Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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The Newberry Sun, Newberry, S. C., Thursday, Nov. 6, 1069 — PAGE 3 Claude Satterwhite, right, and Wayne look over a por tion of their outstanding Holstein herd, one of the top- producing herds in the state. FEED MILL HELPS—Having their own feed mill helps assure that feed in quantity and just the right mix is always available for their dairy and swine operations at the Satterwhite farm. Wayne, foreground, operates the mill with Mr. Satterwhite in background. IT’S MECHANIZED—William Satterwhite maneuvers a self-unloading forage wagon, part of the increasing fleet of mechanized vehicles on the modern farm. MODERN MILKING QUARTERS—This is the re cently-constructed milking parlor on the Satterwhite farm. The “Double 9 Herringbone” which permits hand ling 18 milkers at a time, features modern equipment and procedures all the way through. (The following feature article was written by Harold Rogers, Assistant Extension Editor of the Cooperative Extension Ser vice of Clemson University.) “If a man’s a farmer, he’s got to be ready to get his hands dirty—he’s got to do a little of everything.” Claude Satterwhite, a gray ing man who’s “farmed all my life,” smiled when he said it. But he gave the impression that he meant it, that he practices what he preaches. Maybe that’s why his farm is surviving and thriving in a day when they are dropping from the scene. He also believes in keeping up to date when it comes to trends and demands in the fast changing field. When he hitched his future to the plow some 30 years ago, moving out on his own after farming with his fath er, growing cotton was a way of life in Newberry County and South Carolina. This year there wasn’t an acre of cotton on the place. “And I hate to see cotton go out,” he says. Like so many others in this area, Mr. Satterwhite, working with two sons, now centers his farming on a dairy, backed up with a hog operation. They milk around 200 cows, mostly Hol stein. Their Yorkshire and Ham- shire swine herds marketed at 800 head last year. The extensive farming opera tions range over several differ ent farms in the Bush River community. But most everything they grow—grain, soybeans and produce—is geared to market ing through the cows and hogs. They grow it, feed it to dairy cattle and swine, and look to them for income. They’ve modernized and kept up to date all the way. The dairy boasts a new Dou ble 9 Herringbone milking barn, handling 18 cows at a click. Milking the dairy herd takes about two hours and a half. Since 1962 they’ve operated their own feed mill, mixing all their feed for cows and hogs. This summer they added an ele vator to the mill. “You’ve got to keep up,” Mr. Satterwhite says. “In.this busi ness now if you get behind you may be through.” It takes the three-male fam ily and eight employees to keep all the outside wheels turning. Four of the hands are used in the dairying and four in the farming. Here’s why it takes 11 full time workers: Besides the dairying and the swine production, they plant 450 acres of corn; 375 acres of grain including oats barley and wheat; and 300 acres of soy beans, at least 75 acres of which are double-cropped with milo. Even with the outside help, it’s still a family operation. One of the sons, Wayne, is a recent Clemson University graduate in dairy science. He’s the family figure man, the bookkeeper. “We have to keep good re cords on everything, the am ount of fertilizer on each crop, the individual yields, milk pro duction, feed rates, payrolls and everything else,” says Satter white. William tends to be the pro duction man and chief mechan ic for a rolling stock inventory which gets bigger every day as mechanization expands. “And don’t forget Mrs. Sat terwhite,” says County Agent A. F. Busby. “She helps out on all fronts—as well as being the homemaker.” Before marriage, a daughter was active on the farm and 4-H, as were Wayne and William during school days. Two of them earned trips to the national 4-H conference. The family has been particu larly successful in dairying. Milk production for the past year averaged 14,350 pounds per cow in Dairy Herd Improvement Association testing, ranking the herd tops in the county and in the top 10 in the state. Says Busby: “They’re good all-around far mers, good managers. That’s why they’re able to stay in farming, to adjust, and to con tinue to build a successful fam ily operation that can cope with today’s marketing conditions.” INSURED on Savings Certificates.. We pay the highest legal rate permitted on Sav ings Certificates. In addition to this dividends are compounded quarterly. Where you save does make a difference.