Martin County Ranks Near Top In Average Income Per Farm
All Crops Valued At
$4,260,996 In 1939
Income From Farm
Operations Double
Average For State I
Output Per Farm I* Placed
At $1,771 For the
Year of 1939
? With its ideal climate .^llltr
productive soils, Martin has been
ten S?ilS' Martin has
f .1, i? 15 "Cognized as one
Nnrfhr \ balanced counties in
c. ,Caro'ma and even in the Unit
[d,^'el,N? sma? number refer to
it as the best county or political sub
version m all the world. That is
taking in a lot of territory, to be
sure but the facts, based on the of
ficial United States census for 1940
substantiate the claims and give
CrWhnee,i? the 'ar"r<ach,ng bofsu
lurini! a ?OUnty has "s manufac
tunng and varied industries that are
closely related to agriculture and
nfa i/aSOUrCeS' its 'cadership in
the ?^? r Tlfarming ranks n?ht at
the top. In 1939, Martin County had
an income of $4,260,996 from its agri
ch.iv ratwnUrsu,t8;or $1'771 Pl'r farm
only two counties, New Hanover
fn .h^T' made a better showing
n their farming operations as far
as income per farm was concerned.
The total income, however, in Martin
in* New h"* 'ar greater 'ban it was
of S Ha"over and exceeded that
by nearly $100,000.
h?^ i CoU"ty' with all its tobacco
??d ? P*1" Urm income of only $1 .
lv more !h ^.income was slight
y more than twice as great as that
for Martin. Despite it! vast area
Bertie had a total farm income of
nearly one million dollars less than
Martins, and Beaufort had a total
er^hi>In(^m.e*hardly *20?.??0 great
fn Erf* u Martin' The '"come
grefte? Ton ?a,s about a ">,11,on
$200 WW Halifax had hardly
$200,000 more than received in this
county. Farm income in Martin wa"
Tn Swy ?Ur tlmes grea'cr than it was
in Washington County. There were
NorythS<'rent,et'n COUnt"'s in all of
tanncomer ma W"h a ?reater to
Camhna T "i'276 farms North
Carolina according to the 1940 cen
amount'ofV"'8' 271236 reporUd ">e
frTrf.rf ? products either sold
holdTh1" US"d by ,tU' farm ho"se
r?'d Tllr census shows that the
leading source of mcome on the va"
waiXld c?/ N0rth C.rolina farms
was fie d crops, such as tobacco cot
fiJl ,a" the bke. For instance, the
field crops constituted the maior
wasnasissS
2,225 farms; poultry and poultry
products on 2,486 farms; and other
livestock products on 150 farms
Vegetables harvested for sale were
J?'1?"]" source of income on 1,5 ie
farms, fruits and nuts on 1,115 farms
horticultural specialties on 224
farms; and forest products on 1,094
TThere were 93,465 farms where farm
products used by the farm hous?
.V major source of in
come In other words, on approxi
Sta^ y,Kne;third of the 'srms of the
State, the farm products raised and
conned on the farm were ?e ma
for item produced. These 93 000
farms produced approximately thir
Jorthe"r half million dollars'
^d fn .h ?roducLts and 'bey consum
ed in the household twenty-five and
toUWaTue1'0" d?llarS' W?rth of ,he
As stated above, livestock was the
main source of income on 2,251
farms. The total value of all pro
duction on these farms was $3,048,
000. Livestock sold or traded ac
counted for 58.5 per cent of all val
ues produced on these farms.
Dairy products were the major
source of income on only 2,225 farms.
The value of all farm products on
these farms was slightly in excess
of $9,000,000. Dairy products sold or
traded accounted for three-fourths
of the income on these dairy farms.
Poultry and poultry products were
the main source of income on 2,486
farms with a total output of all
products of $3,879,000. Poultry and
poultry products sold or traded ac
counted for two-thirds of the value
of production on these farms.
Field crops were the major source
of income on 169,710 farms with an
output of $201,584,000. Field crops
sold or traded by these farms ac
counted for more than three-fourths
of the total production. Thus sixty
per cent of all North Carolina farms
are definitely cash-crop farms.
Vegetables were the main source
of income on 1,516 farms, whose to
tal production was $1,974,000. Vege
tables sold accounted for approxi
mately sixty per cent of values pro
duced by these farms. In other words
vegetable specialty farms are of mi
nor importance in this state.
Fruits and nuts constituted the ma
jor sources of income on 1,115 farms,
and the sale of these products con
stituted 715 per cent of their total
production.
Horticultural specialties were the
main source of income on 224 farms
with a total output of $1,138,000.
These farms sold 93.2 per cent of
their total production. These are the
most completely commercial farms
In the state.
SAVE BALING WIRE
Each year faraiers throw away
enough used baling wire to build
three mighty battleships or 3,
000 medium tanks. In other
words, much of the 100,000 tons
of 14- and 15-guage wire used
on the Nation's farms each year
for baling straw and forage
crops is allowed to rust away in
a scrap heap after removal from
the bales.
A great majority of North Caro
lina farms have forests of some sort,
but forest products were the main
source of income on only 1,094
farms. Approximately two-thirds of
the farm income of these farms was
accounted for by forest products
sold. However, farmers consume far
more forest products than they sell.
It may come as a surprise that
farm products used by the farm
household constituted the major
source of income on more than 93,
000 farms, or approximately one
third of all farms in the state.
These farms had a total output of
thirty-seven and a half million dol
lars, or about 400 dollars per farm,
and they consumed in the farm
households more than two-thirds of
the entire production. On these par
ticular farms field crops sold ac
counted for seventeen per cent of
the income, while all other farm
products sold or traded accounted
for only fifteen per cent of the farm
production. Most of these farms are
in the western part of the state. A
large per cent of mountain farms,
especially, fall into the category of
more or less self-sufficing farms.
Another interesting section in the
farm census shows the number of
farms with various ranges of total
farm production. There are approx
imately 39.000 farms whose output
was less than 3250.00 each during
the year 1939. There were 35,000
rarms with an output of from $250
to $399. Some 44,000 farms had an
output of from $600 to $999. There
were over 45,000 farms with an out
put of from $1,000 to $1,499. The
farms with an output of from $1,500
to $2,499 numbered 32,416, and the
lotal output of these farms was ap
proximately $61,000,000, the largest
total of any class. The farms with
an output of from $2,500 to $3,999
totaled 9,859 There were 2,459 farms
with an output of from $4,000 to $5,
999. There were 938 farms with an
nutput of from $6,000 to $10,000, and
rmly 497 farms in the state with an
output of more than $10,000 each.
These were mainly dairy farms and
farms specializing on field crops,
mainly large tobacco and cotton
farms. For instance, Mecklenburg
reports twenty dairy farms, each
of which produced more than $10,
000 worth of products. The value of
dairy products sold by these twen
ty farms was $281,000. Pamlico re
ports seven farms which sold field
crops amounting to $114,000. The to
tal outpuf of these seven farms was
$123,000. Edgecombe reports twen
ly-seven farms in the $10,000 class.
Twenty-five of these sold field crops
amounting to $286,000. Surry Coun
ty reports four dairy farms whose
total sale of dairy products alone for
the year 1939 amounted to nearly
$75,000.
As indicated above, most of the
large income was from either dairy
outfits or large cash-crop units un
der one management. There are a
good many counties in the state with
out a single farmer in the $10,000
output class. Also there are several
instances in the state where an in
dividual or corporation directs or
manages a large number of tenants.
Each tenant is classed as a separate
farm, but the total income of the
management may be far in excess of
ten thousand dollars each. The op
erators of these tenant units may not
even be classed as farmers.
With victory gardens springing up
in new places and with production
approaching a new high, the value
of crops this year will possibly set
a new record.
?
This State Grows
29 Forage Crops
Farmers of North Carolina have
their choice of 29 different forage
crops, says E. C. Blair, agronomist
of the State College Extension Serv
ice, although some of them are bet
ter adapted to certain soil types and
conditions than others. "We are ex
tremely fortunate in this respect,"
Blair stated, "but we are not tak
ing full advantage of our opportun
ities."
Summer legumes include soy
beans, cowpeas, annual lespedeza,
peanuts, velvet beans and kudzu.
Perennial legumes are alfalfa, red
clover, sweet clover, alsike clover
and lespedeza sericea. Winter le
gumes include crimson clover, vetch,
Austrian winter peas, and bur clov
er. Small grains are oats, barley,
whaet and rye. Perennial grasses
are timothy, orchard grass, red top
and tall oat grass. Annual grasses in
clude sorghums, foxtail millett, Jap
anese millet, Johnson grass, sudan
grass and crabgraas.
Seven of these?soybeans, velvet
beans, annual lespedeza, barley,
sweet clover, Austrian winter peas,
and lespedeza sericea?have been
introduced into the State during the
present century, Blair said.
Farm Research
Pays Dividends
Springfield. Mass.?Nestled on the
south side of a low range of wooded
hills in south-central Massachusetts
is an intensive center of agricultur
al research and development to
which, before the war, came visitors
from all over the world. It is the
vegetable trial grounds and plant
industry project operated near the
small village of Feeding Hills by
Eastern States Farmers' Exchange
which serves as the cooperative sup
ply purchasing agency for tens of
thousands of farmers in nine north
eastern states. There, the Farmers'
Exchange owns 16 acres, equipped
with a greenhouse, hotbeds, cold
frames, artificial dryer, and other
farm buildings. Twenty-one acres
in five other outlying plots are also
used in the project, and all of these
facilities are supplemented by final
trials in widely scattered areas on
farms of the cooperative's members.
Principal work involves the test
ing and improvement of vegetable
varieties and strains, but in addition
an extensive study of field corn hy
brids is conducted, as well as such
cultural practices as spacing, fertili
zation, spraying and dusting and the
use of green manures are tested and
?checked.
Dr. Oscar H. Pearson, a national
ly known plant breeder, is in direct
charge of the project and is assisted
by nine year-round helpers and, dur
ing the busy summer season by num
erous other employees, some of them t
Home-Made Torpedo' Boat
An ingenious member of the United Stales Coast Guard is shown pro
pelling his home-made version of the "PT" torpedo boats somewhere
on the east coast. The tin cans on the stern of the tiny craft simulate
depth charges. The details even include elaborate camouflage.
college students who are seeking in
.ensiVe field training during vaca
ion periods
Such a project saves farmers
housands of dollars every year for
n "test tube" sized plantings, the
luds among strains and varieties are
ocated before farmers have invest
ed thousands of dollars in labor and
supplies. Valuable, too, is the isola
ion of strains and varieties which
have superior merit. The plant
breeding work also pays handsome
dividends in the more productive
crops which result on farms of the
cooperative's members.
Farmers and agricultural special
ists from the entire northeast come
year after year to observe the work
being carried on. They are always
welcome and can usually spend as
much time as they want.
Rules of the
Road . . .
STOP AT THROUGH HIGHWAYS
Section 120, Motor Vehicle Laws
of North Carolina?"(a) The State
Highway Commission with reference
to state highways and local authori
ties with reference to highways un
der their jurisdictions are hereby au
thorized to designate main traveled
or through highways by erecting at
the entrance thereto from intersect- j
ing highways signs notifying drivers
of vehicles to come to a full stop be
fore entering or crossing such des
ignated highway, and wherever any
such signs have been so erected it
shall he unlawful for the driver of
an> u 11 ii'U to lull 1 ?? ..top in ubud
ience thereof. That no failure so to
stop, however, shall be considered
contributory negligence per se in
any action at law for injury to per
son or property; but the facts relat
ing to such failure to stop may be
considered with the other facts in
the case in determining whether the
plaintiff in such action was guilty of
con t r ibutory neglige nee.
"(b) No person operating any mo
tor vehicle upon any path, private
or public road shall cross or attempt
to cross, enter upon or attempt to
enter upon any hard surface or im
proved highway intersection the said
path or road without first coming to
a full stop: Provided, that this shall
not apply to any road entering upon
One Revolutionary
Pensioner In 1840
Martin County was well repre
sented in the armed forces during
the revolution, but as far as the
ercords show few of its fighting men
"over received pensions. While a few"
may have been remembered in their
old age, what records are available
show that there was only one prison
er of the revolution in the county in
1840 No amount was mentioned, and
it is believed that the pension was
limited to a few dollars.
Since that^ime the names of many
Civil War veterans were added to
the pension list but they have dis
appeared.
or crossing such^ hard-surfaced or
improved highway unless the road
gnvi-mmg uuUnnity (wlietlier litnte
or county) controlling such high
way shall erect on such road at a
point one hundred or more feet from
the point of entrance into said high
way .a signboard not less than Jour
feet from ground on the right side
of the road, twenty-four inches by
twenty-four inches outside measure^
ments, which shall be painted on yel
low background with word "STOP"
in black letters eight inches high, to
insure warning of the proximity of
the crossing and notice to stop said
motor vehicle."
In plain language, the state law
requires that you bring your car to
a full stop at any highway junction
or intersection marked by a black
and yellow STOP sign
BE THRIFTY...
BE AMERICAN ...
Yonr Tobacco on the
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f.
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