North Carolina Newspapers

PUBLISH FD EVEBY ,Pl-^ W ? PUBLISHED ITUI mondat The Mountaineer s ^ monday ' ^ = OUR SOIL ? OUR STRENGTH = Soil Conservation News 08 Haywood Farmers Joined Soil Program During 1955 ^SHK- . ? ? mm By ROy R. BECK Soil Ceeeerratien Specialist Hiyw4 County Soil Conservs tion District Supervisor*, with th< cooperation of firmer* and the ait of SCS technicians, other agenclet and group* got conservation farm ing off to a good start in thia new ly organized Soil Conservation Dis trict. Over 100 fanners started bringing into reality the science o< using and treating land according to tU capabilites for protecton and improvement. , Yes. conservation measures help ed manystohservatlon farmers pro tect and 'Improve their land and water resources, thereby increasing crop yield* and farm income. Ero sion urttfrr control on land that was washing away la an aocompllahment for any farmer. Mark Scott, with a farm at the head of Wilson Cove In Beavcrdam community, reports sucn results from Ofle yesr of conservation farming. Mark reports: "Washing controlled by contour strip-crop ping In Just one year." Mr. Scott started k three-year contour-strip grass-bamd rotation last year. While his neighbors literally, watch ed and waited. Thia spring. Mr. Scott says: "I'll strip-crop the rest of the hill just as soon as I get the big rocks shoved off py a bulldozer." This system for controlling ero sion didn't just happen. Mr. Scott aaked .Iftiftelp on hit farming operations from agricultural agen cies, among them his Soil Conserv ation District. The varioua kinds of land on his farm were mapped ac cording to their capabilities. The Soil Conservation Service techni clan helped him work out a com plete aoil and water conservation - plan to fit each acre. ; Some of the main features of the I plan were: Contour strip-cropping, i pasture improvement, tile drainage, - a grass meadow waterway and tre? ? planting In cut-over woodland. The > rotation being used is corn, fo! I lowed by small grain, a red clover I grass mixture seeded in the small ! grain and a year of clover-grac I meadow. These conservation achievements Just didn't happen, but every one was planned. "Every plan does not result in success, but every success is the result of plans" Is the statement of Henry Vann, well known conservation farmer, banker and business man of Clinton, N. C. PLANNING Ninety-eight farmers joined with the more than 50,000 other North Carolina farmers who are cooper ating with and receiving technical assistance from their local Soil Conservation Districts; help In planning and applying conserva tion measures to their lands Com plete basic soil and water conserv ation plans providing for the prop er use and treatment of all land were made on 80 farms in 1055. bringing the total acreage on which farmers have made basic conserva tion farming plans to 12.000 acres. ACP ASSISTANCE District Supervisors consulted with the Haywood County ASC Committee In developing the Agri cultural Conservation Program. Twenty-one farmers received tech nical help on permanent conserva tion measures. Cost-sharing helped Haywood County farmers: 1. Establish 1200 acres of per ennial grass and legume sods on land subject to erosion. 2. Lime 200 acres of land to be seeded in a year or two. 3. Improve 12.000 acres of old pasture and meadow. 4. Seed 2,800 acres of cover crops. t 3. Establish 300 acres of year round cover, 8. Apply lime and fertilizer as a shot In the arm to drought-dam aged pastures 7. Install 3,000 feet of Held drain tile. CONSERVING SOII. AND WATER Land use adjustments and the application of conservation prac tices that tend to conserve soil and water, moved ahead In 1933. More than l,10o acres of land had con servation crop rotations establish ed on them by cooperating farmers. One hundred and seventy-three acres of this was In contour strip cropping, on sloping land where erosion is a major problem. Dis trict cooperators seeded cover crops on nearly 400 acres of crop land last fall. Most of these cover crops will furnish some grazing, with the remaining top growth and all roots turned back to the land for improved fertility, tilth and water-holding capacity. CRITICAL AREA PLANTING Conservation farmers cooperat ing with the district seeded 240 acres of land too steep to farm to permanent clover-grass mixtures and to alfalfa. TREATING I.ANDS ACCORDING TO NEEDS Needed conservation treatment was applied to many acres during the year. More than 1100 acres of cropland. 1600 acres of grass land and 2000 acre/k of woodland receiv- ] ed soil building and protection through the use of the right com bination of conservation measures. For the first time, drainage as a conservation practice has been giv en its rightful place in the county, with nearly three carloads of drain tile installed in wet lands in the county. By draining bottom land, conservation farmers ran do a bet ter job of row cropping on that level land and grow erosion-con trolling hay and pasture crops on their hilMand. The farmers who Installed held drain tile report that through Increased yields and, land gained through eliminating open ditches, labor saved on shrub bing and clean-out work will pay for the cost of installation In five years. Then, too. there is an addi tional saving through more efficient use of piachinery by eliminating the necessity of operating between ditches In small fields ? W HERE THE* HE LP CAME FROM Soil supervisors have trained technicians of the Soil Conserva tion Service assigned to help co operating land owners solve their soil and water problems. The soil scientist made soil maps of 115 farms covering 13.127 acres of land. Our work unit staff, working full time with Haywood County farm ers. now consists of a farm plan ning technician and a soil conserv ation aid. Our county farm agent helped us enter two communities In the Carolina Power Company's Finer Farms program. Talks on the Soil Conservation District pro gram were presented to all 4-H boys' clubs in the county. The North Carolina Extension service engineering specialist conducted a demonstration on conservation ir rigation at the Mountain Research Station, in May. v The Haywood County Ministerial Association helped sponsor "Soil Stewardship Sunday" with about 25 sermons being preached on stew ardship of the lands Office space In the courthouse Is being provid ed by the Board of County Com missioners. Three newspapers?Waynesville Mountaineer, Asheville Citizen, and Canton Enterprise, have published news about the District's program, while radio stations WHCC and WW1T have broadcast District news. A cash donation from the First National Bank of Waynesville made j it possible to provide the ministers ' I of the county with Information for Soil Stewardship Sunday. White pine seedlings from TV A and mul tiflora rose plants from the N. C. s'tate Wildlife Resources Commis sion were furnished to cooperating farmers for use in furthering the conservation work on the land. LOOKING AHEAD More emphasis needs to be plac ed on the following conservation measures by agricultural workers and by landowners, according to Van C. Wells. Soil Conservation District chairman: 1. Drainage of bottom lands 2 Contour strip cropping with grass-based rotations on hill land that has to be farmed. 3 Grass meadow - waterways seeded in natural draws in crop fields 4 Grazing management on pas tures. 5 Highway erosion control and beautification. 6. Increased farm income through conservation farming, im proved methods and new enter prises. i ? ' *20 to *40 IXTRA PROFIT ptt 100 p*Hit (hkkt That'* what yau should gat from chick* *tartod boforo March 15. Early chick* hava always mod# mora monay than lot# chicks bocauso tho aarly chicks hit thoir poak production in Sap* tombor, Octobor, No* vombtr, and Docombar wh?n ogg prices art highast. - ^ - ? ?a suro to got our quel* Jfy chicks?brod right end hatched right to livo ?lay?and pay. \ \ Order yours today for delivery just when yov I' ' Clin* - Bradley Co. j4 COM - Dick Bradley 5 Mats, Hasctwood Dial GL 6-3181 : -SJUULSJUUL 1 iWiVWrt ONLY COMMUNITY PARK in Haywood County Is this one npned bv the Thlekety CDP in 1953. The park includes the pavilion shown, open fire place and new dual-purpose picnic tables, new well, and Softball diamond. The Thlckety CDP meets at the park in the smumertime and at com munity churches during the winter. (County agent's photo by Tippett) I Dr. Shaw Cites Rapid Growth Of Farm Research The rapid rise of agricultural re-| search and development since the turn of the century was outlined last week by Dr. Luther Shaw, in charge of burley tobacco research at the Mountain Experiment Sta tion, in a speech before the Waynesville Kiwanls Club. Dr. Shaw said that agricultural research in the U. S., as we know it today, can be divided into two periods: From 1800 until 1900. and from 1900 to the present. He told the Kiwanians that the first period was characterized by a group of scientists who were in dividualists and. for the most part, were self-educated, highly intel lectual oddities. In the earlier stages, their physical facilities, were extremely crude and limited and their financial support was Inadequate, he added. Among developments in this early period, he said, were: (1> fundamental understanding of anatomy. (2) fundamental under standing of animal and plant path ology. particularly as related to nutrition, (3) discovery and estab lishment of the parasitic concept of diseases, (4) development of the fundamental concept of genetics, and (5i establishment of the United States Department of Agriculture and the State Land Grand College. Dr. Shaw asserted that the period from 1900 to the present has been marked by a tremendous expansion In all phases of'all U. S. agricultur al programs, especially following World War I and the subsequent iepression He added that progress made in igribultural research has been 'phenomenal and in some fields he farmer is lagging in acceptance >f this progress." Dr. Shaw attributed these ; ichievements to Increased knowl- i >dge lr. all fields of agriculture, mprovements in educational ta- i :llities. and greater financial sup- ( >ort for agriculture research. Among recent contributions ' nade by agricultural research the loctor pointed out, are: Increasing the yield of burley by 300 pounds per acre by prim ing. representing an additional $1,500,000 income earned by North Carolina burley farmers. By comparison, the cost of research for the Burley Belt as a whole probably did not exceed $100,000. Increasing the yield of corn, through the use of genetics (es pecially in the development of hy brid varieties) and nutrition from 13 bushes per acre prior to 1900 to 35 bushels at present. This in crease represented an additional total of 20,550.000 bushels grown by North Carolina farmers in 1952. Development of varieties of burley tobacco resistant to wild fire and black shank diseases. Social Security Extended To Self-Employed Farmers i . ? (EDITOR'S NOTE?This arti cle, completing a aerie* describ ing the provisions of the Federal income and Social Security tax laws as they affect farm people, was prepared by Charles R. Puth. W. L. Turner, and C. W. Wil liams, extension farm manage ment specialists, N. C. State Col lete.) Amendments to the Social Se curity law by the 1954 Congress bring coverage to self-employed farmers for the first time starting with the taxable year 195$, and ex tend coverage to many additional farm employees. Social Security is a federal sponsored program offer ing Insurance to workers and their dependents against complete loss of income due either to the death or retfrement of the worker. Pay ments or benefits are generally based upon the period of service and taxable income during the service period. Self-employment taxes for Social Security purposes and Federal In come taxes are related to the ex tent that both are collected by the Internal Revenue Service at the same time. Alao the same account-, ing methods and records must serve as the basis of the two types of taxes. Self-employment taxes dif fer from federal income taxes in that they go into the Old-Age and Survivor's Insurance Fund from which Social Security benefits are paid rather than into the general funds of the U. S. Treasury. Some self-employed farmers may owe no income tax due to the size of deductions and personal exemp tions but still must complete Schedule F, Form 1040 to deter mine earnings from self-employ ment for Social Security tax pur poses. Schedule F is arranged so that the computation of self-em ployment tax from farming will follow as the form is filled in. In calculating self-employment earnings from farming, the individ ual farmer may have to make some adjustments in the figure upon which federal income taxes are based. The exclusions in determ ining net earnings from self-em ployment include any income and expenses associated with (1) rentals in the form of crop shares, which are considered as an Investment re turn to the landlord rather than self-employment income; (2) gains or losses from the sale of capital assets and depreciable property such as sales of livestock held for draft, breeding, or dairy purposes or sales of machinery and real es tate; and (3) deductions for net operating losses of other years. Farmers are to pay Social Secur ity tax if they had earnings of $400 or more from, self-employ- t ment in 1958. The maximum cover ed earnings from all sources are '$4200. Therefore the maximum In come subject to the 3 0er cent self employment tax Is $4200 minus the amount of covered wages received as an employee. Farmers reporting thfelr income on the "cash" basis may wish to use an optional method dto stabilize their coverage from year-to-year. ; If the gross Income from farming ' (with adjustments as mentioned 1 above) is between $800 and $1800, 1 the self-employed farmer may pay ? Social Security taxes on one-half 1 of this gross amount. If the gross 1 income from farming (With adjust- 1 ments) is more than $1800, and the computed net earnings from self-employment from farming are less than $900, Social Security taxes may be paid on $900. Details of Social Security cover age and computation of the tax are explained in the pamphlets, "How Social Security Covers Farmers" and "Farmers' Tax Guide". Check with your county agent or the local offices of the Social Security Ad ministration and Internal Revenue Service for copies. Per capita consumption of all fruits and fruit juices declined from a high of about 225 pounds in 1946 to 193 pounds in 1954. Meanwhile, the consumption of frozen fruits and fruit juices in creased more, than 10 times. A total of 53 counties participat ed in last year's North Carolina "County of the Year" in rural progress contest which was won by Ashe County. North Carolina ? ranks second among lespedeza producing states for 1955 with a crop of over 33 million pounds of clean seed. State College Answers Timely Farm Questions QUESTION: What slae poultry flocks can one person take care of efficiently? ANSWER: Some people are do ing an excellent job with kOOO hens in three hours work per day. One man or family can handle 3,000 laying hens In eight or nine hours if he doesn't have to stop 20 times a day to sell his eggs or deliver them door to door. % QUESTION: Can pruning take the place of fruit thinning? ANSWER: No. Pruning can re duce the number of fruit on the tree, but It cannot replace thinning if you have a heavy bloom. All that pruning does Is reduce buds. It doesn't eliminate the necessity of thinning. This is particularly true if you have an adequate soil management and fertility program. LET US FILL YOUR A.S.C. ORDERS We Have A Complete Line of Fiejd Seeds ? Also Blue Ridge Plant Food . . . And ? BAGGED OR BULK LIME ? 2-12-12 FERTILIZER ? SUPERPHOSPHATE ? POTASH . . . REMEMBER YOU SAVE TWICE AT YOUR Haywood County Farmers Co-op, Inc. H. M. DULIN, MGR. Depot Street Dial GL 6-8621 0m%_ Spartan Quality Chick Starter iti LOADED WM/# ?r Miter /i ? vitAmmt Mm ? PAOTtlMS /Fz ?MIKt* A IS t* ?tw? Ik#3 ?ntibioti(V Every bite is balanced to give chicks the balanced nourishment they need right from the start. For real ttartin' quality you can't best Spartan Quality. PARTON FEED STORE ?!| Depei St, WuwwtMi | i Bring Us Your A.S.C. ORDERS We'll Fill Them With Finest Quality Seeds ? ORCHARD GRASS BLUE GRASS LADINO CLOVER FESCUE WHITE CLOVER TIMOTHY RED CLOVER ALFALFA SEE US FOR BLUE RIDGE PLANT FOOD We Have A Complete Line of Farm and Garden Tools ? CLINE-BRADLEY CO. Joe Cllne ? Dick Bradley S Points Hazel wood TIME TO SEED ^AND FERTILIZE GET OFT TO A GOOD START ON YOUR 1956 GARDENING. FROM NOW UNTIL ABOUT APRIL 20 IS THE PROPER TIME TO SEED AND FERTILIZE YOUR LAWN.' SEE US FOR COMPLETE - LINE OF LAWN * LIME HAYWOOD COUNTY FARMERS CO-OP, Inc. H. M. Dnlln, Mgr. I Dial GL 6-$621 Depot Street | mniAomaroK | CLINE-BRADLEY CO. J Burpee Seeds) ^You'll find tbe fin*M vegetable and flower aeeda in town at... CLINE-BRADLEY CO. I 5 Points ? H axel wood BIG NEWS FROM ROGERS TRACTOR Co. mm , .... . H.Mil ?n .1 - ? w-1- . Ford Motor Company annoanccs a new automatic twine tie Kay baler, designed for one-man operation and employing sweep fork feed, unique in the lowest-priced baler field. The new fow-bales-a-minate machine is the Ford 250, available in three models, engine driven with starter or withont starter, and power take-off. ? Pay Only 1/3 Down (Cash or Trade) Balance Up to 3 Crop Payments or 34 Monthly Payments. ROGERS TRACTOR Co. Specialists In Farm Equipment Financing Phone Canton 3944 Clyde, N. C. ?