Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1915-01-14
MARKETING WORLDS
GREATEST PROBLEM
WE ARE LONG ON PRODUCTION,
SHORT ON DISTRIBUTION.
BY Peter Radford
Lecturer National Farmers Union.


The economic distribution of farm
products is today the worlds greatest
problem and the war, while it has
brought it's hardships, has clearly en-
phasized the Importance Of distribu-
ton as a factor in American agrlcul.
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 a measure, COM
pensate us for our war losses, 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 tons of products in the
| nations garbage car for want OF a
| market.
The World Will 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
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 a
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
| 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 forest, gather it from wild
vines and draw it from streams. No
one should become alarmed; the
| world will never starve.
The consume 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 consumer.
Back to the Soil.
The city people have been urging
each other to nov back to the farm,
but very few of them have moved.
We welcome city cousins back to
the soil and this earth's surface con-
tains 1902, 100, 1000 idle acres Of till,
able land where they car make a
living by tickling the earth with a
forked stick, but we do not need them
SO far as increasing production is con-
cerned; We now have all the producers
we can use. The city nan 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 a Farm.
Taking the world as one big farm,
we find two billion acres of land in
cultivation. OF this amount there is
Approximately 100000, 900 acres on the
western and 1,260, 900. 900 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 ce
reals, thirteen billion pounds of fibre
and sixty-five million tons of meat.
The average annual world crop fol
the past five years, compared I'll the
previous five years, is as follows:
Past Half Previous Hall
Crops Decade. Decade.
Corn Bu.) 3,934,174.0CO 3.403, 655, 00C
WheatBu.) 1922, 100000 1887 $4,000
Oats (Bu.) 4.12O,O17,000 3,5OS $4,000
Cotton Bales) 19,S63,S00 17,541,20(
The world shows an average in
crease in cereal production of IS pei
cent during the past decade, compared
with the previous five years, while the
worlds population shows an increase
Of only three per cent.
The gain in production far exceeds
that of u increase in population, ant
it is safe to estimate that the farmer
can easily increase production rs PEI
cent if a remunerative market can b
found for the products. In textile
fibres the world shows an increast
during the past half decade in produc
tion Of * nor rent AGAINST a DODU1a
ton increase of three per cent.
The people of this nation shoult
address themselves to the subject v
improved facilities for distribution.
Over-production and crop mortgage