Grand Forks herald., 1919-12-17
Per Acre Yield Of Grain .l1
Increases, Says Houston

l.,
Washington, Dec. American
as some people have asserted, is stead
lily advancing" says David F.. Hous-
ton. secretary Of agriculture, in. his
annual report. He shows, by COM
pairing figures covering a long period
OF years, that the average yield Of all
crops for the decade ending in 1918
is about 16 per cent greater than the
average for the decade ending in
1890. He also points .out that while
the results Of agricultural operations
during the war furnish guaranty of
the ability of the present farm popu-
lation of the country, with the area
now in farms and In. the existing state
of agricultural science and practice, to
meet the nations necessities for the
near future ii the requisite incentives
are furnished. the steady increase in
acre yields gives ground for further
optimism.
For many years to come the aver
age yield per acre in the United States
may be expected to increase, although
the total output per man may di-
min1sl,. -.
This country has a long distance
to go before it comes in sight Of its
limit Of farm production. It, can
further increase its output Of COM
modities by continuing to secure in
creased yields per acre. 1t has been
estimated by experts that only. about
is per cent Of the land in cultivation
The opportunity is presented, as con-
ditions warrant, to bring the remain
ing IS per cent up to the point Of fair
yield. One of the objectives Of all
good farmers and Of the agricultural
agencies assisting them is to promote
increased yields along economic lines
by the further application OF scien-
tific knowledge and the adoption Of
improved! practices. The path Of
agricultural forces are moving along
it with gratifying speed.
However, the maintenance Of sat-
isfactory increases necessitates the
continuance and enlargement Of in
vestigational work, particularly such
as is required to insure fuller control
of destructive plant diseases and in
sect pests.
'"The nation can further expand its
output of commodities by cultivating
the tillable land which at present is
cent Of the total.
"It appears not to be we'll known"
he states, that as the result Of inn
proved processes and better practices
in all sections there has been an. up
ward tendency in the acreage yields.
The increased production per acre is
due in considerable measure to the
practice of better agricultural meth
DDS, including more efficient farm
Ter adoption Of Prop rotations, plant
ing OF crops better adapted to pre-
vailing climatic conditions, develop
meM and adoption of varieties more
resistant to plant diseases and insect
control measures. increased and more
intelligent use Of fertilizers, and I'm
proved efficiency in crop production
| generally"
The increase in acre yields, the re-
port shows is not reonfi1ied to any
! particular section of the United States,
but is general throughout the coun-
| try. It shows, further, that the same
| tendency exists in the agriculture OF
most of the civilized countries Of the
! world.
How American Farmers Lead.
Secretary Houston also points ou,
that in comparing American yields pei
acre with those Of European countries
sit should be borne in mind: that in
| the United States the energy. of each
farmer Is spread over a; larger area
and that although the American
farmer produces less per acre he pro.
duces much more per man. The tota
probably greater in the United States
! than in any country in the world
Thus in Belgium, with it's intensive
4 system of farming, only about s.:
acres are cultivated for each person
engaged in agriculture, whereas il
the United States the corresponding
| figure is 81 acres: Taking both acre
age and yield per acre into consider
alton, the average American farmel
Il average Belgian farmer, 2.3 times a,
much as the English, SO times a
much as the French. 2 Ia times q,
much as the German, and over 6 time
as much as the Italian"
4 Secretary Houston goes into con
siderable detail in discussing the pro
gress of agriculture as reflected by in
creased acre yields. Crop yields pc
acre in the United States" he says
the period for which we have reliabl
comparable statistics. The averag
i rate Of increase for, the past 25 year
has been about one-half Of one pc
cent year. This gain Is not readil,
observed from one year to another
owing to the wide yearly fuctuation
. in yield. But when averages for,
series OF years are Obtained the e6ec
Of the seasonal variations is largel
neutralized and the general trend
clear.
Upward Tendency Since NinettcA
During the decades Of the seven
ties and eighties. when there was 4
vast expansion OF farm akea in tn
west and crops>were grown on NOR
and more extensive scale. the tendenc
Of crop yields per acre was down
q