The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1919-06-13
MONSTER WHEAT CROP.

ed by the government experts at al
proximately a billion and a quartz
bushels, crop double that produce
in 1917, the year war was declared 1t !
nearly fifty per cent more than tn
harvest Of last year. 1t is TESTING
NAL to the patriotism and devotion 0
the farmers of America to their cour
try and its sacred cause more eloquen
than words. They translated thei
love Of country and humanity int
deeds, for be it remembered that whel
the great bulk of this crop was plant
ed experts agreed that the price guar
anteed by the government would b.
very much under the worlds marke
price. The land was prepared and tn,
seed soWn for the greater portion o
the unprecedented acreage wher
peace seemed afar off, when the gun!
Numbered from one end of the fal
| flung battle line to the other and The
submarine was the terror of the deep
With vastly changed conditions The
worlds wheat price will probably BIZ
under the government guarantee, but
| 1t must not be forgotten that nothing
indicated this when the winter wheat
crop was sown. With a scarcity of la
Dor never before experienced, in the
midst of the nations greatest cpl
demic, with every possible handicap
the men on the farms by working
over hours, by modifying the boys and
in many cases the women for the
fields, an acreage deemed impossible
by many who appealed for the "Vic.
tory" crop, twas sown. Nature re-
sponded, the elements were favorable
during the winter and the farmers of
America will produce a crop this year
that would have saved America and
its allies in the struggle for civiliza-
tion, had the war run it's bloody course
for another year. He is indeed an ip-
crate, without spark Of apprecia-
ton, who would now begrudge the
producers of this crop the reward
guaranteed them by the nations gov
eminent.
A billion and quarter bushels of
wheat at the governments guaran-
tee of 1926 bushel represents
stupendous sum. The farmers, the &C
tual producers, will not get anything
like that price. The guarantee is for
$2.26 bushel at Chicago on wheat
that grades No. /. 1t will be three
cents less at that primary market on
No. 2 wheat and four cents under
that on wheat grading No. 8, and so
on down, the price being based on the
grade. There will be practically no
No. / wheat marketed in Tennessee.
The crop here and in many other
states will grade No. 2 and No. and
even less. Other primary markets
will doubtless be established but our
closest one will probably be st. Louis.
After allowing for differences in
grades, freight charges and "reasona-
BILE carrying charges" to the buyer, the
farmers of this state will probably not
receive very much over 81 bushel
for their wheat
Even, however, at an average of $2l
a bushel for the entire crop of the ma
ton. and much of it will bring more
than that, a billion and a quarter
bushel crop will be worth two and a
half billions of dollars. This is a
sum not far from the aggregate debt
Of the nation at the close of the civil
war. tits by long odds the most val |
liable wheat crop ever grown by the
farmers of the United States. Divid-
ed among the people of the nation it
would give every man, woman and
child $25. With the proceeds from this
wheat crop one would buy the whole
state of Tennessee nearly four times
over at its assessed valuation for, taxes.
But only small fraction of the val
lie of the crop will represent profits
o the producers. 1t would be extrav-
lgant to figure the average yield at
fifteen bushels to the acre. After al
owing for cost of labor, seed, machin-
Try, equipment, harvesting, threshing,
he latter cost will not be far under
wenty cents, interest on high priced
and, and there will be very little of
he thirty dollars an acre left for pro-
is. The farmers appreciated all
hese things when they planted rec
I'd acreage. They responded to the
ppeal for the Victory crop because
nation in arms, a world in agony
nd In tears, humanity in Gethemena
rged them to the sacrifice.
A GREAT COUNTRY.