The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-01-31
robson FARMERS
GOOD PRODUCERS
Goods Valued At $685.
100000, Produced In
'43 In That County
BY F. H. JETER

BY F. III. JETER
1.-THE Lord was good to us ane
gave us fine weather in which to
harvest our hay, cotton and pea
nuts last year. comments w. D.
"Peavine" Reynolds, farm agent
of Robson County in telling about
how the progressive farmers OF
that county produced in 1943 new
agricultural products valued at
$23, 500, 900. Mr.. Reynolds breaks
down the farm income, item by
item, and fines that tobacco, as
would be expected, led in value
of all the crops with 23,500 acres
producing about % million pounds
which brought $9,60O,000 at an
average price OF 40 cents pound.
Cotton came next with $4,000 acres
planted and producing about AZ, 900
bales selling for about $4,000, 900.
when the value of seed is added
another million dollars could be
credited to the cotton crop.
Corn is not usually considered a
cash crop in Robson County but
Mr.. Reynolds says that the 10000
acres planted last year had a value
to the farmers OF $3,300,000. Pea
nuts were increased in acreage
due to the governmental demand
for more oil bearing crops and
about 1000 pounds of nuts per acre
were harvested from the 5000
acres planted. At seven cents
pound, these peanuts were worth
$3550,000 to the growers.
Thrifty Robson FARMERS believe
in pecan trees for shade and food.
Some of the best small pecan or
chards to be found in the State
are located in the county and while
the trees usually are set about
homes or in and about the lots
and outbuildings. Robson farm
ers sold $4,000 pounds of the nuts
for % cents pound to bring in
an additional income of $51, $50
from this oft-neglected source.
Robson County is rapidly be-
coming livestock-minded. Mr.. Rey-
nolds estimates that a complete
record of all the beef cattle, hogs
and other livestock s1d from the
county in 1913 would show an in
come of cool million dollars. But
this is only partial value of the
livestock produced in Robson. The
folks there believe in having a
good supply of home-cured hams
and bacon. They were the first to
establish at Lumberton the freezer
locker system that so many other
people are clamoring for right now,
and this installation not only has
been used to cure meat for farmers
OF Robson and neignboring coun-
ties but it also has been used for
the keeping of excellent beef and
other fresh meats and vegetables
for use by those who rent the lock-
ers. One of the best steaks that I
have eaten in many a day came
from one of those lockers and in
this day of meat rationing, the pro-
oucers of the county have found
the system both satisfactory and
profitable.
The income from the sale of
pulpwood, timber and other farm
forest products will easily reach
one million dollars while the in
come from poultry and dairying
and from the sale of a few special
items such as hay, truck crops,
soybeans and the like brought a
total of about three million other
dollars. Robson soils are fertile
and despite the years of cotton
and tobacco growing, the farmers
have learned to fertilize economi-
cally and to use winter cover crops
Of small grains and clovers to store
up the excess fertilizer left over
from the production of the sum-
mer cash crops. Most of those on
the farms are descendants of the
hardy Scotch Hilanders and Eng
lish who first settled in the north
ern, eastern and western parts of
the country. The stock is sound