Cotton Country - NE North Carolina
On fall trips to eastern NC and central SC over the past few years, I have noticed all the cotton grown in these areas. So in early November 2014, I spent two days on a photo safari through Edgecombe, Halifax, Martin, Bertie, Chowan, Gates, Hertford, and Northhampton counties in North Carolina looking for photo opportunities. I have enjoyed the "look" of a full cotton field in bloom just before harvesting. There were many opportunities to see this in those counties. This gallery focuses on cotton, but I will also be posting another gallery (Old Houses and Barns - Northeastern North Carolina) featuring old barns and houses that I photographed on this trip ( http://www.lgbrownphotography.com/Other/Old-Houses-and-Barns)
The United States is the third largest cotton producing country behind China and India. In 2012, North Carolina was the 5th largest cotton-producing state in terms of acreage and 6th in the number of bales. South Carolina was 10 in terms of the number of bales, about half the number produced by North Carolina. Bales weigh about 400 pounds.. In 2014, an acre of cotton produced about 950 pounds of cotton and netted the farmer about $159 in returns to land, risk, and management - before taxes (according to NCSU, a small school in Raleigh). The cotton (lint) that is harvested is separated from the cotton seeds at a cotton gin. The cotton goes into clothing. The seeds go into livestock feed and oils.
Having walked through cotton fields while taking these pictures, I have great respect for the men, women, and children who picked cotton by hand prior to all the machinery we have today. I was in one 120 acre cotton field that will take about 2.5 days to harvest today. I can't imagine how long it took by hand. The cotton plants themselves are like leather, and they must have taken a toll on the hands, arms, and legs of those who picked by hand. Mechanized pickers are 50 times more productive than people and fueled the northern migration of African-Americans in the early 20th century as growers need less labor.
Near the end of the gallery is a shot of the remains of a railroad trestle from the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, which ran from Wilmington to Weldon. When it was completed in 1840, it was the longest railroad line in the world at 161 miles. It was a key part of the supply line for Confederate troops in the Civil War.
Read MoreThe United States is the third largest cotton producing country behind China and India. In 2012, North Carolina was the 5th largest cotton-producing state in terms of acreage and 6th in the number of bales. South Carolina was 10 in terms of the number of bales, about half the number produced by North Carolina. Bales weigh about 400 pounds.. In 2014, an acre of cotton produced about 950 pounds of cotton and netted the farmer about $159 in returns to land, risk, and management - before taxes (according to NCSU, a small school in Raleigh). The cotton (lint) that is harvested is separated from the cotton seeds at a cotton gin. The cotton goes into clothing. The seeds go into livestock feed and oils.
Having walked through cotton fields while taking these pictures, I have great respect for the men, women, and children who picked cotton by hand prior to all the machinery we have today. I was in one 120 acre cotton field that will take about 2.5 days to harvest today. I can't imagine how long it took by hand. The cotton plants themselves are like leather, and they must have taken a toll on the hands, arms, and legs of those who picked by hand. Mechanized pickers are 50 times more productive than people and fueled the northern migration of African-Americans in the early 20th century as growers need less labor.
Near the end of the gallery is a shot of the remains of a railroad trestle from the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, which ran from Wilmington to Weldon. When it was completed in 1840, it was the longest railroad line in the world at 161 miles. It was a key part of the supply line for Confederate troops in the Civil War.
