cyf Look Ahead
for North Carolina
BY FRANK PARKER
Federal-State Agricultural Statistician for North Carolina
HAT five years ago would have
been called theoretical imagina
tion,- is today practical reasoning, where
we foresee and foretell a bright future
for Tar Helia ? the Old North State.
The AAA helped greatly, especially
in instilling confidence and a way out
of an almost hopeless agricultural di
Icmna. The new Soil Conservation pro
gram is a much more practical and basic
move toward better conditions. The fun^
ciamentals back of it were those educa
tional agencies starting with the Farm
ers Alliance 50 years ago; then, and 011
through the agricultural extension and
vocational' school work of today.
As with all other educational prob
lems, changing such a ponderous and
clumsy thing as agriculture from a ques
tion of : "That's rhe way my grandpap 1
did it," to "Tell me a better way to
do it," is a slow, tedious and almost
hopeless task, extending through several
generations.
Just 20 years ago, I returned to North
Carolina from the tropics, where I had
been engaged in agricultural extension
and vocational work. After experience
with 43 district agriculturists as assist
ants, and after traveling through 32
states, seeking the best place to locate,
1 decided on North Carolina.
Had Definite Convictions
I returned with definite convictions
^concerning purebred, or high-grade live
stock; grading and marketing products
in attractive packages; more and better
machinery; legumes as soil builders;
milk cows for converting surplus vege
tables and feed crops into a year around
cash income. Sales of vegetables and
fruits later convinced me of th? neces
sity, rather than advisabiltiy, of quality
and attractiveness in marketing.
Although now with the U., S. De
partment of Agriculture doing crop re
porting, I still own and operate the farm
I procured in 191 5.
Reasons Outlined
Here are some reasons why in 1915
I chose North Carolina as my future
home : ( 1 ) The climate is mild, just
enough cold weather for health and not
too much heat for comfort; (2) It has
as wide diversification of native plant life
as any. state; (j); The choice of crops
is almost unlimited ? from oranges to
maple sugar; (4) The topography
ranges from delightfully verdant and
cool mountains in the West to the tem
perate coastal area in the East with its
inland waters and long seashore; (5)
The gulf stream comes to within 150
miles of our coast and encourages the
growth of early vegetables and fruits;
(6) I saw as niye fruits grown in North
Carolina as I found in California, Ore
gon, or Washington; (7) I had seen
cattle grazing and in excellent condition
throughout the Winter, even finding
clumps of green grass under the snow
on the mountains; (8) Protection for
livestock from winter weather was un
Cattle come in for an important part in the state, too.
snapped at the Piedmont Experiment Farm, near Statesville.
i
This picture was
Grain, such as this, is also an important crop in North Carolina's Piedmont
Section.
A day's outing aft ftha Experiment Sftaftion, naar Oxford, which halps these
good farmers to beoome ever beftftsr farmers.
necessary, although ad
vantageous; (9) Labor
was plentiful and cheap;
( 10) Many markets
were near, New York
being only 400 miles
distance from the North
eastern trucking section
where both rail and wa
ter transportation were
available ; (11) The
percentage of foreign
population was the
smallest of any state ;
(12) It was truly an
agricultural state, no
large cities, but many
small towns where peo
ple know and mingle
with each other ; (13)
The land was chfcap and
an unlimited choice was
available; (14) Irriga
tion was not required. '
In point of acroaga, corn it North Carolina's moat
important crop.
System Improving
For a long time, North Carolina has
grown too many acres of cash crops and
not enough feed and soil improvement
crops. This system has been gradually
changing for the better. The depression
accelerated the rate of change, especially
with respect to feed crops, but there
should be no change of a radical nature.
The types of farming now in vogue
should generally be continued, with ad
justments in acreage to eliminate over
production of cash crops, unprofitable
acre yields, soil erosion, and dependence
on outside sources for feeds.
In different parts of the state, cotton,
tobacco, peanuts, truck crops, grains, and
livestock are each dominant farm enter
prises. Often the dominant enterprise is
developed to exclusion of others, conse
quently, it is impossible to lay down a
single program that would fit all sec
tions. For that reason, the North Caro
lina Agricultural Extension Service has
divided the state into 1 1 agricultural
areas, based on the type of farming be
ing generally practiced!
Of the six and three-quarter million
acres of land in cultivation in North
Carolina, there are thousands which, be
cause of poor drainage, being underlain
with hardpan, or the soil being incapable
ot improvement, will never give profit
able returns from cropping. Others are
unprofitable because they are too steep
or too rocky. No further attempt should
be made to cultivate these lands, but
they should Jje turned into pasture or
reforested.
Fundamentals Cited
The fundamental need of most North
Carolina soils is increased fertility, pro
viding proper drainage, rotation, and the
proper use of legume crops.
While .the state has been mapped into
type areas, for practical purposes, there
are four major one's: outer and inner
Coastal, Peidmont and mountainous
areas. The extreme flat east is confront
ed with drainage problems. The inner
Coastal counties are generally sandy and
while needing drainage also need soil im
proving crops.
The central Piedmont also needs soil
improving practices, however, we find in
this area, the most diversified farming,
specializing in small grains and dairying.
Where tobacco predominates along .the
Virginia border and where cotton rules
the South Carolina border we find the
greatest need for more diversification
and soil building practices. Much of this
territory, in which the land is kept poor
intentionally to raise better bright to
bacco. soil building crops are badly
needed.
In the West or ? foothill and moun
tain counties, pasturage on the hillside
and crops in the valley predominate.
These steep hillsides must- be held to
gether with grasss or trees. Terraces
alone will not do. These counties have
long known and used good soil control.
State Wall Balanced
The state as a whole is very well
ha lanced in the average crop production.
However, many areas could use some
crops and livestock to an advantage.
Much of the eastern territory should re
duce cash crops and use legumes to build
up the soil. In this section, there should
be considerable increases of cattle, hogs
aiffi poultry fSr home and commercial
use. Practically the same condition ex
tends into the inner coastal section and
up to the Peidmont area.
The Piedmont section offers the most
diversified farming of any territory in
the stafc with the exception of a few
limited areas. More beef cattle and soil
improving crops could be used to an
advantage in most counties. The gentlv
sloping hills of the Piedmont that reach
up to the mountainous district should
produce more cattle and small grains in
an effort to control erosion. Much of the
cash or row crops in this territory and
the mountains should be discouraged.
To the reasons cited for selecting
North Carolina as my future home, 1
can now add many more, including ex
cellent highways, water, rail, motor,
and airplane transportation to "every
where;" hydro-electric power in abund
ance developed within the state's own
borders and the rural electrification pro
gram fast being put into effect ; a State
Agricultural College and a Department
of Agriculture that are outstanding. Just
add the soil conservation program to these
and you can readily see why there is a
bright future for North Carolina. It has
ranked fifth on an average in the total
value of fll crops in the United States
for the past three years. Tobacco alone
returns more than $100,000,000 an
nually. It has five crops each valued at
over $10,000,000 each year, which in the
order. of their acreage rank are, corn,
cotton, hay, tobacco, and peanuts.