The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1921-02-17
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3 TENNESSEE FARM NEWS :
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Agronomy Specialist Suggests Good
Cropping system for Farmers.

Cropping system Tor Farmers.
That farmers Of Tennessee are
keenly interested in adopting a good
cropping system is indicated by the
numerous inquiries coming to j. G.
McAmis, specialist in agronomy, Di-
vision of Extension, University Of
Tennessee. Letters asking for sug-
gestions and information on the sub
ject are being received from all
parts Of the state and it is believed
that the following letter written by
Mr.. McAmis in reply to one Of these
inquiries viii be Of interest to many
farmers:
zone Of the first things that should
be provided on any farm is plenty Of
good hay and an abundance of pas
turage On lined lard red clover and
little alfalfa makes a good combina-
ton. These crops may be sown sep
arately or they may be mixed. In
the absence Of good red clover, soy
beans or cowpeas or a mixture of the
two are the best substitutes. When
feeding either cowpears or soy beans,
the manure must be carefully saved
and returned to the land if any inn
provement is to be expected. Lime
and phosphate, Of course, help both
Of these crops as vel as red clover
and alfalfa. Crimson clover or GRIM
son clover and rye mixed makes the
best winter pasture.
Five Year Rotations.
"a rotation that has often been
suggested is as follows: First year,
corn and soy beans planted in the
same row, with rye sown after the
corn is harvested, The rye may be
grazed and then turned under and
planted to soy beans or cowpeas.
These to be followed by small grain.
On good land, sown in late Septem-
Der or early October, barley is best.
For later sowing wheat is usually
used. Grass should be sown with
the grain in the fall and clover the
following spring. The clover and
grass are then used for hay one
year and pasture for another, going
back to corn the next year
"When the farm is lined and
grows clover successfully, the SOY
beans and peas may be eliminated,
except as they are planted in corn.
In this rotation the corn might be
followed with wheat, the wheat har-
vested and the land plowed in sum
mer and lined and sown in late
September to barley or winter oats
and red clover and grass. The bar
ley would then be harvested and pos
sibly hay crop the following year,
another hay crop the second year
and then the land could be grazed
the following year Both Of these
are five-year rotations. The latter
rotation might be shortened into
four, provided there is an abundance
Of permanent pasture on the farm.
While it is difficult, in fact, al
most impossible, to outline crop
ping system by letter on any given
farm, as every farm is bound to
have different one, and it must be
subject to change with a satisfactory
alternative, the man living on the
farm being the only one able to de-
ternline these points in the end, how
ever it is believed that these suggest
ions will be Of some help to farmers
in general throughout the state, says
Mr.. McAmis.
Good Time to Start in Purebreds.
A good many farmers are taking
advantage Of the comparatively low
prices at which purebred stock is
selling this winter and laying the
foundation for good herds Of hogs
and cattle, according to L. A. Rich
ardson, livestock specialist, Division
of Extension. Purebred stock has
been bringing little more than mar
ket prices at many sales, and this
appears to be a good time to obtain
high class breeding stock at reason
able figures. More farmers than
ever before realize that it is poor
business to continue the use of scrub
sires, and the price which female
stock is bringing affords an excel
lent opportunity to turn the whole
herd into purebreds. The fact that
sire is purebred is not enough; he
should be a good individual. A few
hundred dollars snent now will lay
the foundations for high class
purebred herd.
Farmers Save So Per BusheI on
Clover Seed.
The value Of cooperation and or
ganization was clearly demonstrated
to the farmers Of Henry and Sum-
ner counties recently in a sale of
clover seed produced by the farmers
of the former and bought by the
latter.
Henry county farmers had produced
big crop of good red clover seed
and were somewhat up in the air
when they found that dealers would
offer them only about two-thirds
the retail price for seed at that time.
The matter was taken up by the
marketing association Of the County
Council of Agriculture and it was
decided that all the seed would be
tested and then offered for sale on
guarantee to other county councils of
agriculture over the state. This was
done and 1,777 bushels were dis
posed of at from So to SIS per bushel
above what dealers had offered.
It happened that members of the
Sumner County Council Of Agricul-
ture were in the market for clover
seed at this time and they bought
$50 bushels Of the lot offered by the
Henry county council at So per
bushel under prices quoted by deal
ers. The other councils and individ-
ual farmers who awaited themselves
of this opportunity made similar
saving.
This shows what farmers can do
when they cooperate. The pro-
ducers got fair price for their pro-
duct and the buyer got his product
at fair price, and total saving
of So per bushel, or S14,2l6 for all