The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1957-06-14
80 Years From
Tobacco TO Milk
BY BILL WALL

BY BILL WALL
June is Dairy Month, according
to an official announcement by
Governor Thomas B. Stanley.
w ] Morris and Sons in Amelia
did not need the announcement to
let them know about dairy month
because every month is dairy month
as fer as they are concerned
The Governor said Virginia now
has 49, 900 cows. producing annu-
ally more than 1000. 10000 pounds
CT milk. Our farmers receive over
SIS 600 900 annually for milk and an
additional S22 100000 from the sale
Of beef
Earlier in the week, Parka C.
Bfinkley, commissioner Of agricul-
ture. said, Virginia today produces
mix under sanitation standards sec
ond to none. and her milk is not
exceeded IN quality anywhere in the
United States.
These statements could easily
have been made after d visit to the
Amelia farm of w j Morris and
Sons Their farm with trim build
ings, green pastures, and white
fences. cuts a 700 or 50 acre swath
out Of the heart OF Amelia county.
Mr. Norris and his three sons
+arfgf baa II f,,a,. hnclc ~ ~. la;,,,
business some 80 years ago and
now have "one If the finest dairy
farms IN the county" according to
II A Holmes, county agent
Mr.. Morris said he started dairy
ing IN the early l92o's. After l
went broke raising Olive tobacco, "
he SAID, with a chuckle
Els three sons have taken over
ne active operation now. Garland
T. manages the herd and milk pvo-
duction ca the family farm; Ray,
mond J is the machine specialist,
and does the general farming: and
irving f. operates q separate farm,
"PlainView. on Route 360 near
Blackstone.
Garland who * Just over 40 years
Of age, keeps a careful eye on all
phases Of the dairy industry. n re-
member when there was only about
40 acrs Of cleared land on this
farm be- remarked. Nov it Is
well over half open and the rest we
are putting into pine timber
All q TIE land Is not at the one
farm and they sell grain and hay
every year
Acreage Allowed Per Cow
Garland figures that he has one
acre of pasture per COW, one acre
.of grain per COW. and one acre of
hay per milking COW.
They are milking l0l purebred
Guernseys nov, and their total milk
ing herd runs TO l25 head There
arc approx anatcly 100 head two
yeals old o. younger Garland
added
We don't sell any q cur haifers.
he explained We raise all of OH
requirements
Cutting the pooer stock is a never
ending process On the Morris farm.
Z. the COW doesn't milk 1000 pounds
as 4 Two Oh three year old. that is
the last chance She viii Get. Gar
land figures that 600 pounds is the
hs eak-even point and ii the COW
doesn't produce. there is no use in
feeding her
we may miss q COW that would
come along latter ON he admits.
"bu I don't think W. miss many Of
them
Ali Norris added that sometimes
a pcor COW IS Kept to keep the base
up We take into consideration
when she WIN fIeshen," lie added.
# We need her IA dat 4 good base
VIE win mix her even though size Is
4ot profitable at the time
Keeping Up with the latest id The
dairy business, the Morris family
has recently purchased two 800
gallon bulk tanks and 1000 gallon
hauling tank Tho tanks win be III
stalled in the mix house shortly
replacing equipment that is far from
Old O4 gatnl0fFd
The hauling tank VIII be used to
haul their own milk as well al
milk from Other diaries in the
neighborhood
tp-to-Date Farmers
On any phase Of farming you dis
cdss with the Morris family. YOU
soon discover that they are up-to-
date and are using the most modern
ana approved methods known III Il.
That doesn't mean they Jump into
any new schefae that comes along
but they sift out the best plans and
apply them to their farm.
The entire farm IS Oh an approved
soil plan basis that was worked OUT
by F B Childress. Amelia soil con
SerVaIonst The fields are laid out