Making the South the Nation's Dairy Center, March 24, 1926

Dairying Will Make Prosperity. . . Steps Being Taken to Make the South Nation’s Dairy Center. . . Prosperity for People

Constructive steps “to make the South the nation’s dairy center” are outlines in an article in the Manufacturers Record, indicating that, instead of being an importer of diary products and ice cream, as at present, the South ‘ere long will ship milk and cream and ice cream to other parts of the country. “There is no reason why the South should not supply the North, the East and the Middle West with dairy products and ice cream; there is every reason why it should,” is virtually a summary of opinions expressed by United States Government officials and other authorities on dairying.

On the production end, farmers are to be encouraged to turn to dairying as a profitable, year-round industry; on the line of distribution, great dairy products and ice ream plants are being established from the Mason and Dixon line to the southern tip of Florida to market the Southern farmers’ milk supply. For the consuming public, this means an ample supply of dairy products and ice cream at reasonable prices.

Whether ice cream was introduced in the United States by Nancy Johnson or Dolly Madison, says this article, it was first produced in quantity in Baltimore by John Fussell, before the Civil War, and artificial ice was first made at Apalachicola, Fla. Now the great dairy and ice cream industry is to be restored to the place of prominence in the South which it occupied many years ago. The dairy industry, instituted over 3000 years ago by Abraham, is to be featured in the modern day progressive South.

Some idea of the magnitude of the ice cream end of the dairy business alone is given by the Government figures showing that from 1914 to 1921 it increased from $55,983,000 to $213,262,000, or 281 per cent, compared with 61.3 per cent in lumber. From 1914 to 1923 it increased 363 per cent.

Also, the Department of Agriculture says, the South is handicapped by “a one-crop system which forces many farmers to borrow money,” while the dairy industry will be profitable in itself and will furnish the farmer with ready cash throughout the year.” . . . .

From the front page of The Roxboro Courier, Wednesday, March 24, 1926

newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073208/1926-03-24/ed-1/seq-1/