Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1914-11-27
MARKETING WORLDS
GREATEST PROBLEM
sVg ARE LONG ON PRODUCTION,
SHORT ON Distribution.
~ Peter Radford
Lecturer National Farmers Union

u 4
- BY Peter Radford
fnc6a1rer National Farmers Union
The economic distribution of farm
products d today the worlds greatest ,
problem and the war, while 1t mas
brought its hardships, has clearly EN-
phasized the Importance OF dlstrlDu-
ton rs q factor in American agrlcui-
ture and promises to give the fafm-
ors the cooperation Of the govern
ment and the business men the soiu-
ton of their marketing problem.
This result will, in measure, CON-
pensate US for our war losses, for the
business interests and government
have been in the main assisting almost
exclusively on the production side OF
agriculture. While the department OF
agriculture has been dumping tons OF
literature on the farmer telllng MIN
how to produce, the farmer has been
dumping tons of products in the ma
TONS garbage can for want OF . mar
kst.
The World viii Never Starve.
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
Tor the lack of proper distribution.
Slight variations in production have
forced change in diet and one local
ity has felt the pinch Of want, while
another surfeited, but the world as
whole has ever been 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
It is safe to estimate that in case OF
dire necessity one-half the earth's
population could at the present time
knock their living out of the trees
of the forests, gather 1t from WIG
vines and draw it 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 market, and regard
less of the demands of the consumer.
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 our city cousins back to
the soil and this earhs surface con-
tains 1902 1885, 900 idle acres Of till
able land where they can make a
living by tickling the earth with
forked stick, but we do not need them
30 far as increasing production is con-
cerned; we now have all the producers
We can use. The city man has very
erroneous ideas of agricultural condi-
tons. The commonly accepted theory
that we are short on production is all
wrong. Our annual increase in pro
duction far exceeds that of our in.
crease in population.
The World as Farm.
Taking the world as one big farm,
we find two billion acres of land in
cultivation Of this amount there is
approximately 750,000000 acres on the
western and 1,260,000,000 acres on the
eastern hemisphere, in cultivation.
This estimate, of course, does not in
clude grazing lands, forests, ETC.,
where large quantities of meat are
produced.
The worlds annual crop approx
mates fifteen billion bushels of cereals,
thirteen billion pounds of fibre and
eixty-five million tons of meat.
The average annual world crop for
the past five years, compared with the
previous five years, is as follows:
Past Half Previous Half
Crops Decade. Decade.
Corn, (Bu.) 3,934,174,00o 3,403, sos, 900
Wheat (Bu.) 1892, 769, 900 3,257,5 900
Oats (Bu.) -4,120.O17,o 900 $685. 15, 900
Cotton (Bales) 19, S63,S00 17,541,2Gt
The world shows an average in
crease in cereal production Of Is per
cent during the past decade, compared
with the previous five years, while the
worlds population shows an increase
OF only per cent.
The gain in production far exceeds
that of our increase in population, and
1t is safe to estimate that the farmer
can easily increase production 25 per
cent if remunerative market can be
found for the products. In textile
fbres the world shows an increase
during the past half decade in produc-
ton of Is per cent against popula-
ton increase of per cent
The people of this nation should
address themselves to the subject of
improved facilities for distribution.