French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1916-1919, 1919-03-13
PRESENT COT:
TON SITUATION
A Suggested Program For
Dealing With Il.
e@y ID. w. Kilgore, Director, N, C.
EAp' station and Extension Servica.
Treasurer NJ n r.

Cotton Association
Inc South, and North Carolina par
SculdrIy, wrought wonderfully well
uurLng the war period. Large crons
eACepI cotton, have been made. mar.
'culaFly food crops The cotton crops
VI the country for the four years of
me War-1916 to 1918-were II. 700
UUo Oales, 1~1,3O2,0 coo, H. 4 600 and
~I1,IS2,OOO, or an average of 11A11 Oo0
paIes, against the four pre-war crons
OF 1S11-14 OF 1915, 900, 1415S G0O 70
1Oa,OOC, 15,693,O0O, or an AVERAGE of
ne'o1z,UUO oales, which is an average
Oh S,oII'0OO bales more annually prior
20, tnan during the war period.
me acreage Of last year was b17f
S4z'OOO less than for 1914 when the
ou-1per crop Of 16,135,OOO bales was
The low production for
tne past four years has been dine
mainly to bad seasonal conditions in
lex and Oklahoma. Good winter
rams already have been had in these
states, and with the same creaee az
IN 1913, near $4,000, 0OO-and good sea
sons, a crop we'll nigh as large as our
largest cana and likely would be made.
which is far beyond what there are
any reasons TO think the world will
consume.
Big Crop, Low Price.
our bumper cotton crop of 10000
200 bales in 1914 brought $500, 100000
and our 11,500,OO0 bale crop of 1917
brought the South 81, 500, 900, 600. or
twice as much as the bumper crop.
we know what this means-"big crop.
low price" Gotten at present prices
is at, if not below, the cost of produc-
ton, and not an inconsiderable num-
Der OF North Carolina farmers have
cotton Of two years on hand.
It would seem that the world needs
n will consume at cost Of produc-
ton, plus a fair profit, the small crop
OF 1913, especially as this is one of
four small crops in succession, the av- !
erage for the four years being 11.411.-
OOC bales, or 14,000.0 600 less for the
four year war period than for the
I four year pre-war period. j.
To Make This Effective.
What can he done to make this eff
-fectiVe?
1. A well-deffned cooperative pro-
gram on the part Of the banker, the
merchant and the farmer for holding
and selling should bring results.
2. Along with the movement to en-
able the farmer, the merchant and the
banker, or whoever has cotton, to
hold it till the right time to seE, must
go a program to house the staple.
3. What is perhaps more important
when measured IN terms of its effect
upon q future OF our farming in
dustry, is a plan for. preventing the
production Of a cotton crop this year
greater than the world Will require. A
reduction in acreage of from one-ffth
to one-third has been suggested as !
the method of doing this. This would
mean for North Carolina in round
numbers, a million acres instead of q
million and a half Of cotton. This
would leave a half million acres hers
tof5re devoted to cotton available for
food, feed and soi~f-improvinga crops.
Better, Land for Cotton.
Z. Cotton should likely, in most cases,
be put on the better land, including
some at least CT the land planted to {
soil improving crops during the past I
year. It should be feptHS9Ss VIVA the {
view Of economy so as to meet the I
needs of the land thus used and the
crop. and increasing the acreage pro-
and reducing the cost so as to e
meet the almost certain lower price a
for cotton next fall. a
f.. Another matter of serions con- t
Germ is the price OF fertilizers. The .
prices of fertilizers are the highest Il
have ever known, and while the o
on&k@- Ge0-S - A---g
BILE. to allow his acreage yields to D
decline. fertilizers must be used, as tic o
and kind. to best meet the
needs of the soil and the crop. q
Food and Feed Crops. Il
5. IT Will be easily agreed that All .
.eduction in cotton should go into III
God and feed crops and pasture in 81
IN effort to make all the food and CO
feed for the State on the farms of &C
he State, so as to save transportation al
and Intervening profits, to Oh
make easy the holding of cotton. to-
,acco. peanuts and other money crops, ID
nd 10 encourage and support our d.
rowing livestock indIstry-beef cat p6
lie, hogs, poultry, sheep and dairy ne
for the family COW, our dairies ii
c~reaneries and for our new
heese industry-these. together with nj
ur farm and t~ownspeOple and our an AS
nails, make a practically sure mar 10
ct at remunerative prices, for all the Iea
and feed crops and roughage
lat can be grown.
;7fitled to Better Living Conditions. 10
6. Finally, we must have in mind ="
: q whole pe0rIe a readjustment Of "
1r wage and living scale. We should WI
OF want to go back to tie old con- = ;,
itions as regards these. Cotton, 1ea-
ITS, tobacco AID other money and seS
crops in the whole South have ~
zen produced with low-Dr;ced labor la
with much child labor, unpaid or 30,
,dsrpaid. These crops have been CH