GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 1049 



soon produced a few seedluigs. In the meantime it was determined that an area 

 in northern Florida most closely resembled tung's native China in climate and 

 soil conditions,. so it was there that the seedlings were transplanted and the first 

 bushel of American tung nuts produced in 1911. In 1947, more than 53,000 tons 

 of tung nuts were produced by the 14,000,000 tung trees growing in the tung 

 belt — a 50 to 100 mile strip of land skirting the Gulf coast and crossing six States. 

 Mississippi now leads in tung production with Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, 

 Georgia, and Texas following in the order of 1948 production. 



Memorandum Regarding Cost of Tung Orchard Maintenance, Harvest, 

 AND Hauling to Mill of Tung Nuts 



From recent actual case studies made in the field, it is revealed that a figure of 

 $37.79 per acre is very close to the actual cost of maintaining a tung orchard today 

 at present cost levels, in order to keep a tung grove in profitably producing con- 

 dition — and that a figure of $19.64 per ton would represent very closelj- the cost 

 of harvesting tung nuts today. Break-downs of these two figures are set forth 

 in the attached exhibits A and B. A milling cost of $12.50 was agreed upon, as 

 this is an actual fee being charged by several of the mills in the area today. 



The above-mentioned maintenance and harvest cost figures are based upon an 

 orchard yield of 1 ton per acre of whole tung fruit, and upon a program of orchard 

 practices as recommended officially by the Director, Dr. George F. Potter, of the 

 United States field laboratory for tung investigations, of the United States Bureau 

 of Plant Industr}', Soils, and Agricultural Engineering. 



It is also agreed by growers that an oil content of 18 percent would represent a 

 fairly close general average oil content for field-run tung nuts, and that a mill 

 recovery of 85 percent of the laboratory analysis would approximate closely the 

 actual conditions in the industry at the present time. 



Using the above figures one may readily calculate that, at the presently pre- 

 vailing market price of 19 cents per pound for tung oil, f. o. b., southern mill, 

 that a ton of tung nuts is today worth $58.14 delivered at the mill, before deducting 

 the milling fee of $12.50 per ton. After deducting this milling fee, the worth of a 

 ton of tung nuts to the grower is $45.64 at the miU. 



Upon adding together the above-mentioned maintenance and harvesting and 

 hauling-to-mill figures, one arrives at a total cost of production to $57.43 per ton. 

 Upon comparison of this figure with the worth of a ton of nuts to the grower at 

 the mill, it is readily seen that the grower is today losing monev at the rate of 

 $11.79 per ton. 



Exhibit A. — Break-down of per acre cost of maintaining a tung orchard of trees 

 8 to 12 years old in the Mississippi-Louisiana area to yield 1 ton of whole fruit 

 per acre 



Februarv to March: 



1 round with disk tiller $0. 70 



Break out middles with disk (2 rounds) 1. 40 



April to June 15:4 times with spring-tooth harrow 4. 50 



June 1 5 : Seed cover crop and apply slag or phosphate 3. 00 



Aug. 1 : Brushing terrace rows for volunteer sprouts, briars, and brush 



that disking won't reach 2. 00 



Sept. 1: 1 or 2 rounds offset disk with drag 1. 40 



Fertilization : 



Cover crop: 500 pounds slag or 250 pounds phosphate with 500 



pounds dolomitic limestone 4. 25 



Trees : 



9 years old average : 75 trees per acre : Nitrogen, IJ^ pounds 



at $70 per ton ammonium nitrate basis $11. 90 



Phosphate applied with cover crop: Potash, 1 pound at 

 $2.47 per hundredweight at farm, 50 percent muriate of 



potash 3. 70 



Application to trees 1. 50 



17. 10 



Overhead — 10 percent of cost 3. 44 



Total 37. 79 



