Tabor City tribune. (Tabor City, N.C.) 1946-1991, 1947-08-07
Products With Other
Working Seasons Said
To Bring Extra Income
BY c. B. RACHFORD
Farm Management Specialist
s==G@xzU1
N. G.. State College

Tobacco is King in Moth Caro-
lima. 1t has been an important
enterprise in North Carolina since
the first colonists settled along
the Eastern coast and has risen
in Importance as the years have
gone by. True, there have been
years when the weather was bad
and others when prices were so
low that it seemed tobacco would
lose it's place as King. Tobacco
has always risen again from what
ever difficulty it encountered.
more important than ever.
In spite of a late, cold spring,
and repeated attacks of blue mold,
another good tobacco crop is on
it's way to market. The golden
leaves being taken from the fields
to the barn and then to the mar
ket means as much to the farm
family as the gold found in the
Gold Rush of the 10Th century.
Since tobacco is King it justly
takes precedence over all enter
prises. For example, if both to-
bacco and corn need to be cult
waited at the same time, tobacco
will be cultivated before corn. If
only tons of fertilizer is avail
able and tobacco needed three and
a half tons of it, tobacco got the
three and half tons and the
half ton is left for the other
crops. Since tobacco has been so
profitable, it should take preced-
ence over other enterprises. How
ever, consideration must be given
to other enterprises and to the
management of the farm as a
whole. If farmers plant only to-
bacco, they may encounter SER
ious difficulties in the future.
On most farms tobacco occupies
only a small percentage of the
cropland. In 1914, according to
the Federal Census, there were
648,S196 acres Of tobacco in NC.
This was only IL percent OF the
total cropland or 4 percent OF the
total farm land in the state. The
value of this tobacco was about
292 million dollars. The total cash
farm income in the state for the
same year was only 4S9 million
dollars. Thus, tobacco contributed
60 percent of the total cash farm
income for the state. The state Isl
indeed fortunate that it could Sc
cure over pol million dollars from
slightly over 648,000 acres OF its
scropland. This raises the ques-
ton, however, as to what the oth-
er Is million acres Of farm land
in N. C. contribute in the way OF
income. Half of the land in fans
in N. C. is devoted to woodland,
vet the total income OF forest
products for 1914 was only 40
million dollars. This is only about
SO cents per acre.
The very fact that tobacco oc-
cupies a small percent of the crop
land on most farms is at the same
time a management problem and
wonderful opportunity. Under
present price levels, it would not
be advantageous for the farmer
to decrease his tobacco acreage
however, it is good management
for him to use the acres not de-
voted to tobacco. The maximum
profit for a farm can be secured
only when every acre is being
used for the purpose it is best
suited. The individual farmer has
he may use to utilize the remain
a wide range of enterprises which
der of his farm land.
When selecting enterprises to
use on the remaining cropland the
farmer should consider the land
available and the crops he will
choose just the same as he consid-
ers the land to be planted in to-