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In Houston And Georgia
Many Changes Take
Place In Agriculture
• ft
By Emmett Whelchel,
, County Agent
Georgia Agriculture
Income Increased sharply
In the period from 1971-76
doe jwlmarlly to Inflation.
Gross Income In 1971 was
$13,000,000.00. Income
figures aren't In for 1976
yet but 1975 gross Income
for .Houston County was
approximately 16 million.
Land In crop production
has . changed very little.
While we have had
development in the nor
thern part of our county,
farmers have been
bringing land into
production which was in
trees, or by draining low
areas. The cropland
acreage going into
housjng, subdivisions, and
shopping centers is being
reclaimed at about the
sarnie rate.
Acreage occupied by
specific crops has flue-
Houston
ft
Ends Dry'
In 1969
The sale of liquor in
Houston County was
legalized December 3, 1969
when 6,519 votes were cast
in favor of legalization to
4,099 votes against.
fcyjston had been one of
G orgia's "dry" counties
si ce January 1, 1082. The
v( e against the legal sale
of liquor was 504-485 In
Di rember 1881.
here are now 20 liquor
d« lers in Houston County,
In uding 4 In Perry, 10 In
Warner Robins and 6 In
ur icorporated areas.
!5 Members In 1976
lousfon Co. Farm Bureau
irows Larger Each Year
he Houston County
cf pter of the Georgia
Fi 'm Bureau has a
m mbershlp of 585 In 1976
ai compared to 117
m mbers In 1941 when the
cf pter was organized. In
19 1, the chapter had 357
mjlmbers and has in
cr ssed Its membership
st( idlly every year.
nnual projects of the
ch pter include: statewide
W men's Workshop,
awards program,
scholarship program,
dairy recipe contest In
Jiaje, egg, beef and peanut
promotions, Rural Health
Cifiference, Legislative
alfcalrs, and Peanut
Pwcess contest.
Now services for the
Ftm Bureau are as
follows; Health Insurance
Pain of 1973; Blueprint for
B
tuated with the demand or
anticipated demand, for
the crop.
During the five year
period cotton acreage has
F.C. Chandler First County Agent
Extension Service In
Houston Began In 1927
In 1914 the Smith-Lever
Act was passed by the U.S.
Congress, creating the
Cooperative Extension
Service. This act provides
tor Extension work to be
carried on cooperatively
between the United States
Department of Agriculture
and the Land-Grant
Colleges with funds from
Federal, State and County
sources.
The Cooperative Ex
tension Service, as stated
in the Smith-Lever Act, is
"To aid in diffusing among
the people of the United
StateS useful and practical
information on subjects
related to agriculture and
home economics and to
encourage application of
the same-Cooperatlve
Extension work shall
consist of giving in
struction and practical
demonstrations in
agriculture and home
economics."
This legal mandate thus
clearly Identifies Ex
tension's job as education
an Informal type of
education to help people
solve day-to-day problems
In agriculture, home
economics and (‘elated
subjects. County and home
Progress which Includes
Property Protection Plan
and Accidental Death
Policy of 1974; Grain and
Marketing Program of
1975; Meat Marketing
Project In Macon In 1976;
and Essay and Poster
Contest In 1976.
In 1973, James Johnson
of Houston County won the
Third District
Distinguished Service
Award.
In 1974, Mrs. Mildred
Dumas won both the Third
District and the State
Distinguished Service
Awards. Mrs. Nancy
Burks won the state
Secretary of the Year
Award In 1974.
Houston County chapter
won the state Legislative
award and both the
Standard and Excellent
awards for county Farm
been as high as 5,000 acres
down to 2,000 acres. Yields
of cotton have remained
about the same per lint
pound. The county
demonstration agents are
the teachers in this
educational program.
They are the official
representatives of the
University of Georgia.
This County Extension
Staff (county agents and
home economists)
develops a program by
combining the knowledge
and skill of local people
with the knowledge of the
college , obtained through
research. The State Ex
tension Staff helps the
County Extension Staff
perform its functions by
organizing the service for
the most efficient work,
personnel selection,
training and management,
determining and carrying
out policies, evaluating the
effectiveness of the
organization, arranging
for funds to finance the
work, keeping co-workers
informed on research
developments, I n -
terpreting data, etc.
County Agents
Houston County has been
participating in this
educational program since
1927 providing a valuable
servlet to the people of this
county, especially those in
Bureau accomplishments
in 1974 and again in 1975.
In 1975, W.C. Langston
won the Third District
Distinguished Service
award. The chapter was
given the state Public
Relations Award. Tony
Tyson was the winner of
the 1975 Scholarship
Award.
In the Peanut Recipe
Contest of 1976, Mrs.
Rebajo Marchelle Sparks
won second place in the
cake division and third
place in other Desserts
section.
The 1976 officers of the
Houston County chapter
are A.A. White, Jr.,
President; Ken Rush,
First Vice president;
Jimmie Willis, Second
Viceppresident; Larry
Johnson, Secretary; W.C.
Langston, Treasurer, and
average -450 lbs. lint per
acre. Cotton acreage
varies greatly with an
ticipated price increases
the business of farming.
The first county agent
was F.C. Chandler who
served from 1927-1933. He
was succeeded by J.W.
Fanning who served
several months before
accepting a position with
the Georgia Extension
Service.
The third county agent,
W.T. AAiddlebrooks, came
to Houston, July 1, 1934 and
served until his death in
1954. During this twenty
year period, many changes
took place in the farming
industry. New programs
were added to the ex
tension service. Houston
County agriculture made
great progress during Mr.
Middlebrook's tenure.
Houston has been for
tunate to have able men as
county agents. The fourth
to serve in this capacity
was George Allmond (1954-
1967). The present county
agent, Emmett Whelchel,
came in March 1967.
Others now employed by
the Extension Service are
Larry Pierce, agent and
Peggy Polk, agent. %
Vocational agricultural
teachers in the Perry
Schools !bre Bill Eaves and
Jake Redmond.
Mrs. Jimmie Willis,
Women's Chairperson.
In addition to the above
officers, the board of
direcfors includes the
following: Ted Perfecf,
Richard Talton, Mr. and
Mrs. Adam Andel, Mr. and
Mrs. Harry Dumas,
Houser Gilbert, Mr. and
Mrs. Richard Johnson,
A.E. Harris, David Muse,
Frank Rozar, Bob Rush,
Mr. and Mrs. C.E. Sasser,
Watson Fisher, Mr. and
Mrs. W.J. Smith, Jr.,
Andrew Talton, and James
Johnson.
Ex-officio members of
the board of directors are
Earl Cheek, Glenn Eaton,
Peggy Polk, Monroe Webb,
and Emmett Whelchel.
Farm Bureau Insurance
agents in Houston County
are Monroe Webb, agency
manager and Glenn Eaton,
agent.
Secretaries for Houston
Farm Bureau are Mrs.
Nancy Burks and Ms. Ann
Nickel.
The local office is
located in the county
agricultural building on
Carroll Street. The chapter
has plans to remodel the
Tenneco station on Main
Street and move their
office there in late sum
mer.
Monthly supper
meetings are held from
September through May
with no meetings through
the summer months.
The Farm Bureau is
controlled and financed by
its members and equipped
to serve their best in
terests. It is local, state
wide, national and in
ternational in its scope and
Influence. It is affiliated
with the American Farm
Bureau Federation.
A newsletter Is sent
monthly to the members.
or decreases.
Soybean acreage has
remained at a steady pace
from approximately 32,000
acres in 1971 to 38,000 in
1975. Yields per acre have
varied from a low of 18
bushels to last year's high
of 30 bushels per acre.
Peanut acreage has
remained almost constant
at 6,400 acres. Most change
has occurred in variety of
4 peanuts. In 1971 85 percent
of the peanuts Houston
County growers produced
were Spanish peanuts. 1976
will see 70 percent of our
acreage planted to
Florunners. Peanut yields
average 2,750 lbs. per acre
for 1975.
Small grains acreage
(wheat, oats, barley and
rye) have fluctuated with
market prices and
seasons.
In 1971 barley acreage
was approximately 4,000.
1975 plantings were only
about 1,500 acres. This was
due to the unusual disease
problem on this crop.
Wheat is planted in 1976
on approximately 12,000
acres of Houston County
land. In 1971 farmers
planted approximately
16,000 acres of wheat.
Yields have tended to
decline since 1971, again
I we're GROWING I
pffImSIROHKR
I YEARS OLD AND EVERY DAY! I
I , ' B
I We’re Proud To Be A Part Os This I
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I Great Nation And Community During I
I This 200th Birthday Celebration I
| 1776-1976 |
due to poor growing
conditions and diseases.
Decline in market prices
have caused some farmers
to reduce wheat acreage.
In Houston County since
1970 we have had a slow
but steady increase in the
number of hogs. Four new
farrowing and feeding
systems have been con
structed since 1970.
Beef cattle numbers are
slightly higher in 1976 than
in 1970. Our estimates are
approximately 20,000 head
of beef cows now as
compared to 17,000 in 1970.
The number of irrigation
systems in Houston County
has increased from 3 or 4
systems in 1970 to 12 in
1975. Along with this in
crease in irrigation we
have seen a tremendous
increase in vegetable
production. Vegetables
grown in Houston County
for commercial marketing
include: squash;
cucumbers; butterbeans;
mustard; turnips;
southern peas; okra; snap
beans; watermelons; and
cantaloupes.
Pecans are an important
part of Houston County's
agricultural economy.
Since 1970 approximately
800 acres have been set to
new pecan trees.
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL THURS., JULY 1, 1976,
Ga. Power Company
Growing With Perry
The number of
customers served by the
Georgia Power Company
is a good index to the
growth of the City of
Perry. In 1971, the
customers of the Ga.
Power Co. numbered 3,048,
including 2,447 residential
users. In 1975, the Ga.
Power Co. served 3,326
customers, including 2,744
residential and 582 com
mercial.
Twenty-five years ago,
in 1950, there were 1,124
customers, triple the
number for 1930. In 1960,
there were 1,889 customers
and in 1965, there were
2,331. In 1970, there were
2,920 customers.
The Georgia Power
Company pays the City of
Perry four percent of its
annual gross receipts from
business in Perry. Under
this municipal Partnership
Plan, the City recieved
$35,347.04 for 1970. For
1975, the company paid the
City of Perry $88,061.84.
This annual payment is in
addition to the property
taxes paid to the city and
county by the company.
The increase in these
annual checks also shows
the growth of Perry. The
1975 payment is more than
twice the 1970 amount. Os
course, the increase in rate
accounts for some of the
larger amount. The 1967
payment was only
$23,705.00 which is little
more than one-fourth of the
Since 1930
1975 check.
The local manager of the
Ga. Power Company is
M.H. Witherington who
came to Perry in 1967.
Mason Gammage has been
service man for 30 years.
Kenny Hamrick joined the
company as service man in
1976.
The slogan of the
company is, "a citizen
wherever we serve." The
Ga. Power Co. became a
"citizen of Perry" June 26,
1930 through a merger with
the Columbus Electric and
Power Company by cer
tificate of Incorporation.
The South Georgia
Power Company, the first
to serve Perry, made an
agreement with the city
April 5, 1926. On May 31,
1930 this company con
veyed its property and
franchises to the Columbus
Electric and Power
Company, which merged
with Georgia Power Co. in
June, 1930.
Perry is now served by
44,000 volt power through a
sub-station on U.S. 341
South. The Ga. Power Co.
has increased its power
supply to Perry as it has
kept pace with this city's
steady growth.
Miss Edna Perdue, who
has been with the company
since 1949, is the
customer's local
representative. Mrs. Betsy
Horne is employed in the
office.