Cut Bank pioneer press. [volume] (Cut Bank, Mont.) 1909-current, 1915-01-01
MARKETING WORLDS
GREATEST PROBLEM
WE ARE LONG ON PRODUCTION
SHORT ON DISTRIBUTION.
BY Peter Radford
Lecturer Nations, Farmers Union.

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.
tion as q factor In American agricul
ture and promises to give the farm
ers the cooperation of the govern
n1ent 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
toms OF literature on the farmer telling
him how to produce, the farmer has
been dumping tons of products in the
nations garbage can for want Of q
market.
The World VIII Never starve.
At no time since Adam and Eve
we're 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 n 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-balf the earth's
population could at the present time
knock their living out of the trees
Of the forest, gather 1t from wild
vines 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 reckiessly 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 move back to the farm,
but very few Of them have moved.
We welcome our city cousins back to
the soil and this earth's surface con-
tains 16, 2,160,000 idle acres of till
able land where they can 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 man has very
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 Ian IN
cultivation. Of this amount there IL
approximately 75O, OO0, 900 acres on the
western and 1850, 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 &c
reals. thirteen billion pounds of fbr'
and sixty-fve million tons OF meat.
The average annual world crop TO
the past I'VE years. compared with tn
previous five years, Is as follows:
Past Half Previous Hal
Crops Decade. Decade
Corn (Bu.) s,934,174,000 3,403, $500
Wheat(Bu.9 s,522,76s 900 3,257.526.0o
oats (Bu.) 4,120,017. 900 3,508,S15,o0
Cotton (Bales) 19,863,8 800 17,54l,2O
The world shows an average II
crease in cereal production of ID pc
cent during the past decade. compare
with the previous five years, while tn
worlds population shows an increas
of only three per cent.
The gain in production far exceed
that of our increase In population. an
1t is safe to estimate that the farme
can easily increase production 20 pc
cent If a remunerative market can 3
found for the products. In exit
fibres the world shows an increas
during the past half decade In produ'
ton of is per cent against a populi
ton increase of three per cent.
The people Of this nation shoul
address themselves to the subject
improved facilities for distribution.
Oversproduction and crop mortgai
force the farmers into ruinous CO..