Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1920-01-01

tinued and extended, according to the
annual report of the chief Of the bu-
real an extract from which is given
below,
Many special inquiries were made
during the year, including:
Quantity of commercial fertilizers
used per acre of cotton and proper
ton of fields upon which used.
Percentage of various crops to
which commercial fertilizer and ma
nure was applied and quantity used.
Binder twine requirements for the
grain crops Of 1918 for the use Of the
Grain corporation.
Emergency live stock survey, to de-
termine the number on farms July l,
1918.
Uses made Of wheat crop, for the
United States food administration.
Quantities of various crops fed to
different classes of live stock.
Live stock survey of January, 1919.
Fertilizer inquiry Of January, 1919,
to ascertain quantity of commercial
fertilizers and manure used for crops.
Wages of farm help.
Prices farmers pay for equipment,
machinery, and supplies.
Percentage of farm labor require
ments available.
Agents Gather Facts.
Field agents prepared estimates OF
acreage, yield, production, and stocks
on farms of wheat and corn by coun-
ties for the United States Grain corpo-
ration, and they also prepared esti-
mates of the value of agricultural
production by counties in each Of the
principal states for the use of the
treasury department. Field agents CO.
operated with officials of the depart
ment of agriculture, the treasury de-
partment, and the state extension serv-
ices in the states where seed-grain
loans were made to farmers in the
drought-stricken regions of the north
west and the southwest in the fall Of
1913 and spring of 1919.
The bureau compiled innumerable
statements showing the production
consumption, surplus and deficiency,
exports and imports, and prices of i'm
portant agricultural products for all
the principal countries before the war,
and of production and requirements
during the war, for the information of
administrative officials Of the depart
ment of agriculture, of other federal
departments, and various War-emer-
gency organizations. Many of these
statements were for the use of the de-
partment committee on crop produc-
ton and were used as basis for the
crop-production programs which were
recommended. Other compilations
were made for the confidential use Of
the war trade board and for the COM
mittees on agriculture in congress.
Much information Compiled.
Summaries of weekly reports of the
state field agents of the bureau were
furnished for the confidential informa-
ton of the secretary and chiefs OF
bureaus of the department of agricul-
ture, and after the signing OF the
armistice the mailing list for these
summaries was extended to include
other government officials and senator's
and members Of the house of represen-
tatives. Bimonthly foreign crop re-
ports were issued in the spring Of 1919
and will be continued.
A vast amount of information was
compiled and furnished in response TO
inquiries received by telephone, tele-
graph, letter, or personal call or rep
resentatives of the food adminiStra-
ton. the war trade board, the war in
dustries board the military intelli-
gence Office of the war department,
the tariff commission, the federal
trade commission, the council OF ma
tional defense, other departments or
the federal and state governments,
congress, and private individuals.
More than 100000 pieces of mail
were handled by the division OF crop
reports during the year, as compared
with 100000 by the same division for
the preceding fiscal year. an increase
of % per cent About the same rela-
tive increase was noted in all other
branches of the bureau at Washington
In the state Offices of field agents
the work more than doubled IN the
fiscal year 1919 as compared with the
preceding year. The issuance by field
agents of monthly state crop reports
bearing their names which are gener'
ally reproduced in all the state papers
has made them widely known through
out their states and has resnlfed Id
heavy volume of correspondence.