The courier-index., 1920-04-16
FARM FACTORS
 FOR YEAR 1920
DEMAND FOR FARM PROD
 UCTS WILL BE ACTIVE
C1st Of Making Crops Will B' High, Requiring Most
 Efficient Methods
J. c. Pridmore, Shreveport, La.

Another crop season is almost upon us. Before much progress is made, the farmer could, with advantage, take stock, so to speak of the agricultural outlook and base his plans for the year accordingly.
 What of the outlook?
 To begin with, the agencies of pro duction impaired by the war are not yet on a normal basis. This being true, the demand for food and feed products as well as the raw materials of manufacture are still unsatisfied It is we'll to mention here that the wheat and rye acreage of this country was decreased about twenty-five per cent last fall and this will, of neces- sity, have a bearing on the foodstuff situation this and next year. Prices of farm products have reach ed high levels, and the indications are now that they will not be much lower any time soon. High prices, however, do not necessarily stimulate produc- tion.
 Farm labor, very important factor, is not only scarce, but higher in price than ever before. Doubtless, the cost of other necessities in farming will be as high, if not higher, than in 1919. To make farming profitable this year, in the light of conditions existing, the farmer must either ln- crease the efficiency of his meth ods of production, or else he must get less net profits from his operations. Of the two methods suggested, un- doubtedly that of speeding up the agencies of production is to be looked to for relief.
 There Is no doubt that the method | used on the average farms could be improved to such an extent that great CT yields per acre could be made. In fact, the average acre yields of crops grown must be increased; for | in the past the average acre yields have been so low that they have paid but little if any more than the cost | of production.
 As a means of increasing the acre production of field crops, the land on
 which these are grown must be made more fertile. To this end, the farmer must look to more liberal and a l discriminate use of commercial fertil- izers. These contain the elements of l plant food, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, necessary to all plant life. | These clements have been reduced in most soils to such an extent by con stant cropping that profitable farm
 ing is no longer possible unless they are returned to the land.
 To illustrate the effect of the use
 of fertilizers on crop production, and
 to show how crop yields decrease
 where they are not used, the compar-
 ative yields for the last fifty years
 of two western states and three south
 eastern states are here shown in a
 diagram reproduced from publica-
 tion of the United States Department
 of Agriculture. Each black line rep
 resents a ten year period AS is shown
 in the diagram, in Texas and Arkan-
 sas where but little fertilizers have
 been used the yields have gone down
 from approximately 225 pounds of lint
 per acre to little more than 150
 pounds. On the other hand, in the
 southeastern states, where fertilizers
 have been used properly, the yields
 have increased very markedly, going
 from 150 pounds to 225 pounds of lint
 per acre.