Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1929-09-12
GARDNER URGES
MORE DAIRYING
IN Address Friday at West Jeffer-
son, Governor Also Tells North
west Farmers to Sell East Seed
Potatoes

West jefferson, Sept. 6.-Making
more money from milk cows, beef
cattle and Irish potatoes was recon-
mended to the western North Caro-
lima farmer today by Governor O..
Max Gardner.
Substantial profit can be made by
western Carolina farmers by increas-
ing dairying for local cheese and
creamery markets and in growing
certified seed Irish potatoes for the
eastern Carolina potato truckers, de-
clared the governor, speaking out
doors to large gathering assem-
5led at West jefferson from Ashe
and adjoining counties.
The occasion was the second an
nual farmers picnic and field day,
IN the celebration of which farm and
dairy improvement in the Ashe
county area was featured. The ex-
ercises featured the success of Ashe
county in furnishing milk for the use
Of the cheese factory built in West
jefferson little more than year
ago and 50 successfully operated
that the Kraf-Phoenix corporation
now proposes to build a 100000
plant in two units in order to fur
nlsh a permanent market for the
dairy farmers in Ashe and adioin-
ing counties. A representative of
the Kraft-PhoeniX corporation at
tended the rally and made brief
address in behalf of his corporation.
The governor advocated the policy
of each farmer supplementing his
present business by the gradual ad-
dition of purebred . and carefully
graded milk cows and dairy cattle,
and declared that the number of
GARY cows which can be proftably
managed by each farmer is limited
only by his available pasturage.
Farm dairying, according to Gov
ernor Gardner, offers the best chance
Of any industry of permanently in
creasing the income of the country
people of. northwestern North Caro-
lima. 'In farm dairying," he said,
you are developing phase-of agri-
culture peculiarly suited to your sec
ton and your climate"
North Carolina farmers-both
land-owning and tenant farmers
have not realized the monetary or
the health returns to be got from
keeping dairy cows on a small scale
by every farmer" said the COVER
nor. with only 275,O0O to 100000
milk cows, this state has approxi-
mately only one COW for every ten
people. 1t has but one COW per far
mer. Not only do we have too few
cows per person; we have the fur
ther handicap of very uneven dis
tribution of milk cows in different
sections of the state. Most of the
mountain section has approximately
one milk COW for each five persons.
The coastal plain and tidewater sec
lions OF the state on the other hand
have only one COW for each 25 per-
sons. Allegheny county is best sup
piled with milk cows, having one for
each 2.9 persons. Ashe and Wat
auga each have one COW for every
four persons, and Wilkes one COW
for every 5.5 persons
That splendid showing of the
mountain counties is, of course, part
ly to be attributed to the fact that
nature has made it easier and cheap
er to provide pasturage in this sec
tion than in any other section of
the state. Dairy farming is COM
paratlvely new industry, however,
even in western North Carolina
Last year the secondary markets,
made up, of cheese factories, cream
cries and condenseries, used some
thing like $3,00O,00O worth of raw
products. In addition, retail dairy
men distributed approximately $1O,-
100000 worth of milk to the urban
trade in North Carolina"