The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-09-24
Abundant Feed Crops
Can Be Easily Gro1u1,

North Carolina dairymen and
beef cattle growers can easily pro-
duce the feed needed to support an
expanding livestock industry and
wipe out the deficit of about $780,
600 tons of forage a year. 1t will
be necessary for the present to
purchase some grain.
This is not an opinion of one
man. It is the mature judgment
Of a group of farmers from Lenoi1
County who recently visited dairy
farms in Wake County where they
studied silos, mechanical hay
driers, alfalfa production, the
building of permanent pastures,
and the need for supplemental
grazing crops to round out com
plete feed program.
County Agent Edmund Aycock
and Assistant Agent F. j. Koonce.
Jr., of the State College Extension
Service at Kinston, headed the
Lenoir group. County Agent Lloyd
7. Weeks and Assistant Agent
Bruce Butler of Wake conducted
the tour. They were entertained
by E. Y. Floyd, director of the
Plant Food Institute.
The farms of John Pope, Dave
Worth, w. A. Green, Herbert
Akens, and w. B. Franks were
visited and on each of these farms
they found progressive practices
leading to greater feed produc-
ton in thoroughly practical man
ner. The visitors also examined
some tests of the Agricultural Elk.
pertinent Station.
John Pope had some excellent
alfalfa and this crop was also
noted on three of the other S2ur
farms. 1t was agreed that alfalfa
offers one of the best opportunities
TO producing extra feed of high
quality.
All of the growers had gooc
permanent pastures and some o.
them were produced under mos
adverse conditions. Lime, stable
manure, plenty of fertilizer, ane
correct methods of seeding we {
producing excellent esul S
Franks and Green were placing
special emphasis on supplemental
grazing crops. Akens had rs acre:
of permanent pastures and i!
planning to develop an additional
Is acres for his Angus herd. HI
has just completed a new feeding
barn. Let's take just one Of these
farms and examine feed condition!
there.
Out on the Poole Road, a few
miles from Raleigh, Dave Worth
showed the group of farmers two
silos filled to the brim with 12s
tons of silage from 10 acres. Las
year it required about 20 acre!
to fill the silos.
| There was a mechanical hay
drier in one of his barns, put il
at a cost of about $500. He savee
10 tons of hay with the drier las
fall and about so tons this sum
mer. When he was asked if hi
could have saved all of this hay
without the drier, he said tina
he would have lost from one
third to one-half of it without thu
drier.
"Is this hay of better quality
than that you usually save?" Wa!
another question put to Worth by
the farmers. 'Just look at il
boys,-No. l hay" Worth said
Never produced any hay like
this in the field in my life. Tha-
drier has already paid for itsel.
and I wouldn't take anything TO,
it, if I couldn't get another
Worth has Is cows and about Il
to 20 head of young animals.
The farmers were delighted
with the results obtained from the
drier and they were convinced tina
there will be hundreds and pos
sibly thousands of these driers pu'
| in during the coming years ii
I'll sections of North Carolina fol
the saving of high quality hay
Worth had =. IS acres in alfalfa
part of it seeded last fall anc
part the year before. The young
crop had been cut three times
and will not be cut again because
enough growth must be left tt
carry it through the winter. The
old alfalfa is ready for the fourth
cutting. He put his alfalfa or
good land with a coating of stable
manure, lime and 500 pounds O.
2-12-12 fertilizer, containing boron
He applied an extra 20 pounds O
borax per acre in June this veal
to give his crop the right amour
of boron with heavy yields.
Worth plowed under a goot
crop of lespedeza on part of tn,
land where he put alfalfa 'Seem
e11l:.L III yIy@xl1