The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-06-12

Improvement but because Of the
continuous rains, the growers
could not get pillow into the field.
Consequently, the crops were allow
ed to grow and they produced one
of the finect hay crops this state
has ever seen. One man, who
farms in an old tobacco county,
said more hay had been cut and
saved in his county so far this
season than was harvested during
the whole of last year. There comes
reports also of wonderful pastures,
of blue grass growing on lined
soils, of men seeding grass and
clover on land that will produce a
bale of cotton to the acre, and of
temporary grazing crops planted
for the late summer.
All of this means that North
Carolina folks recognize the very
pertinent truth which emphasizes
feed before livestock. There is a
shortage of fed all over the United
States and this particular section
is VIGOROUSLY a feed shortage area.
We have depended too much in
the past on obtaining our corn and
other feed grains from the middle
west. Every effort should be made
this season to grow more corn per
acre so that it can be fed at home
along with the fine crop of hay and
the summer grazing now being pre-
pared. If it takes the use of more
nitrogen side dresser, then
we should use more of this material
because we not only need more
corn for feed but some of us still
like our grits and cornbread. It
does not take long memory to re-
call how short these two food
items were in the stores last win.
ter.
But, the fact Of increased live
stock production is seen also in
the actual animals now on our
farms. All through the east can
be found some of the fine Jersey
heifers brought in as family cows
from the drouth stricken areas
of the mid-aouth last fall. More
than 700 of these heifers were dis
tributed with many of them going
on farms where no milk COW had
been in years previously. have
seen some of these animals and
they were well-tended through the
winter. Most of them have dropped
calves and are thus becoming the
foundation Of nuerous small dairy
herds. The county livestock shows,
the fat shows, the increased ship
pings of spring lambs, the coope-
rative movement of finished hogs,
and the sleek herds of whi+e-faced
cattle also testify to the greater
interest in livestock.
If one wanted more specific
proof, he had only to go to
Goldsboro last Thursday and Fri
day when Wayne County held its
first Guernsey Cattle Show. The
show was staged under the super
vision of the Goldsboro Chamber
of Commerce which provided $500
in premiums and expense money
A. c. Kinney, dairy extension
specialist, assisted County agent c.
S. Mintz and his assistant, D ]
Murray, in planning and handling
the show and the judging was done
by Profs R. H. Ruffner and F
M. Haig of the State College Dairy
Department Prof Ruffner made
the direct statement that it was
the best county show that he had
ever seen There were So animals
entered and they were of as fine
quality as one could wish. AS
went up and down the line Of
tethered animals, my mind went
back to that day several years ago
when ! took trip over the county
with the then farm agent and Dr..
J. H. Kerr of the local health de-
partnent. DR. Kerr was not posi-
tive then that he could get decent
drink of grade "A milk in the
whole county
But times have changed. w. w.
Andrews, prominent Grange leader
and leading Wayne County farm
er, told the assembled All club
members and farmers at the ban
quet the evening prior to the show
that he had waited Is years for
such an event. He and other mem.
bers Of his family had brought in
some fine blood and had done much
to breed up the cattle on Wayne
farms. In later years, the Exten-
sion agents had waged an agrees
sive campaign for mora dairy cows
and today, Wayne has some of the
best. If Wayne can turn to cattle
after years of cotton, tobacco, soy
beans and truck crops, then any
county can do the same. More than
300 of the leading citizens of Colds.
boro and Wayne County came Out
to see the show. They expressed
themselves as being amazed al
the quality Of the animals exhibit