The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1916-01-01
AIM OF CROP REPORT.
Furnishes simultaneously to Buyer
and Producer Unbiased Estimates
or Yield and Probable Production.


and Producer Unbiased Estimates
or Yield and Probable Production.
The Bureau OF Crop Estimates re-
Plies to occasional inquiries, wheth-
er the government crop report may
not benefit the speculator rather than
the farmer. as follows:
'"rhe Department Of Agriculture.
being instituted to encourage and as
sist agriculture in every possible way.
would not maintain a bureau the
work Of which could in any way prove
detrimental to farming interests. The
aim Of the crop-reporting service is to
give everyone, at the same time and
without charge. an unbiased estimate
OF crop conditions.
Before the department undertook
the issuance of this public crop re-
port. privats speculative interests long
had beek collecting such advance in
formation as they could and using It
to their own advantage. Today many
SPECTATORS and large buyers of farm
products do. not depend wholly upon
the government crop report for their
information They maintain a regu-
lar system of collecting information
through travelling agents and a corps
OF reporters, largely local buyers who,
In exchange for their local informa-
ton, receive the information issued
regarding general conditions and
prices.
IN the absence OF the government
report the country would have to de-
pend wholly, upon privately prepared
reports. Even if these reports were
supplied free, farmers would have to
guard themselves against having the
information reach them only after 1t
had been used for private speculative
purposes. and, in addition, would be
under the necessity Of determining
whether the privately circulated re-
ports were colored by private inter-
ests or, as Is true Of some of the re-
ports privately circulated, were a
conscientious effort to publish accu-
rate estimates. The purpose Of the
government crop report is to furnish
simultaneously to producer and buy
er estimates of yield and probable
production. The estimates as issued
are compiled from facts reported by
a vast number of volul .eer crop re-
porters, and those facts are supple
mented by information specially
gathered by the departments State
field agents, who are required to trav-
Ell widely over their States and to OBJ
serve crop conditions at first hand.
I'm establishing farm prices or
other prices accurate knowledge as to
supplies is essential. The Bureau of
Crop Estimates collects such data and
collates and analyses them.
The department SO surrounds such in
formation with safeguards that it is
impossible for anyone to gain hint
as to the figures until the departments
estimates are made accessible at
stated time to all classes interested.
I'm some few cases individuals have
refused to cooperate in gathering and
furnishing local information as to
crop production to the department be-
cause Of groundless fear that such
information might be used as the ba-
sis Of an increase in taxes. The de-
partment, Of course, has nothing to
do with levying taxes, and names and
addresses Of individual reporters, as
well as their reports, are treated as
strictly confidential and are never dis
closed"