American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1914-11-26
MARKETING WORLDS
GREATEST PROBLEM
We ARE LONG ON PRODUCTION.
SHORT ON DISTRIBUTION.

Lecturer National Farmers' Union.

- t0S9G H90NOsO
Lecturer National Farmers' Union.
The economic distribution Of farm
products Is today Che worlds greatest
problem and the war. while It has
brought its hardships, has clearly en-
phasised the Importance Of distribu-
ton a. . factor In American agricul-
ture and promises to give the farm
ers the cooperation of the govern
ment and the business men the
solution Of their marketing problem.
This result will. in q measure, com
pensate US for our wal lossea. for the
business interests and government
have been in the main assisting al
most exclusively on the production
side of agriculture. While the depart
ment Of agriculture has been dumping
tons of literature on the farmer telling
him how to produce. the farmer has
been dumping toni Of products In the
nations garbage can for want Of .
market.
The World Will Never starvs.
At no time since Adam and Eve
were driven from the Garden OF Eden
have the inhabitants Of this world
suffered from lack of production, but
some people have gone hungry from
the day Of creation to this good hour
for the lack of proper distribution.
Slight variations in production have
forced a change in diet and one local.
ity has felt the pinch Of want, while
another surfeited, but the world as q
whole has ever been a land Of plenty.
We now have less than one-tenth of
the tillable land of the earth's surface
under cultivation, and we not only
have this surplus area to draw on but
1t Is safe to estimate that in case of
dire necessity one-half the esrth's
could at the present time
knock their living out OF the trees
Of the forest, gather It from wild
and draw 1t from streams. No
one should become alarmed; the
world will never starve.
The consumer has always feared
that the producer would not supply
him and his fright has found express
sion on the statute books of our states
and nations and the farmer has been
urged to produce recklessly and with
out reference to a market. and regard
less of the demands OF the
Back to the Soil.
The city people have been urging
each other to move back to the farm,
but very few of them have moved.
We welcome city cousins back to
soil and this earth's surface con-
tains 1902, 160, 900 idle acres of till
tvsne y tfokrfnw the sarth WITH =
stick. but we do not need them
far as increasing production Is con
cerned: we now have all the producers
we can use. The city man has very
ideas of agricultural condi-
Ions. The commonly accepted theory
hat we are short on production is all
wrong. Our annual increase In pro-
far exceeds that OF our IN
,rease in population.
The World a. a Farm.
Taking the world as one big farm,
We find two billion acres of land in
OF this amount there IL
approximately $50. 1000, 900 acres on the
western and 1880. 000.0 0 acres on the
hemisphere. in cultivation.
This estimate, of course. does not in
,lude grazing lands. forests. ETC.,
where large quantities of meat are
Produced.
The worlds annual crop approx
fifteen billion bushels Of ce-
eals. thirteen billion pounds Of nbre
md sixty-ive million tons of meat.
The average annual world crop for
he past five years. compared with the
five years. is al follows:
Past Half Previous Half
Crops Decade. Decade.
,orn (Bu.) 1894, ia. 900 3.4O3. s55. 900
Wheat tBu.) $500. 76s. 900 3,257, 52s. 900
,ats tBu.) l.l2o. Off, 900 s.5os. 1915. 900
,otton (Bales) 1858, 800 1854. 200
The world shows an average in
'rease in cereal production Of 10 per
'ent during the past decade. compared
With the R~rexisus hve yeazs, while thu
vUrs6t popuescFbsl sAo~rs - tnereass
Il only three per cent.
The gain. in production far exceeds
nat o. or NAcressct IN poYsiseson, md
I 10 safe to estimate that the farmer
easily increase production rs per
,ent II q remunerative market can bs
for the products. In textile
lbres the world shows an Increase
Turing the past half decade In produc-
ion of Is per cent against . popula-
increase Of three per cent.
The people of this nation should
lddress themselves to the subject Of
improved facilities for distribution
Over-production and crop mortgage