Dairying 



Dairy farms on cut-over lands furnish all the natural essentials of successful 

 dairying as described in Bulletin No. 155, U. S. Department of Agriculture, and 

 quoted as follows: 



"The first and most important natural advantage of the South for profitable 

 dairying is its climate, which makes it possible to have good grazing on fresh 

 pastures from nine to twelve months of every year. The least expensive feed for 

 the maintenance of any animal is that which is gathered by grazing. It is impos- 

 sible to secure a full flow of milk from a cow which does not have fresh and 

 succulent food from fresh pastures, soiling crops, root crops, or the silo, and the 

 best of these is fresh pastures. Natural pastures of Bermuda grass, Lespedeza 

 grass and other plants are abundant and good through the summer. Cow peas 

 and sorghum will carry the cows through the fall in constantly improving con- 

 dition, and by December, with oats, vetches and crimson clover, afford rich 



Dairying 



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 t-Over Lands 



grazing, which lasts until the natural grasses begin their spring growth. In no 

 other part of the country is it possible to secure good grazing through so great a 

 part of the year at so little cost. The mild winters make it unnecessary to provide 

 expensive buldings for protection from cold. The increase in the amount of 

 food needed simply to sustain animal heat in the region where the temperature 

 ranges from 20 degrees to 30 degrees F. lower, as it does in most of the prominent 

 dairy sections of the country, is no small item in the cost of maintenance, and 

 in those sections there is always a marked decrease in the flow of milk whenever 

 additional feed is needed for warmth. The more mild the winter the less will 

 be the total amounts both of forage and grain needed for the support of the 

 animal. In nearly every part of the South there is a good home market for 

 all dairy products, and the demand will be beyond the supply for many j 

 to come. There are few counties in this section which do not consume double 

 the amount of butter they produce, and in which really good butter will not 

 br ng a satisfactory price in the local market. A local market is always the 

 best market for any farm product." 



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