The Wilmington morning star., 1946-02-17
Wiln1ingto1,;s Fertilizer
Industry One OF Largest
One Third Of All Fertilizer Produced In
North Carolina Made In Local Plants
Along The Cape Fear River
REVENUE $15,0OO,O0O

Solidv established in the forefront of industrial
enterprises in Wilmington is the huge fertilizer bust
ness with it's II plants paying 4O00 people 900
a year manufacturing products with annual value
Of 100000 and producing one-third of all the fer
tilzer made in North Carolina.
Soon those II plants ranged along the Cape Fear
river will be Joined by two fertilizer industries
The impressive volume of fertilizer products already
supplied to farmers of the state will be increased and
750 people will be added to the payros of the Industry
Addition of the two plants will step up production
to estimated 100000 tons of fertilizer in 1916, and
225000 tons of suphurc phosphate will be manufacture
ed in the period from sulphur brought by ship
from Texas and phosphate rock brought from Florida
by boat.
Significant to port interests is the fact that loea
fertilizer plants in average year will require the
cargoes of 400 ships to transport materials, in addi
ton to the considerable shipments by rail into the area
' Overshadowing all other considerations, however,
is the prime Importance of the Wilmington fertilizer
plants to the farmers within the concentrated, 1885,
mile primary served by the plants. To the farm
ers the delicate balance of chemicals contained in the
fertilizers must be maintained crop sterility will
result.
During the war, Southeastern North Carolina
farm given and more to food and small
grain crops, radical departure from the usual plant
ing of the usual money" crops And the emphasis
shifted from type of planting to another the fer
tzer chemists had to shift too to provide the correct
formula for the particular kind of crop under cult
vation. .
For many years, for example, Southeastern North
Carolina farmers unable to grow lettuce of kind
suitable for extensive marketing Root of the trouble
was discovered to be soil deficiency So the only sup
.plier of artificial richness to the so-fertizer-had
to correct the deficiency Today lettuce grown in this
area is as strong and as marketable as lettuce from
any truck-farm in the world.
North Carolina fertilizer plants besides the usual
hazards of producing the right type Of fertilizer for
the right kind of soil, have yet another problem to-
bacco Of all the products of Southeastern North Caro-
lima SOIL requires the and skill and nurtur
ing to the degree that tobacco requires it. With few
exceptions tobacco farmers rely upon the fertilizer
manufacturers to mix the exacng fertilizers for their
crops Slight chemical play havoc with tobacco
crops. And the increase in tobacco produc-
tion has caused corresponding increase in the
of fertilizer.
But divorced from the obvious social effects such
large industry inevitably has on the area which 1t
serves, the economic impact of the fertilizer INDUS
try in the Wilmington Fertilizer requires an In
ordinate amount of handling from the time it starts It's
journey until it is ploughed under the SOIL 1t requires
storage space 1t adds up to more jobs more payrols
and more money in circulation.
A few years ago, fertilizer producer In Virginia
distributed fertilizer in which one OF the chemical ele"
ments appeared in excessive quantities. And in spite
of the fact that the an nnlteslmal part OF
per cent the faulty fertilizer ruined thousands Of
dollars worth of valuable crops.
Throughout the war, the fertilizer industries
handicapped in the fashion as other industries
labor shortages, cramped shipping facilities, and lack
however, the industries have passed the crisis and
resumed their production of fertilizer for North Caro-
lima farmers in pre-war proportions.