The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1922-03-03
County Agent Notes

Rich land Is the basis OF all prof.
liable farming and when we take a
look over Monroe county and see
that the majority of the lands are
too poor to produce crops profitably
every farmer should begin this year
to make his farm richer and con-
tinue to make it more fertile year
after year.
One of the best crops to plant for
this purpose>is the early speckle vel
vet bean, and at the same time
that this crop is adding such a won
dsrful amount of plant food to the
soil it is producing maximum
amount of feed for livestock.
Statistics show that this county
averages about ii bu. of corn per
acre, so if the average is only IA
bushels there are numbers of acres
that fall far. below this amount.
Yet there are numbers of farmers
growing corn on this poor land who
will tell you they tried planting
beans and it made their corn too
hard to gather. These farmers
should remember that the beans are
making them more feed than the
corn, and then the corn that is left
in the field will not hurt the hogs
and cattle that should Craze the
beans.
The farmer who is in the dairy
business cannot grow any other crop
that will produce him as much feed
as velvet beans. and if dairying is
to be profitable, it is necessary to
grow the feed for the cows.
One of the best dairy farmers in
the county. plants velvet beans in
all his corn, and his land is already
rich, averaging over 40 bushels per
acre last year. and he told me that
the beans were worth as much TO
him as the corn.
For the loan section there is no
crop to equal the velvet bean and |
would like to see every farmer who
has any poor land begin to grow
them this year in his corn. planting
them in April or early May with the
corn at the rate of peck of beans
per acre. On some of the poorest
land more beans and less corn should
be planted and on all thin land the
beans should be planted in every
row of corn.
| am going to have some beans
on hand in the next week or two,
and all who want any can write or
see me.
There is one other crop that
should be planted in the loan Sec
ton on every farm, and that is les
pedeza. for it will make the best
hay crop that can he planted in that
section.
1t does we'll on most any land
over there, but succeeds best on the
creek bottoms or other moist soils.
Lespedeza should be one of the
principal money crops of the county
for hay and for the seed and while
seed are at reasonable price every
farmer should plant some. Seed can
be bought for So per bushel now.
The farmer who goes in for cot
ton on large scale this year is
taking a great risk with both the
boil weevil and the price this fall. |
1t is true that many farmers are
discouraged over the price of other +
farm products and say that they are
not going to plant any more than
what they need for home use. /
But if these farmers will stop to
think moment, farmers every I
where are thinking Just as they are
and are intending to plant cotton
and leave OH other crops, Just as the +
farmers in this county are planning
to do.
A very good rule to follow is to +
see which way the majority of farm
ers are headed and then go in the
opposite Direction, and most times
at the end of the year the crop or
crops that everybody planted is
cheap and the neglected crops are
high.
In this county there is going to
be considerably more cotton plant
ed this year than was planted last
year. and as human nature is about
the same everywhere. we can count
on an increased ACREAGE all over n @