Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-12-23
WILL Be MAIN
INDUSTRIES OF
FUTURE YEARS
Successful Dairyman
Near Mercedes Pre-
diets tn of
Dairy Herds

Dairying, hog raising and citrus
fruit will be the Valleys principal
sources Of income in q few years is
the prediction OF George Morrison.
whose beautiful farm home and
thriving citrus grove southwest Of
Mercedes b one Of the snow spots
OF the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Morrison IN not q theorist. He
speaks from experience. lie has one
Of the finest nerds OK dairy COW
and one OF the most completely
equipped dairy plants iii South Tex
as. experimenting this he has 55
acres planted to citrus fruit, twenty
acres IN bearing, and both the dairy
herd and fruit orchard show generous
margins Of profit each year.
Grant Morrison, his son, is in
charge of the dairy department, and
the name in which IL is equipped
and conducted would indicate he has
made a thorough study of the indus
try. The dairy herd consists NJ 80
head OF thoroughbred Jerseys and
grades. each a proven producer. The
milk il handled I'LL accord with the
most modern methods, assuring per-
feet sanitation, and a market for the
major part OF the product has been
developed in Mercedes
Has Complete Plant
The dairy plant consists Of n large
barn, with 60 stanchions, concrete
floors and feed troughs, electrically
equipped. with water piped to each
stanchion. A large shelter barn adj
joins, IN which the dairy cows seek
shelter during Inclement weather,
and from the center Of the barn rise
two large aIlOs, each vi $50 tons ca
paCity, something Of a novelty In tho
Lower Rio Grandc Valley. "A short
distance from the barn Is the milk
house, sheltered hy towering trees, a
model Of cleanliness and efficiency.
The equipment includes bottle wash
ing machines, steam steriiiZer and
an electrically equipped refrigerating
room in which milk IS maintained at
"a temperature Of SO degrees
The Morrison farm consists Of 1870
acres, but ample range land is leased,
and the entire acreage, with the ex-
cepti0n " that planted to citrus
fruit. An devoted 10 raising iced
crops.
" feed everything but the roots
WI the corn and cane Grant Nor
rison stated. The corn and zane pre-
duction ~ extremely heavy w com
pared with Northern averages, and
all is fed in the form of ensilagc, as
surfing the minimum OF wastage.
Says Valley Ideal
81 consider the Lower Rio Graudc
Valley an ideal dairy section Nor
wsaau IswNuwnA after nHmFfFruw hu ON
barkcd in the industry seven years
ago, and built up from an original
nerd WI fifteen. Climatic conditions
arc favorable. and there is no part of
thc United States where feed crors
can be grown more economically. Tne
dairy cows thrive both summer and
winter, and there IN little difference
In production. There has not been a
year that our COWS have not brought
good profits. or course dairying in
wolves considerable work. IL is no
industry for the soap box farmer.
but here i'm the Valley il assures
profits for any farmer who will apply
himself inteliEcntiy.' All feed for
the dairy herd, with the exception Of
concentrates, MS produced on thc Nor
ris0H farm, their fertile, well titled
acres producing far more than thu
average, the direct result Of ca rrful
plunrlnE and proper diversItiratiun.
The Morrison family moved tO the
Valley from Missouri niEe years ago,
and on their Valley farm they APP
piled the same fundamental prin-
ciples which brought them success in
their Northern home. But in the
Valley they found that their efforts
brought a more substantial reward
that il was a field which offered a
far wider scope, and they have not
failed to take full advantage " the
great fertility ~ the Valley sail and
its prompt response ~ intelligent ap-
plication Of modern farming methods.
Combine Cows and Citrus
Mr.. Morrison is NJ enthusiastic
over his citrus orchard ~ his dairy
herd. The first five acres were
planted nine years ago when the
farm was purchased. Fifteen acres
wrec added two years later, and the
entire twenty acres is bearing pro-
Ii fically. The orchard has been in
creased 10 so acres, making il one of
the largest individual planting in the
Valley.
In handling the orchard Mr.. Nor
rison applies the same scientific arc
~ ir hi dairy and farming oper-
atoms. lie has made an intensive
study az Valley conditions and their
relation TO citrus culture. His or
chard ~ generously fortified from
the dairy barn, and the result IL
manifest in the fruit laden branches
Of the bearing trees and the thrifty
growth of the younger trees.
Ia 2. r-.NAr-N r
Lower Bio Grande Valley is bearing
more politically this year than the
five acres Of grapefruit set out By
Mr.. Morrison nine years ago. Every
tree II loaded. the weight Of fruit
bending the lower branches "a the
ground. Very little Of the fruit has
been picked. and ID ~ estimated that
the production from the five acres
will run between 1000 and 5000
boxes All trees have been thorough
ly sprayed and the fruit il bright
and clean, fruit that will aid mate
rally in establishing the Valley stan
dard and create an ever-increasinz
demand for the products of Valley
orchards.
Profits For Farmers
II am convinced that within n few
years daifEfng VIII become n Of the
principal industries OF the Valley.
Mere and more farmers each year are
securing dairy herds or adding Ia
herds which have already proved
their value az profitmakers. They
are learning that their Valley farms
will produce more tons Of feed per
acre than we're ever dreamed Of in
the North; and those fed crops,
turned into dairy products, repre-
sent real profits"
Relative TO tire citrus industry, Mr.,
| fCcntinued on page two.)