The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1886-09-15
OVER PRODUCTION

One of the reasons why the fs,..
ers of this country are 50 noor
compensated for their labor ii Is
cause the agricultural products y.
greater thar the demand, Wb are
the demand is greater than 4 M
amount produced the price co one
up and the farmer has some me soeS
in sight, but when there are twy
bales of cotton or two bushels w" oe
grain raised to the one that is want
ed then, of course, the price Soo.
down. 1t is so with everything tbs
farmer raises. The prices, and COW NY
sequently his remuneration, ono
governed by the laws of s3,nn NJ
and demand. Spectators and r nnS
chasers know this and act upon It
and hence you hear of the nrice
of the new crop being fixed months
before the crop is put upon the mar
ket, for they know from statistics
how much Of each product will he
needed for consumption, what the
surplus will be, and they gauge the
prices accordingly. There is mora
moneyforthe farmerproportionateIv
in a short crop than in a full ONE
for if the crop is short he will oct
more for a half marketed than he
would for double the quantity with
full crops throughout the country,
The laws of supply and demand GOV.
ern the products Of the farm as thew
govern the products of the manu-
facturers. When there are more
goods manufactured than the world
wants they lie in the storehouses of
the manufacturers, on the shelves Of
the merchants, become a drug and are
frequently sold at prices below the
actual cost Of manufacture. To
guard against this and save them
selves from ruin, associations have
been formed between the men who
are interested in the several manu-
featuring industries to limit the
output of these establishments
when it becomes excessive and
thus restore the equilibrium, so that
they may continue business without
loss. IF they did nothing of this
kind, but continued to manufacture
without calculating as to what they
were going to get for their goods
when offered for sale the last one of
them would be ruined. They COM
pete with each other when there is
a demand for what they make but
when that demand is supplied and
there is no longer margin for profit,
they act in concert for their mutual
protection and mutual interest. Not
SO with the farmer. He plans his
acres and drops the seed without
ever giving a thought to how the
world is going to be supplied with
what he plants, without learning
whether there is a surplus left over
from last years crop or an increase
in the acreage Of this years plant
ing, what the product Of foreign
countries is or what the probable
home and foreign demand may be,
all of which influence the price Ct
what he has to sell. Ifthere is more
cotton, wheat or anything else
grown than the world needs, he will
have much of what he raises left on
his hands or be poorly paid for it,
and will find himself at the end OF
the year but little better off, if as
well off, as he was at the beginning
He complains of hard times when IN
fact he has been one of the chief in
instrumentalities in causing these
hard times, as far as he is concerned,
by raising and putting upon the
market twice as much as the market
wants. He is the sufferer, every
one else is the gamer. When the
time comes, if it ever does come,
when farmers will use business
sense in their operations and plant
in accordance with the laws OF
supply and demand they will reap
better reward for their labor ana
have less cause to complain OF lo"
prices and hard times.