T" ' *V 'V ' I I rj . i' J \ ,,* % 4 \0 \ \ *r tt '-'4 {jf ij 5 I 0 h + t TABLE OF CONTENTS Statement from Commissioner of Agriculture Phil Campbell Georgia Georgia Firsts and Facts State Government Table - Dams and Lakes Graphs - Georgia Cash Farm Income - 1941 & 1961 Agriculture Ranked with Other States Table - Ten Leading Counties in Certain Agricultural Products Main Agricultural Products Truck Crops Cotton Tobacco Peanuts Hogs and Pigs Cattle and Calves Commercial Broilers Chickens and Eggs Forestry and Forestry Products Wheat Corn Peaches and Pecans Page 1 o~ 4_6 7 o 9 ^ 13 14-15 ig_ ,7 18-19 20_21 22-23 24-25 26-27 28-29 30-31 32_33 04 35-37 1Am * p ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In compiling this publication, information was obtained from several sources. Historic information was secured from publication of Lucein Lamar Knight, late Historian of Georgia. Populations figures and some of the agricultural data were obtained from or based upon the U.S. Census, while other agricultural data came from records of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Information on dams and lakes was furnished by the U. S. Corps of Engineers, the Georgia Power Company and the Clerk to the Crisp County Commissioners. Photographs were obtained from the Lilliston Implement Company, the J. I. Case Company, the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, the Georgia Experiment Station and the Cotton Producers Association. 3 T f / * Revised Edition November, 1963 Published by the GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Phil Campbell, Commissioner Atlanta, Georgia 0 I r Georgia Crop Reporting Service Statistical Reporting Service U. S. Department of Agriculture Athens, Georgia In Cooperation with Agricultural Extension Service College of Agriculture University of Georgia Athens, Georgia itfW* ^^^^^^^^^H OH^^Mi ABOUT THIS BOOK / * Many of you have made requests to the Georgia Department of Agriculture for information about your state and the county in which you live. Much of this desired information is published in a statistical form that is difficult for you to use to the best advantage. It is the purpose of this publication to present in a readable form some of the more important happenings in Georgia agriculture. ^ t This publication deals primarily with Georgia's agriculture, including easily understood map graphs and narrative summaries about each of Georgia's principal crops. However, some other historical and governmental information is included for easy reference, It is our hope that you will use this publication to learn of your state's agricultural resources which have made Georgia a major agricultural state during its entire history. Use it to supplement / your study of Georgia history that has been closely bound to the soil since the days when "Cotton was King" to the present when we have emerged into a truly modern, diversified agricultural state. **. ^ If you would like more information about your particular county, individual leaflets are available on each county in Georgia from the Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Building, Capitol Square, Atlanta, Georgia, or the Crop Reporting Service, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. Phil Campbell Commissioner r * * Atlanta's $10,000,000 State Farmers' Market GEORGIA Georgia, named for King George of England, was the last of the thirteen original colonies. It was founded by General James Edward Oglethorpe on February 12, 1733. It was then inhabited by various tribes of the Creek and Cherokee Indian nations with the original area including land from the Atlantic up between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers from whose headwaters it extended to the South Seas. In 1783 the western boundary was changed to the Mississippi River and in 1802 the Chattahoochee River was established as the western boundary of the State. Under an act of March 15 , 1758 the colony of Georgia was organized into eight parishes: Christ Church, St. Matthew, St. George, St. Paul, St. Philip, St. John, St. Andrew and St. James. By act of March 25 , 1765 four more parishes were added: St. David, St. Patrick, St. Thomas and St. Mary. When Georgia became a state in 1777, the parishes were converted into seven large counties. One was called Liberty, to commemorate the patriotism of the famous Midway settlement, while the others were named for English champions of Colonial rights: Burke, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn and Richmond. Wilkes was the eighth county added in the same year. The state now contains 159 counties second in number only to Texas. Under the State Constitution of 1777 the first Legislature met in Savannah; but this city was never the official state capital. In December, 1778 Savannah was captured by the British and from then until 1784 the Legislature met at Augusta with the exception of two terms , one of which was held at Heard's Fort in Wilkes County and the other at Ebenezer in Effingham County. Augusta was made the first official capital of the State in 1786; but was succeeded by Louisville in 1795. In 1806 the seat of state government was moved to Milledgeville ' and lastly to Atlanta in 1867. >- Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River; the land area is 37,429,120 acres or 58,483 square miles. It lies between 82 and 87 west longitude and 31 and 35 north latitude. The altitude varies between zero on the coast to 4,768 feet at Brasstown Bald in Union County. The climate is temperate with an average "freeze free growing season" of 290 days at the coast decreasing gradually northward to 190 days of "freeze free growing season" in the extreme northeast. Average daily maximum temperature for the warmest month (July) ranges from 85 in the extreme northeast to about 93 in the warmest areas. The daily average summer minimum ranges from near 61 in the north to 73 on the lower coast. Average annual rainfall ranges from a maximum of more than 70 inches in the extreme northeast to less than 45 inches; in the east central part of the state. The average for the majority of the state is in excess of 53 inches. The state is divided into two major soil areas on a line approximately through Augusta and Macon to Columbus , the upper portion of the state being the Southern Appalachian Region and the lower portion being the Atlantic and ' Gulf Coastal Plain. In these two major areas are included eight soil provinces with soils ranging in types from deep phase sand to heavy clays with sandy and clay loams . between these extremes. According to the 1959 Census of Agriculture over one half of the land area was devoted to 106,350 farms which was the smallest number of farms since 1900; but the average size was the largest of the same period. The average value of farm land and buildings almost doubled between 1945 and 1950 and increased in 1955 to almost three times the value ten years earlier. In 19 62 Georgia led the nation in the production of commercial broilers , peanuts , velvet beans , pimentoes and pecans . Annual naval stores iB^^^mamMMM^mmMm HB^^^^H s?e^cnonnHd in tthhe pro?ductiorn of? sug8arPc6arnCeenstyruf pthaendnaltuipnin'Se ssueepdpl,yt'hirIdn ianddthiteiopnr,oditucrtainoknedof flue-cured tobacco and watermelon and fourth in cantaloups. In 1914 Georgia ranked second only to Texas in cotton production with 2 ,718 ,000 bales from 5,157,000 acres The estimates of October 1, 1963 are for a crop of 600,000 bales from 644,000 acres Phenomenal changes have occurred in the agriculture of the state. In 1924 the cash' farm income was $209,145,000 which shrunk to $68,508,000 in the midst of the de- pression in 1932 and reached a peak in 1962 of $831,064,000. In 1924 crops accounted for 86.8 percent of the cash income and even though the income from crops in 19 62 was more than twice the 1924 amount crops accounted for only 44. 7 percent of the total The greatest expansion was in the poultry industry, particularly commercial broilers , which was negligible prior to 1934 and by 1956 accounted for about one fifth of all sales In- come from other livestock enterprises , particularly dairying and beef cattle, made' tre- mendous gains in the period from 1924-1956. Mechanization and the standard of living on farms have also made tremendous strides in the 15 year period from 1940-1954 as evidenced by the following comparisons: tractors 9,327 to 88,118; trucks 21 693 to 1*1 au tomobiles u 77<049 to m,020; farms with electricity 43,958 to 152,360; farms with telephones 8 ,473 to 36 ,500; farms with running water 15 ,823 to 85 ,767. The first census , taken in 1790 , showed a total population for the state of 82 548 f,ern^lClaSSified aS follows: 13<13 free white males 16 years of age and upward' 14 044 free white males under 16 years , 25 ,739 free white females , 398 other free persons on, i^ tlT83' ^ 18 t0tal PPulation h^ nearly doubled and by 1850 had reached ' ' uTtal PPulatin in 1950 was 3,444,578 of which 962,435 resided on farms 631,895 whites and 330,630 non-whites. The white farm population is almost one third less than the number in 1925 and the non-white farm population is less than one half the number in 1925. e GEORGIA STATE CAPITOL, ATLANTA \ GEORGIA FIRSTS AND FACTS Georgia was one of the original thirteen colonies and was one of the first four states to ratify the Constitution. The first state agricultural experiment station was founded in Savannah in 173 5 The oldest orphanage still in service in America is Bethesda, near Savannah, opened in 1740. Bethesda, meaning "House of Mercy" served as a hospital during the War Between the States. Georgia's first Baptist minister, Daniel Marshall, was arrested for preaching at Kiokee, near Appling, Columbia County, nearly 200 years ago on the charge that his doctrine did not conform to that of the Church of England. Kiokee, Georgia's oldest Baptist Church, Churches. which was established in 1772, is the birthplace of all Georgia Barptist Georgia was a leader in providing higher learning at public expense and was the tirst to charter a state university--the University of Georgia in 1785. In 1793, Eli Whitney patented the first cotton gin, which he invented. This gin was placed in operation near Washington, Georgia. Georgia was the first state to grow cotton for commercial use. .Tkefirst successfully Perated cotton mill in the South, the Bolton factory, was built in Wilkes County, Georgia. Launcelot Johnstone, a Georgian, perfected the process by which cotton seed oil could be made from previously discarded cotton seed. On May 20, 1819, "The Savannah" was the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It departed from Savannah, Georgia en route to Liverpool, England . QO Jhe krst ^ilroad in America was built on a plantation near Savannah, Georgia in 1820. The cars were horse-drawn. This railroad operated for 46 years The first General Hospital for Negroes in the United States was opened in Savannah, Georgia in 1832. The first passenger train in the world came to Augusta, Georgia in 1834. The first gold mining operation of importance in the United States was at Dahlonega, where a U. S. government mint was located from 1838 to 1861. Wesleyan College at Macon, Georgia, was the first chartered college in the world for women. It opened in 1839. The first use of ether as an anaesthetic was in 1842, when Dr. Crawford W. Long performed an operation in Jefferson, Georgia. 1844 THe flrSt iCG manufacturin machine began operation in Columbus, Georgia, in + V* * * > r The Rt. Rev. John James Hunt, who was born at Athens, in 1810, is distin- guished for three "firsts. " He was the first native Georgian to be ordained to the ministry of the Episcopal Church in his state, he was his church's first missionary to Atlanta, and in 1847 he became the first rector of the present Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta. ^ States^ 18?4 Gergia instituted the first state department of agriculture in the United Bauxite, used to manufacture aluminum, was discovered in Georgia in 1887 Georgia Congressman Tom Watson secured the first federal appropriation for Rural Free Delivery m 1893. This service was placed in operation in 1896 On March 2, 1912 the Girl Scouts of America was formed in Savannah, Georgia, by Juliette Low. Her childhood home in Savannah has been purchased by the organization and will be made a National Girl Scout Center. The first woman United States Senator was Mrs. Rebecca Felton of Cartersville Georgia She took office in 1922. She was appointed by former Governor Thomas W Hardwick. Georgia was the first state to require biroth registration. Georgia was the first state to declare that married women have full property rights S > The first Protestant Sunday School in America was founded in Savannah. ^^^^^^^^^B H^Hi^H^HH^H^H V I GEORGIA FIRSTS AND FACTS What is thought to have been the first golf course in the United States was laid out at Darien, near the southeastern coast of Georgia. The first County-owned hydroelectric plant is in Crisp County, Georgia. The largest solid granite body inthe world is Stone Mountain and is located near Atlanta, Georgia. Bainbridge is the birthplace of the automatic bottle washer, and has the only plant of its kind in the South. A rural telephone line serving a section near Americus, has begun drawing its power from a solar battery. It is the first commercial telephone service of this type to be installed. Bell Laboratories expect enough electricity to operate eight telephones. The power unit is a boxlike "solar Battery. " It has cells covered with silicon which pick up the sun's rays and convert them into electric energy. Some of the power will go into the telephone line. Some of it will go into storage batteries for use after sunset. America's first Prop-Jet Transport airplane is in quantity production at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, Marietta. Fort Benning and Lawson Army Air Field are located 9 miles south of Columbus. Fort Benning is the world's largest infantry training school, the reservation covering 185, 000 acres. In Charlton County lies a part of Okefinokee Swamp, one of the greatest submerged areas in North America, exceeded in size only by the Everglades of Florida and the Dismal Swamp in Virginia. The Wren's Nest, the former home of Joel Chandler Harris in Atlanta, received its name when a wren built hes.nest in the mailbox and, rather than distrub her, Mr. Harris built another mailbox. Mr. Harris is remembered as the creator of the "Uncle Remus" stories. Franklin D. Roosevelt, late President of the United States., made many visists to Warm Springs, where his home was known as the Little White House. The 898 acres of tree-shaded squares and parks in Savannah, a city which a- bounds in historic houses and monuments, are an extension of the original ground plan designed by General James Edward Oglethorpe, who founded the Colony of Georgia in 1733. & A Civil War cannon, believed to be the only double barrelled cannon in the world, is preserved in Athens. The cannon proved impractical, as firing of the barrels was not synchronized. The cannon balls, which were chained together, broke apart and carried only a short distance. Rock City Gardens, near Chattanooga, Tennessee, are located atop of Lookout Mountain in Georgia. It is one of the most popular tourists attractions in the state. Georgia Warm Springs Foundation was established in 1927 as a sanitarium and hospital at Warm Springs to aid those suffering from the after-effects of infantile paralysis, and a training center for professional workers in the treatment of poliomyelitis after-effects. From January 1 through June 30, 1956, employers whose workers are insured under the Georgia Employment Security Law paid a total of $1, 124, 797, 569 in wages and salaries. This was an increase of $181, 413, 719 over the same period of 1955 and the highest number in the State's history, according to Ben T. Huiet. This amount was paid to 712, 810 covered workers. At the end of December, 1956, Georgia had 995, 500 non-farm wage earners, the highest number in the State's history, according to Commissioner of Labor Ben T. Huiet. The yearly average was 971, 000. Factory workers in Georgia received weekly pay checks of $61. 81 in the month of December. The weekly average for 19 56 was $57.17. One of the largest herds of registered purebred Shetland ponies in the South is now grazing on pastures of the old Dickson farm near Sparta. The farm is primarily a cattle ranch, and the owners say they raise the ponies for their own pleasure. N ROCK EAGLE The Rock Eagle 4-H Club Center, located on the shores of a 110-acre lake in Putnam County near Eatonton, Georgia, is a three million dollar facility of the Cooperative Extension Service, University of Georgia, dedicated to helping the youth and adults of Georgia have a better way of life. Included in the Center are 54 cottages which will house 954 people, 7 educational-assembly buildings, an airconditioned auditorium which will seat more than 1,200 persons, a dining hall where 1,200 persons can be fed in an hour's time, a lovely chapel and a giant swimming pool CENTER FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION In Athens is located the University's Center for Continuing Education devoted specifically to adult education. Made possible by a grant of $2,500,000 by the W K Kellogg Foundation and $900,000 from the State of Georgia, the Center includes 300 bedrooms, private and public dining rooms, a large auditorium modeled after the UN General Assembly room, 25 conference rooms, television studios, film, photographic and sound laboratories, art department, library and exhibit lounge. During its first year of operation the Center was visited by over 50,000 people from every state and 14 foreign countries -- attending conferences, short courses and non-credit programs and addresses. * ' 9 University's New Science Center at Athens ^^^^^^^i STATE GOVERNMENT The State Capitol of Georgia is located in Atlanta. + The Governor is elected for a period of four years and cannot succeed himself. The Lieutenant-Governor is elected for four years and is the President of the State Senate. The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer over the House of Representatives and is elected by the House. The Secretary of State, Comptroller General, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Schools , Commissioner of Agriculture , Commissioner of Labor and the five members of the Public Service Commission are all elected for a term of four years . There are seven judges of the State Supreme Court and six judges of the State Court of Appeal, all elected for a term of six years. The Georgia Legislature consists of 54 Senators and 205 Representatives elected for a term of two years . One Senator is elected for each State Senatorial District and the number of Representatives in each county is determined by the population of that county. No county in the State can have more than three Representatives. The minimum voting age for Georgia citizens is 18 years. A voter must be a resident of the State for at least one year and a resident of the County for at least six months. Georgia has twelve members in the Congress of the United States; two Senators , elected for a term of six years , and 10 members of the House of Repre- sentatives , elected for a term of two years. jw GEORGIA CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS r N as OI^GJCA. r r /^ ^^i^l^HH^HWI^H u wmmm^mi^^m GEORGIA CASH FARM INCOME - 1924 Total $209, 145, 000 (No Government payments) Livestock and Products $27, 579, 000 Percent of Total 13. 2% Crops $181, 566, 000 Percent of Total 86. 8% ' v v Other Livestock .2% 9 GEORGIA CASH FARM INCOME - 1962 Livestock and $440, 761, Products 000 Total $831, 064, 000 (Including Government P ayments) Crops "V Percent of Total 53. 0% $356,603,000 Percent of Total 42. 9% Government Payments $33, 700, 000 Percent of Total 4. 1% ? fc. Georgia leads the nation in its production of Naval Stores and t. one of the leading states in pulpwood production. (1) and (3) Fine stands of Georgia pines (2) Pine pj pared to produce rosin (4) and (S) Crude gum as it comes fi ines 'ww^w-.*&iMm(*w 'W-<* \ * i mm < i **'" ^ Crop GEORGIA 19b2 PRODUCTION FOR CERTAIN CROPS COMPARED WITH OTHER STATF.S First Second Third Fourth Fifth Broilers Georgia Arkansas Al abama North Carolina Mississippi Peanuts : Georgia North Carolina Virginia Texas Alabama Cowpeas :Texas Ok 1 ahoma Georgia South Carolina Mississippi Velvet Beans : Georgia Alabama Florida Lupine Seed South Carolina Georgia Florida Pecans (Improved) Georgia New Mexico Al abama Mississippi Louisiana Sugar Cane Syrup Louisiana Georgia Alabama Mississippi Crimson Clover Seed Oregon Georgia Alabama Tennessee Mississippi Tobacco (Flue-cured) North Carolina Pecans (Seedling) Texas South Carolina Georgia Ok 1 ahoma Mississippi Virginia Georgia Arkansas Louisiana F1orida Alabama WatermeIons Florida Texas Georgi a Ca 1 ifornia South Carolina Cantaloups Cali fornia Arizona Texas Georgia Indiana Peaches E I Ca1i fornia South Carolina Georgia Pennsylvania New Jersey n ~> jf i -w** > THE TEN LEADING COUNTIES IN GEORGIA IN PRODUCTION OF CERTAIN CROPS AND IN VALUE OF PRODUCTS SOLD Cotton 1/ Tobacco 1/ Peanuts 1/ Corn 1/ Wheat 1/ Improved Pecan Trees 2/ First Second Third Fourth Burke Dooly Colquitt Lau rens Colquitt Coffee Berrien Lowndes Early Worth iiller Mitchell Bulloch Colquitt Grady Early Jefferson Houston Madison Hart Dougherty Mitchell Lee Crisp Fifth Sixth Bartow Worth Pierce Tattnall Calhoun Terrell Thomas Laurens Dooly Franklin S umte r Macon Seventh Eighth Ninth 3ulloch Jefferson Emanuel Tift Bulloch Cook Decatur Randolph Dooly Mitchell Decatur Tattnall Peach Washington Crisp Thomas Calhoun Peach Tenth Johnson Appling Tu rner Brooks Macon Lamar Peach Trees 2/ Cattle 6 Calves 2/ Peach Sumte r Crawford Macon Heriwfithpr Houston Taylor iitchell Colquitt Thomas Screven Macon Upson Early Spa1 d i ng Dougherty Bihh Coffee Washington, Laurens Hogs S Pigs 2/ Chickens , 4 mos. 6 older 2/ Bull&ch Hall Coffee Union Laurens Greene Colquitt Cherokee Grady Fulton errien Brooks Chat tooga Walker I rwin Forsyth Screven Th omas Whitfield Grady Field Crops 3/ Colquitt Bulloch Jorth Burke Mitchell I rwin Coffee Early Dooly Tift Vegetables 3/ Thomas Fruits S Nuts 3/ Peach All Crops 3/ Colquitt Dairy Products 3/ Poultry 6 Poultry Putnam Products 3/ Hall Other Livestock 6 Livestock Products 3 Sumter All Products 3/ Hall Grady M a c o n Brooks Crisp Baldwin Dool Z- Crawford Meriwether Houston Dooly Bulloch Worth Tift Mitchell Coffee Morgan Monroe Sumt er Jenkins Jas pe r Forsyth Cherokee Whitfield Jackson Franklin Doughertr Mitchell Bullo>ch Grady Screven Colquitt S umt e r Coffee Bulloch Cherokee Turner Colquitt Heriwethe: Macon Taylor Burke Washington Bibb I rwin Dooly Upson Early Newton Wilkes loyd. Bihb Habe rshan White Gwinnett Lumpkin -Colquitt Laurens Thomas Cnffpp Forsyth Worth Hitchel1 R u r k p 9/ ^Q1^1031 RePrtin8 Service - Production Estimate (1961). 2/ 1959 Census of Agriculture - Number on Farms. 3/ 1959 Census of Agriculture - Value of Products Sold Vegetables Sold from Georgia Farms 1959 (U. S. Census Reports) I dot : $20, 000 r % f VEGETABLES Georgia has made considerable progress in recent years with its upward trend in r both production and quality of its vegetables. Home gardens have decreased rapidly due to the declining farm population. r Volume of vegetables processed, especially frozen products, has increased. Some vegetables grown in Georgia, such as pimientos, edible cowpeas, okra, squash and several leafy greens are not produced in substantial volume in other sections of r the country. Much of the nation's supply comes from Georgia's production. Prices received for Georgia-grown fresh market vegetables has increased steadily in recent years as growers improved quality. Georgia, in 1944, led the nation in watermelon, pimiento pepper and sweet potato production. It continues to lead in pimiento pepper and ranks third in watermelon production. r~ The 19 20 Census of Agriculture showed 244,000 farms growing vegetables for home use and sale compared with only 86,000 farms in 1959. Value of vegetables sold in Georgia in 1962 is estimated at $20, 313, 000. A wide variety of soils and climatic variations enable Georgia to grow many vegetable crops. Early spring vegetables in southern counties provide a good source of farm income. Major crops grown are watermelons, tomatoes, cabbage, snapbeans, squash, okra, turnip greens and sweet corn. Further north, watermelons, cantaloupes, pimiento pepper, edible cowpeas and turnip greens are grown in volume. 14 corrai Acreage Harvested in deorgia 1961 (Georgia Crop Reporting Serrioe) 1 dot - 1,000 Acres 'r iHB r:& COTTON Cotton has been a mainstay of Georgia agriculture for more than a century and a half. Though it no longer is King of Georgia agriculture, it is still the most important cash crop, bringing in about $100 million in new wealth to the state each year. The first cotton estimates, in 1866, listed 805,000 acres producing 246,000 bales A decade later, 2 million acres produced 509,000 bales valued at $22.9 million Cotton truly was King from 1900 to 1920. In 1914, Georgia farmers harvested 2.7 million bales from 5.2 million acres. The value was $121.8 million. By 1918, the 2.1 million bale crop was valued at $37 5.5 million. But a seriously reduced yield because of the boll weevil onslaught dropped the value in 1921 to only $7 8.7 million. The boll weevil invasion was particularly disastrous in middle Georgia. Introduction of calcium arsenate to control the boll weevil started a gradual recovery for cotton growers. It was 1936 before the pre-boll weevil record yield of 267 pounds per acre was exceeded. During this period, the cotton economy was virtually destroyed in many counties. The depression of the early 30's added to the cotton farmer's woes. A drought lowered 1932 yields. Acreage controls and price support programs helped increase the price, though prices reached 20 cents only after the beginning of World War II The price averaged 40.06 cents in 1950 for a post-weevil record high value of $204*. 5 million T ,J^emfte income sources and controls since 1950 have caused a decline in acreage In 1962, 535,000 bales were harvested from 692,000 acres with a record high of 443 pounds per acre set on a government-reduced acreage of 381,000. 16 r tit - r J r V r < *i r J < #-. r " V Cotton production is declining in importance in the state but is still "king" on a number of farms (1) Mechanical cotton picker. ing lint from seed. (2) Georgia cotton field. (3) Hoeing cotton by hand. (4) Cotton egiinn sseeDpaarraat- TOBACCO-rUJE CURED Acreaga Htrreited in Georgia 1961 (Qeorgim Crop Raporting Serrieo) 1 dot 300 Acrei * TOBACCO Georgia produces two varieties of tobacco in commercial quantities -- bright leaf or flue-cured used primarily in manufacture of cigarettes, and shade tobacco used in wrappers for cigars. The latter is confined to Decatur and Grady counties while flue-cured production is concentrated in south central and southeast Georgia. Tobacco acreage increased in 1919 under the stimulus of war-inflated prices. Prices varied widely until the Federal Government's production controls and price supports became effective in the mid-30's. Prices averaged 57 cents a pound in 1917 but only 6.7 cents in 19 31. Prices now are more stabilized and favorable under very rigid acreage controls. Today, tobacco is the second most valuable crop in Georgia. This has been possible because of the very favorable prices received for the much sought after Georgia tobacco varieties and increased yields per acre through selective use of land, improved varieties, better cultural and fertilization practices, irrigation and other technological improvements. A record high yield of 1,965 pounds per acre was set in 1962, resulting in a record high crop value of $86.9 million. Most of the flue-cured tobacco is grown in 44 counties in Georgia. Georgia usually ranks third behind North Carolina and South Carolina in flue-cured tobacco production. The crop is sold at auction markets which normally operate in July and/or August. Tobacco counties quickly feel the effects of golden leaf in their places of business. 18 * r V 4 V v< nanns Acreajs rioted and Throahod in Oeorela l?6l (Georgia Crop Reporting Serriee) 1 dwt 1.000 Acres f *4 / PEANUTS Peanuts are Georgia's newest major crop. Georgia leads the nation in the production of peanuts. The search for alternate sources of income when the boll weevil began ravaging the cotton fields caused increased interest in peanuts about the time of World War I. Acreage jumped from 40,000 in 1916 to 314,000 in 1918. Farmers throughout the state tried to grow peanuts but low prices of the 30's discouraged planting except in the most productive areas. With little fertilizer used and the peanut plants, as legumes, supplying their own nitrogen, the crop drained other plant foods from the soil. But improved fertilizer and cultural practices now have corrected this situation. Government price support programs helped improve and stabilize peanut prices. World War II stimulated demand -- with acreage above one million from 1942 to 1948. Highest total production and value was in 1948 when over 818 million pounds were valued at almost 87 million dollars. Control programs have limited harvest of peanuts to around 500,000 acres since 1952. The price has remained near 11 cents a pound. Peanuts were harvested 20 years ago by mule-drawn plows, stacking, natural curing and picking. The crop's harvest now is mechanized. Tractors plow them up, they cure above ground for about five days. A pickup harvester lifts and separates nuts from the vines. In 19 62, Georgia produced almost one-third of the nation's total peanut supply. Production is concentrated in southwestern counties. The 1959 Census of Agriculture ranked Early County fourth in acreage planted to peanuts of all U. S. counties. Worth ranked sixth and Terrell 15th. Georgia placed 38 counties among the top 100. 20 r t r \ r * ' ft ^^^^^i HflMHMM HTTM* lefdS the T'^JI" 1th6 Production of Peanuts. (1) Mechanical picker separating vines from nuts as M (3)FTie^ ld ofipneganwultnsd.rowed Plants ln the field. (2) A shaker-windrower lifts plants, shakes to remove dirt. : V ^^i^BoHBiBiffla HOGS AND PIGS Hogs and Pigs on Georgia Farms 1959 (U. S. Census Reports) 1 dot = 1, 000 hogs and pigs tJ <> H 5 HOGS AND PIGS More than 80 percent of the 310,000 farms in Georgia in 1920 had hogs and pigs. Value of pork consumed on farms where produced in 1924 -- first year of pork consumption estimates -- was $14.3 million of the total value of $19.2 million. By the late 30's, sales about equaled home consumption. Since then, sales have surpassed value of home consumption each year. In 1961, the value of pork consumed on the farm where produced was estimated at $12 million out of the approximate total value of $67.6 million. The highest number of hogs in Georgia was reached in 1919 when 2,350,000 hogs valued at $17 .50 each, had a total value of $41.1 million. Values declined during the depression to $3.40 a head for a total of $4,855,000 in 1933. But by January 1, 1959, value had climbed to $25.90 a head. On January 1, 1963, a total of 1,519,000 hogs was valued at $36.5 million. Georgia ranked 10th nationally in the production of hogs, highest of any non-Corn Belt state. Hog production in Georgia in 1962 amounted to 394 million pounds of meat. Of this, approximately 83 percent was sold, averaging 16.4 cents a pound for total cash value of $54,37 5,000. Thus, Georgia ranked 13th in production and 12th in sales I among the states. Today, swine production has become more specialized. More hogs are produced