owe a little on my farm and I figure this is one of the best ways I can get out of debt.”

The owner only wanted to sell enough of the trees to pay off his debt so that he could meet the after-war situation without owing anyone.

Cows Gather Hay

Winter grazing and winter hay production are reducing the cost of producing milk in Rowan County because they help to increase the milk flow and because the cows can harvest the crops more economically than does the scarce and high-priced labor. For that reason, the acreage to small grains and clovers has been greatly increased throughout the county this fall.

The experience of C.A. Brown of Cleveland is a good example. Mr. Brown seeded 7 ½ acres of good land to a mixture of barley, vetch and rye grass in august of last year and because he seeded early, he was able to get considerable grazing that fall as well as the following spring. He removed the cows from the field early enough to harvest a crop of barley for grain and produced 36 bushels an acre. The field had previously supplied over 1,900 cow-days of grazing.