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Morrison Farm, located in Rockwell, North Carolina, was
established in 1946. It combined three adjoining tracts of land
in Cabarrus County, NC. Dr. Fred W. Morrison, a Cabarrus County
native and an attorney practicing Corporate Law in Washington,
DC, purchased the tracts. His brother, John Morrison, ran the
farm until his death in 1957. The original 500-acre tract is
situated at the north end of Cabarrus County. The farm
management was turned over to Dr. Fred Morrison’s daughter,
Myra, in 1965 and she became the sole owner at his death in
1985.
Currently, the farm consists
of 948 acres after the purchase of 355 acres in Rowan County and
96 acres in Cabarrus County. The owned land is closely joined.
The entire operation consists of about 1050 owned and rented
acres. There are four houses on the property. Two of the homes
are the main house and guest house. The third house is the
Linker house built in 1876. The fourth home is the Bernhardt
house, a pre Civil War house, built in 1856 and recently
restored by Myra's daughter.
The farming operation
consists of near equal amounts of corn, barley, soybean, and
hay. The 350+ head of cattle utilize most of the crops. The 150
acre corn crop is cut for silage to fill a 780 ton upright silo.
Any corn left after the silo is filled is then shelled and fed
to the cows. Barley is planted in the fall on about 120 acres.
Soybeans are the farms major "cash" crop. Myra usually double
crops soybeans behind barley. Hay is grown on about 300 acres
both rented and owned. One horse resides at the farm and he is
used to separate cows and ride the pastures.
Guinea fowl are kept, usually
about 50, for insect control.
The cattle consist of
two independent breeds of cattle as well as many
F-1 hybrids.
F-1 hybrid cattle are a cross of Simmental and Brahman cattle.
The
Simmental cattle
are the most numerous purebreds on the farm and are the
producers of the F-1 hybrids. All Simmental females are bred the
first time AI (artificially inseminated) to purebred Simmental
bulls. After they calve the first time, most Simmental females
are then bred to Brahman bulls to produce F-1 hybrid calves.
These F-1 hybrid are sold for commercial females and the steers
are sold for freezer beef. The
Brahman cattle
are bred naturally to bulls purchased from the V8 Ranch in
Hungerford, Texas. The Brahman females are either kept in the
farm herd or sold as purebreds. The bulls, Simmental and
Brahman, are for sale at all times.
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