ship. These test-demonstration farms have served as fact finding
laboratories for measuring the effect of innovations in watershed
protection and agricultural development. The demonstrated results
have provided the basis for educational work on watershed pro-
tection and agricultural development among farmers in general.
Benton County, Tennessee, the county in which Big Sandy is
located is representative of the counties seriously affected by the
TVA program of water use and control. Benton County permanently
lost about one-third of its total land area by flooding of the Ken-
tucky reservoir. The land lost was above average in productivity.
The unit test-demonstration farms are selected by the people in
the various communities and are representative of the various types
of farming, soils, and sizes of farms found in the county. A total of
92 unit test-demonstration farms have been approved. Each unit
test-demonstration farmer and homemaker undertakes to develop
a sound system of farming, including soil conservation, adequate
use of minerals, high quality sod crops, livestock, and improved
family living. Farm and home plans are developed by the farmers
and homemakers with the assistance of the farm and home demon-
stration agents. These farms serve their communities in testing and
measuring the results of adequate use of minerals in sound systems of
farming. Wide use has been made of them in teaching better methods
of farming. Any farmer in the county can visit and study the results
on a test-demonstration farm similar in soils, size, and type to his
own and use the results in planning his own farm. Many have
used these farms as guides in planning adjustments in their farm-
ing operations and in making best use of the services of agricultural
agencies.
Area test demonstrations have been established in eleven com-
munities which include 376 participating farmers, who have used
test-demonstration materials in developing crop rotation plans. The
area demonstrations are selected by the Soil Erosion Control Asso-
ciation in cooperation with the people in the communities and are
set up to help groups of farmers accomplish what has been found to
be sound and practical on the unit farms. They serve as demonstra-
tions for the other communities of the county.
In addition to the technical assistance provided by the Tennessee
Valley Authority through the Agricultural Extension Service, these
468 unit and area test-demonstration farms have received 2,200 tons
of high analysis phosphate to assist them in establishing better systems
of farming. According to latest census figures, Benton County has a
total of 1,018 farm units. Thus, 46 percent of the farm units in the
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