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news record
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUjLS?K. ? 'I1
I ? i c n ^ ' 1
GENERAL del t
Marshall
Vol 84 No- 4 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, n.i WEDNESDAY nuary 25, 1984
25c
Better Management
Means Better Profits
. By KUHtKI RUEN1U
Farm prices and weather
conditions may remain un
predictable, but future farm
profits can be made by
farmers who practise good
management. That was the
message more than 200
Western North Carolina
farmers heard last week at a
meeting at Lake Junaluska
sponsored by the N.C.
Agricultural Extension Ser
vice.
"Managing for Profit^",
was the name of the day-long
seminar that brought farmers
together with extension ser
vice specialists. Discussions
of the present farm market,
forecasts for the future, an up
date of current government
farm policies and a discussion
on dealing with the stress of
farming were some of the
topics covered at the seminar.
More that 40 Madison County
farmers and extension service
agents attended the meeting.
Dr. Dale Hoover of North
Carolina State University
discussed government tobac
co policy for 1984. Hoover said
that the freeze on price sup
ports will probably continue
through 1985, resulting in a 10
percent loss in farm income as
production costs continue to
increase. He said he expected
a program aimed at reducing
imports and government held
tobacco stocks to take effect
sometime in the coining year.
Hoover told the farmers that
the direction of farm pro
grams in 1965 will be decided
in the 1984 elections. He warn
ed the farmers, "It's going to
be very difficult to cut off im
ports and we can't do much
about price supports."
Dr. Billy Caldwell of N.C.
State spoke on refining
management skills. He urged
the farmers to "work more
with our heads ihstead of our
hands" by planning crops that
can be profitable.
Among the areas Caldwell
cited were pest managment,
erosion control and proper fer
tilization. He warned fanners
against over fertilizing their
tobacco fields. "Too much
nitrogen is harmful to your
crop." he said, "It results in
red or dark cured leaf and
causes the tobacco to fail to
.-ripen quickly after topping.
This makes you late getting it
into the barn and does nothing
to increase the yield."
Caldwell also urged the
farmers to carefully read
pesticide instructions to make
sure they have the right
chemical for the problems.
Rotating corps, Caldwell said,
helps prevent the erosion pro
blems common to mountain
area farms.
He urged the farmers to in
vest in pasture land, adding
clover and fertilizer where
needed. Better use of pasture
land, he reminded the
farmers, will reduce feed
costs in winter.
Dr. A.A. DeHertough spoke
on quality, urging farmers to
produce firstrate farm com
modities. "Don't forget, we're
not just in competition with
the farmer in the next county
or the next state, we're in
competition with the world."
He urged farmers to take
advantage 'of soil tests offered
by the extension service. Only
15 percent of N.C. farmers
currently use the service.
"How can you know what to
put into the ground if you don't
know what it needs?" DeHer
togh pointed out that soil tests
can save farmers money they
might spend on unneeded fer
tilizer.
He also recommended the
use of time-release fertilizers
as a means of reducing labor
costs.
Staggered plantings can in
crease profitability by allow
ing for better management of
crop6. He said that farmers
who are first to market often
do not realize the best price
for their crops.
Before going into a new
crop, he advised starting slow
ly with a limited planting.
1 "Don't go overboard with a
new crop until you're comfor
table with it. Study the market
to determine the demand
before planting."
DeHertogh urged the
farmers to maintain good
records. "Be a 12-month
farmer, even if you're a part
time farmer. Plan ahead for
quality, not just quantity."
Waynesville extension
livestock specialist Dr.
Beecher Allison addressed the
seminar on livestock manage
ment. He urged livestock pro
ducers to conduct tests of
winter forage to determine
nutrient content. He pointed
out that, while soy bean meal
costs more than no-protein
feed, the rate of return on feed
costs is better with soybean
meal.
Practising good health
management also increases
profitability according to
Allison. "There's a $5-6 return
for every dollar spent on
disease control.'' he said.
Allison said that there was
new interest in sheep among
livestock producers. He said
that there was a potential for
profit in sheep, if managed
properly, and advised the
farmers that marketing their
sheep at the proper time was
most important.
Rick Hamilton discussed
forestry and pointed out that
several tax advantages are
available to farmers
reforesting their farmland.
Hamilton advised farmers to
study the market carefully
before jumping in to
Christmas tree production. He
said that yellow poplar has
recently been approved for
use in home construction and
said the approval should spark
profits in WNC. Hamilton said
that there are good markets
for quality wood in N.C., par
ticularly in the furniture in
dustry which presently im
ports half of the quality wood
now used. Timber, Hamilton
told the farmers, is an ex
cellent hedge against Infla
tion.
Discussing the business of
agriculture, Dr. Jim Stan
daert of N.C. State urged the
farmers to monitor market
prices carefully in order to
predict future market trends.
He also said that a careful in
spection of production costs
could reveal areas in which
savings could be made.
Standaert showed the
farmers a labor cost analysis
of several crops. According to
Standaert, tomatoes require
some 150 manhours labor per
acre while cabbage requires
only 42.
Standaert urged farmers to
consider bulk or out of season
fertilizer purchases iun order
to cut costs.
Extension economist Geoff
Benson recommended that
fa i Triers keep detiftied finan
cial records in order to
monitor a farm's profitability.
Benson pointed out that good
management is vital to the
modern farmer. According to
figures supplied by Benson,
the typical good dairy farm
manager made $24,579 more
than the average dairy
manager and $41,870 more
than the poorest dairy
managers last year.
Farming Is A Stressful Business
By ANN MURPHY
. A
Everyone suffers from
stress from time to time, and
farmers are no exception.
Human Development
Specialist Leo Hawkins told a
group of farmers Thursday.
Hawkins, who works
through the N.C. Agricultural
Extension Service, was one of
SO speakers at the service's
western district Managing
For Profit in 'M meeting held
at Lake Junaluska. He shared
statistics from research done i
with Midwestern farmers on
those things which cause the I
most stress in the life of a 1
farm family. i
"Farming is one of the 10 I
most stressful occupations," i
Hawkins said. "Hiis problem 1
is real and we need to deal |
with it." i
The No. 1 cause of stress for j
the farmers interviewed was 1
County GUP
Makes Plans
Madison County
Republican* met last Thurs
day night to plan their
strategy for upcoming elec
tions. Seven members attend
ed the planning session held at
the Madison County Court
House. County chairman C. N.
Willis announced the dates for
the Republican conventions
Willis said that precinct elec
lions should be concluded
before Feb 11 and set March
10 as the tentative date for the
county convention.
The Uth District convention
be held April 7 in
Ashevilie and the state con
11 in Raleigh Willis said that
Martin, "Jim Martin's a good
candidate, I believe that he's
better than anything the
Demorats have to offer."
Attempts to find a candidate
to oppose Rep. Lis ton Ramsey
have proven unsuccessful,
Willis said. He added that the
party would field candidates
for both tax collector and
register of deeds, the only
county offices to M decided
this year. Willis did not iden
tify any potential candidates
but said that he expected one
candidate would file at the last
minute. Feb. ? is the deadline
for filing for office la the May
primary.
"a day when nothing goes
right."
"This is how those Midwest
farmers described it,"
Hawkins said. "'You come out
n the morning and half the
logs are out. Then it starts to
-ain when you want to cut hay.
?ou smash your thumb while
rixing the tractor, and the
nail brings you a notice that
i'ou are overdrawn at the
>ank."'
Smiles and chuckles from
the audience confirmed that
Haywood County farmers had
experienced similar hard-luck
days.
Hawkins listed disease in
livestock and crops as the se
cond most stressful farming
situation, and surprised the
audience with the third stress
factor on his list ? divorce.
"If you want to ruin your
farm, just try and get a
divorce," Hawkins said.
"Divorce is moving out of the
cities and into the country.
Years ago divorce was almost
unknown among rural
families, but it's happening
more and more."
Fourth on the list of stress
related farm problems was il
lness, followed by the transfer
of a farm to children near the
end of a farming career, hav
ing a second job with farming
I
anybody can handle," he con
tinued. He emphasized not let
ting emotions get out of con
trol, talking things out and
seeking help from objective,
non-family members as
safeguards against excess
stress within the farm family.
Another thing to remember,
Hawkins said, is that
economic factors which may
cause hardship are beyond the
farmer's control. He listed
money paid for credit, costs of
supplies, rising land values,
unemployment or the
unavailability of labor and
market prices as some of
these uncontrolable factors.
Hawkins said he was sur
prised to learn in his research
that farmers didn't get enough
sleep regularly. Another bad
habit linked to farmers, he
said, was not taking the time
to eat regular meals during
busy seasons. Boh these habits
could bring on excess stress,
h&said.
"Farmers and American J
men in general do not ex|
their feelings," Hawkins
ed. "But talking out your
biems can be a saf<
against stress." He
maintaining an
membership in farm
?such as Y<
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE Liston Ramsey
addressed meeting of WNC Tomorrow last
Thursday at Mars Hill College. Ramsey urg
ed WNC counties to apply for block grants.
Countywide
Telephone
To Be Studied
The feasibility of promoting
a telephone exchange for
Madison County will be ex
plored by the Council of
Madison County community
Development Clubs.
At the quarterly meeting of
the council, held Jan. 12 at the
Senior Citizens Center, Mar
shall, Karte Wise suggested
promoting the exchange as a
project for 1984 and
volunteered to obtain data on
cost before conducting a poll
to determine public senti
ment.
Wise explained that the base
bill of telephone customers is
expected to go up 30 percent as
the result of government
ordered breakup of AT&T
holdings. He said that after
that base rate is determined
he will consult with telephone
company officials to deter
mine the cost to customers of
a county-wide exchange for
Madison County. Such an ex
change would eliminate long
distance charges for calls
made within the county.
Such an exchange would be
beneficial to those who make
many long-distance calls,
Wise said, but those who make
few calls may find it cheaper
to continue under the present
system. But without the long
distance charges many per
sons will probably make more
calls.
After cost data is obtained a
citizens' survey would be
made to determine public sen
timent for or against a
telephone exchange for the
county.
Commenting on last year's
community development ef
forts, Wise said it was "a very
good year" and said he was
proud of the awards won in the
regonal competitions.
Mi*. Ruth Gregory, of the
regional steering committee,
reported that no changes were
made in the sizes of com
munities A, B and C
categories for the 1984 com
petition. She said the commit
tee feels that more should be
done with the mobile homes
and senior citizens programs.
Wise said that those plann
ing to enter the mobile home
competition should make their
plans early in order to ac
complish them before the
judging later this year. He
said more clubs need to be
organized in the county and
suggested that Ammons
Branch, Fisher Lane, Hayes
Run, Bull Creek and Hopewell
are possibilities, since
residents of those areas seem
interested in beautification.
Dr. Evelyn Underwood
reported that the 400th an
niversary of N. C. committee
hasn't met yet and no definite
plans have been made on a
proposed historic tour of the
state that would include a visit
to Manteo and the Outer
Banks.
The next council meeting
will be in March.
COURT Jt >GF
ALEX I LVERLY
Jury Finds
__ /
Paynes Guilty
After deliberating for more
than six hours over the course
of two days, a Superior Court
jury found both Ruben and
Tilda Payne of Little Pine
guilty of charges of manufac
turing a controlled substance
with intent to distribute. The
jury returned the verdict on
Thursday, completing the
four-day trial.
Superior Court Judge Chase
Saunders sentenced Ruben
Payne to four years in prison
and recommended Payne be
eligible for work release. Mrs.
Payne received a suspended
two-year prison sentence and
a $500 fine. She was also
ordered to pay court costs and
tour the Madison County jail
and will serve five years
supervised probation.
Murder charges against
Robert Haven Payne were
dismissed in Superior Court
last Friday when judge Chase
Saunders found insufficient
evidence for the second
degree murder charges Payne
faced.
Marshall
Board Meets
Marshall mayor Betty Wild
and the town's aldermen held
a special meeting Monday
morning in Town Hall. The
meeting was the fourth girth
special session called since
Wild took office in December.
Mayor Wild met with board
members John Dodson and
Sammy Lunsford. The third
board member, Ed Niles, did
not attend the Monday
meeting.
The meeting was called to
discuss the town sewer pro
ject. Engineer Bill Lapsley
briefly addressed the open
sessym. according to the
minutes.
Mayor Wild announced that
the town has six spaces
available for pairing in its
Main Street lot. She said she
would approach county
employees working in the
court house to see if there is in
terest in leasing the spaces.
Wild also announced that
the newly formed recreation
committee would meet
Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
When board member Sammy
Lunsford said that several
members appointed to the
committee were not Marshall
residents, Wild answered say
ing, "They are active in the
community and they care
about kids, that's the most im
portant thing.
Marshall Elementary
Shcool principal Fred Haynie
met with the board to discuss
plans (or the school's athletic
6el4. Uajwc (insisted that
children be given priority over
adult softball and the mayor
and board members agreed
Haynie offered to work on
scheduling the various teams
that wish to use the field. He
said he would give out
schedules on a first come, first
(Continued on Page 2)
DOT Offers
Agreement
Although Marshall town of
ficials aren't discussing the
sewer project publically these
days, a letter from the DOT
District Engineer to Marshall
mayor Betty Wild shed some
light on the project's current
situation.
DOT District Engineer Earl
Mclntire wrote to mayor Wild
on Jan. 20 to explain the most
recent agreement between
DOT and Marshall regarding
repairs to be made to portions
of roadway damaged durini
the construction of the new
sewer system. Mclntire sup
plied a copy of the letter to The
News Record on Monday,
In his letter, Mclntire in
formed the mayor that the
terms of the DOT'S original
agreement called for the
towmn to restore damaged
roadways to their original con
dition. The agreement was
made between DOT and the
administration of former Mar
shall Mayor Lawrence Ponder
(Continued on Page 10)
Judge Lyerly Files
For Re-election
Judge Alexander Lyeriy, of
Banner Elk, District Court
Judge of the 24th Judicial
District, Madison County, fil
ed for nomination in the May
I, Republican Primary with
the North Carolina State
Board of Elections on January
3. Judge Lyeriy filed for re
election to the judgeship he
was first elected to in 1M0
Lyeriy is a lifelong t esident
of Banner Elk, having attend
ed Avery County public
schools, Lees-McRae College
and Appalachian State
University After teaching in
~ ? .]
Association, 24th Judicial
District Bar Association, the
Administration of Justice
Committee at the N. C. State
Bar, American Bar Associa
tion, American Judicature
Society, International Bar
Association, and various other
organizations He is also cer
tified as a judge specialist in
Juvenile Law
Judge Lyerly is married to
the former Breads Elaine
Smith and has one ton, Ketr.
He is the son of Cariyne Ban