Sharp County record., 1919-03-28
SAFE FARMING IS
PLAN FOR YEAR
uust Consider Soil Fertility and Prol'
Its For Those Engaged IN
Planting.

ment Of Agriculture.
In considering The program for the
Southern States in 1919, we must coh'
slider safe and enduring system OF
agriculture, which will maintain soil
fertility and be as permanently and
as universally profitable as possible
for those engaged In It.
While this Is the principle to he
applied, we must remember that no
radical changes took place in Amerl-
can agriculture on account OF the
war. Each farmer was urged to DO
more Of the things lie knew best how
to do. The great accomplishment Oh
the past two years were the result OF
every farmer working little harder
at hts regular job. With abundant pa
triotism they did what was necessary
and helped greatly in winning the
war. The food produced in the South
released food from the Western
States for the Army and for the AL
lies.
A Balanced Agriculture.
| A we'll balanced system OF agricul
ture has been the ideal held up to the
South for many years past. The safe
ty and security of the Southern peo.
pie depend greatly upon the produc-
ton of the food necessary to feed
the people in ample abundance; upon
reasonable livestock industry to bal
ance the farming by economizing la
Dor and consuming otherwise waste
/ products, and upon y sufficiently di.
versifled cropping system to guaran-
tee an increasing in place Of de-
creasing soil fertility. Such 8 sys
TEN is nothing more or less tnan the
system Of safe farming which has
been taking such strong hold in the
Southern States during the past few
years. All agricultural workers in the
South have agreed that no one-crop
system ever made people prosper.
GUS. The speculative chances are
too great when the eggs are all in
one basket It makes no difference
whether the disaster be war such
as we have Just been through, the
boil weevil, the pink boil worm or 9th.
er insect pests, plant diseases, fail
ing transportation, excessive rain,
drought, or whatsoever 1t may be-
that system Is safest which adheres
religiously to a plan Of farming suf
hciently diverse to produce always
the food for the people and the feed
| for the livestock, to utilize the labor
upon the farm the maximum number
Of days in year, and to produce for
marketing more than one product Of
the farm for Its cash income.
In considering program for the
year 1919, the farmers In each state
should give earnest consideration Il
a few fundamental principles:
First; Speculation in abnormally
large acreages In any one crop unbal
ances the type Of farming, makes pro
duotion expensive rather than eco
nomical, and forces the entire sectIoy
into o dependence upon world mar
kets and upon other sections ant
transportation facilities for subslsl
enoe,
Second; Each farm, each oommu
nifty and each section should produce
as far as possible, its own food an
feed for the sake Of economical pre-
duction and to save transportation
costs and intervening profit wher
the purchase must be made from dir
tant sections. In other words, tn
food and feed OF tho South should b
produced on tho farms Of the South.
Third; In stimulating any increo,
cd food production the emphasl
should be on the non,perisnable sta
pie crops which should be increase
beyond local needs In communte
where they can be produced pronls
bly,
Fourth Tho production OF perls
able crops should bo increased Nboy
normal only as facilities for trans
portatton and marketing are assured
The situation IN the South In 1911
will he a difficult one, but the expei
iences Of the past season ought L
lead Us ~ approach the task wit
some confidence, You will remembo
that throughout tho planting seasol
Of 1918 tho price OF cotton stood q
20 oonta u pound and above; however
tho foru,ers In practically every stat,
IN The South, with n shortage Of abo
and with untold difleultles Of opera
ton, planted Increased aereAges Il
the main food crops, II should b,
noged also that the live stock ef th,
south hoS been considerably inereoa
I'D, particularly the production .
hogs, cattle and sheep, and inereNaeD
| livestock production demanda an In
egeased production Of food efons ant
ffaas,
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