Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-12-11
AMERICAN CROPS
THIS YEAR TO BE
WORTH 13 BILLION
Continued from Page one.)

100
ton to meet it's requirements" Mr.
Meredith declared, and have pro
duced crops estimated TO WORT
$13,S00,OO0,OOO this year. TIL,
combined yield of the ten principa
crops was 10 per cent above tn,
average for five years.
Unprecedented Corn Crop.
The corn crop of 3,l99,O00, OOC
bnshels is unprecedented, repre-
senting about four-fifths of tht
worlds production, the report said
The sweet potato crop of los, 900.
200 bushels is far in excess OF any
other year except 1919, while the
rice crop of 52,00O,O0O bushels is
one-fourth greater than the larges,
crop ever before harvested. Tobac
co production of 1,476,0O0, 00g
pounds, the sugar beet crop of
100000 bushels and the pota
TO crop of 421,O00,000 bushels
stand out as high marks while the
apple production of 236, 900, 600
bushels has been exceeded only
once.
1t ought to he a fact" Mr.. Mer-
edith continued, that when The
farms Of the country produce
abundantly the consuming public
viii be literally supplied with food
at reasonable prices, the farmer
taking his profit because of large
production and the consumer re
ceiving bis increment OF benefit
from having an adequate supply al
a reasonable cost.
An Economic Paradox.
IN general, we should expect It
to be true that the farmers condi-
ton is improved in direct proper
tion to the number of bushels Of
wheat or corn or the number o.
bale9 OF cotton he produces. II
frequently happens, however, that
when all farmers have eXtraordi-
nariiy good crops during the same
year low prices leave him worse off
than he has been in other years
with short crops and high prices.
This year, Mr. Meredith said,
high prices Tor farm products con
tinued until they were ready to sell,
when the price reduction set in,
covering everything the farmers
had to sell and materially affect
ing nothing they We're compelled to
buy.
The years output produced at
an abnOrmally high cost" the sec
Rotary added, lis worth at current
prices $4,000, 000,0Q0 less than the
smaller crop of 1919 and $1,000
600, 600 less than the still smaller
crop Of 1918. The best estimate
that can now be made indicates
that the total value of animal prod
ucts in 1920 is SS,757,0 600 or
about $2O0,000,0OO less than in
1919.
"There is probably no other in
dustry or business that could suf-
fer similar experience and avoid
insolvency."
Farm FinaGcc Involved.
Farm finance, he said, has be-
come more and more involved I'M
til it ranks in importance with the
financial problems of industry. In
this, as in marketing, Mr.. Meredith
suggested expansion of the coop
erative idea as likely to bring defi-
mite and tangible results of benefit
to- the farmer. The department is
making a study with q view to APP
plying the cooperative plan tOI
farm mortgage and personal credit
and farm insurance, the report ad
ded.
National thought will be Direct
ed to the problem of land owner-
ship during the years Immediately
ahead Mr. Meredith predicted,
Causes and results of farm tenan-
cy, he said, must be placed square
~ before the American people so
hat their importance may be rec
ognized," since on the question of
soil depletion and the serious eff
feet it has on production depends
largely the food supply of the flu !
-ure. He urged congress to make f,
les in this connection.
A governmental study also |
should be made Of the farm labor |
situation, Mr.. Meredith said,
"F'ailure to recognize its COM
DleXity," he added, has resulted in |
many unwise attempts to solve it."
The movement from the farm to |
The city constitutes "a real con-
Germ" in America, the report said.
If the increasing population is
10 be ted from available farm
ands, efforts to reduce agricultur-
Il hazards must go forward Vigor-
lusly, Mr. Meredith said. Among
hese hazards he enumerated plant
tu