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Show I WHAT A KEY BANKER DID FOR MIS COUNTY The farmers of one county in Tennessee Ten-nessee are receiving $400,000 additional addi-tional annual income from new farm enterprises started since 1926 through the efforts of a "key hanker" and the county agent, according to estimates from the Tennessee College of Agriculture. Agri-culture. A "key banker" is a part of the state bankers' association voluntary field force cooperating with the American Ameri-can Bankers Association in its nationwide nation-wide plan for bringing about better agricultural conditions through combined com-bined banker-farmer effort. New projects pro-jects started in this particular county are tobacco, Irish potato and cabbage production for cash crops, and dairying dairy-ing and poultry raising for livestock. The key banker, looking for something some-thing to do to better his community, first attempted to procure a county agent but was unable to get the county to make the necessary appropriation, so he and other leading citizens made up the requisite funds through private subscription among farmers and business busi-ness men and an agent was employed. Up until 1926 grain was the principal prin-cipal farm production in the county. The banker recognized the disadvantages disadvant-ages of this. It afforded a low cash income, and the land was too hilly and rough for profitable grain raising. His ! idea was. to introduce cash crops that ! offered more return per acre and were J better fitted to the county. It was de-I de-I cided that the county should stand- ardize on the Green Mountain potato : and to market it in carload lots. ' Through his bank he sponsored the buying of a car of certified seed potatoes. He likewise bought some high quality tobacco seed and several hundred settings of purebred eggs. These supplies were distributed at cost through the banks to the farmers. After considerable effort a market for dairy products was assured the farmers when in 1928 a national cheese company located a factory there. A county appropriation was secured for county agent work in 1928. In 1929 the cash crop program resulted re-sulted in farmers selling $45,000 worth of milk, $150,000 worth of tobacco and fifty-five carloads of potatoes and cabbage, cab-bage, mostly through cooperative sales. "This was some step from the $25,000 worth of cash crops in 1926," the county agent says, "and indications j are that this amount will be doubled." |
