The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1917-03-29

owners, tenants and managers. Out
of this 96 million acres, total of SO
million acres is unimproved and un-
used. In other words, more than one
third of the land and farms is contrib
uting nothing to farm production.
The average man does not realize
that these figures and other data, that
any Investigator can readily obtain,
point conclusiveiy to the fact that part
of the present high cost of living is
chargeable directly to the shortage of
staple and essential articles Of food
The United States will lean heavily
this year upon the great northwestern
grain fields, upon the corn production
of these states, upon the potato produc-
ton, and upon the flow of cattle, sheep
and hogs to the great stock markets.
+ The crop outlook for this spring is
good. Upon practically every farm,
there is land which might be cultivat-
ed, but which is not used, because the
farmer has not thought that it was
needed. Minnesota can be depended
upon, in an average year, for some
thing more than 80 million bushels of
potatoes. At rough estimate, an
acre of potatoes will provide winter
supply for 80 families. Many thous-
ands of farmers make no attempt to
raise this crop for sale, and plant only
marketing potatoes only when they
have a surplus and when the price is
high. 1t is apparent that if only q
few thousand farmers interested them
selves this spring in putting in an ex-
ira acre of potatoes, that the food sup
ply of an immense number of families
next winter will be guaranteed. The
same is true Of onions, of which there
has been a serious shortage during the
present winter. Minnesota will pro-
duce, in a normal year, 70 million or
| IS million bushels of corn upon her
1925, 900 farms. II these farmers will
make only a very slight increase in
their corn acreage-only enough to
average one additional acre for each
farm-they may look forward this fall
to taking down a profit from this trif-
i ling extra effort, based on the present
prices, of $5,500,O00. There is not a
farmer in Minnesota or the Dakotas
that cannot raise an extra acre of corn
and there are thousands of farms upon
which many additional acres can
easily be put in.
A stock farm, in which am person
ally interested, has recently marketed
$50 hogs, a year old or less. So far
as l know, these hogs were not fed
corn. They followed the cattle and
thrived remarkably. They sold very
recently at $19.2S head. A hog of
the same weight, selling at the price
that has prevailed during the last few
days. would bring approximately $28.
Bacon type hogs in this district repre-
sent the choicest and most desirable
stock that the packers can get. An
average of ten additional pigs on each
farm in the ninth district this spring,
following other stock, and going to
, market late in the year, will bring the
farmers an additional profit of more
than so million dollars. A few addi-
tional sheep on each farm will bring
correspondence heavy returns. Wool
was never so high in price, and mutton
has been advancing so rapidly that the
, average family may we'll feel appre-
hension as to the future.
This is the golden opportunity for
the farmer of this district. World
, wide conditions offer him guarantees
that there will be substantial reward
in store for him during the coming
fall for everything that he can add to
his normal production. If the cost of
living is to be reduced, and more seri'
Gus still, if the immense population in
this country that cannot itself produce
the food supplies that it so vitality
needs, is to be kept from actual suffer-
ing, the farmer must look forward to
doing his bit this year, and must add
little extra energy to his planting
and cultivating.