County Agent Lists Recommendations for Polk County Farmers, Jan. 9, 1920

From the front page of the Polk County News and The Tryon Bee, Jan. 9, 1920

For Polk County Farmers: An Outline of What to Do This Year

By J.R. Sams, County Agent

1^st The soil is fundamental an no matter how fertile we get it, the first crop removed from it leaves is poorer, hence soil building will be an everlasting necessity; and the cheapest and best mode is to grow legume crops, such as cow peas, soy beans, velvet beans, etc., and the vetches and clover, alfalfa, etc.

2^nd We must, after building up our soil, learn a crop rotation that will keep the soil up when once built up.

3^rd Permanent pastures is just as essential to good farming as good corn field and cotton fields.

4^th When good pastures are established then comes good live stock, cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry to consume these good pastures.

5^th Last year we undertook a pure bred poultry project, by which we desire to free Polk county from scrub chickens. These we want to push with all our might this year.

6^th We have undertaken the improvement of swine growing, and a Hampshire Swine Breeders Association has been organized, and we want as many farmers as possible to join this movement and by doing so standardize the hogs of Polk county.

7^th We want to do more community organization work. A farmers club at every school house in the county would be a good thing and is perfectly practical.

8^th We want to do the best Fair work of any county in North Carolina by having a Community Fair in every township in the county.

9^th We want to do the best year of Boys’ corn and other club work we have ever done in the county.

10^th We want to do the best ROUSEMENT work ever done in Polk county. Now some may not know just what kind of work this is. Well, if you don’t, just think of something that ought to be done to help make Polk the best county in North Carolina and lay old and do the thing with all your might and you will be doing your part of the ROUSEMENT.

Now all these things enumerated especially we want to push, and a thousand other things not named. Of these things mentioned, the two most important are Soil Building and Conservation and Permanent Pastures. When the soil is made rich and lots of good pastures build up, then old Polk will cease to be Poke, and will go at a lively pace. We must quit making a joke of ourselves and act in a way that outside people will quit also. The good law-abiding people of Polk county plead with all who are engaged in blockading and all other forms of lawlessness to quit and join with us in constructive farming and other legitimate work which will make Polk county famous for its good crops, its fine soil, and her fine people—which is the best of all crops. God did not make man to be a lawless man. He made him in His own image, and He Expects him to stay in His own image and act to some extent like unto Him. So in this blessed 1920 do our best to make Polk the cleanest and best place on earth to live.