The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-03-05
The Farm and The Farmer
BY William r. Sanborn

Not the raising of bumper crop,
but of the kind and quantity that the
farmer and his family can themselves
best handle alone. is likely to be the
policy on thousands of acres this
year Farm wages were the highest
in history last year. The cost of all
farm production was excessive. From
seed to granary and from the feed lots
to market, every operation was eX-
penSlVe in comparison with the mon
ey received for the farm output
This most discouraging state of af-
fairs will assuredly cause thousands
of farmers and feeders to take in sail
and to keep as close to shore as pos
sible. Many. still less fortunate will
be compelled to curtail their opera
tons for lack of money to go ahead
On what may be considered sane and
profitable basis in this time of equal
ization and REIMBURSEMENT
Farming Is Your Business.
We are not advocating a reduction
of crops or of cultivated acreage, this
year. nor in any year. This also goes
for live stock. In our opinion this is
no time to limit hog production, or to
sacrifice brood sows. To much of this
this has likely already been done
Hams, bacon and lard are not going
out of fashion, nor are there too much
of either in the world. In our view
conditions are shaping to make live
stock raising fairly profitable perha ps
very much so as to hogs, not because
of extra high prices but because of
the better balancing of feeding costs,
| and the greater purchasing value of
the incoming dollars.
Farm Labor Problem.
That farmers will be troubled by
| any great shortage of labor this year.
| now seems incredible The slowing
down of industrial processes has had
a tendency to turn men familiar with
| farm operations back to the land, and
| to cause many city-bred men to con-
slider the opportunities for comfort
| able existence on farms or in rural
| communities.
A million city dwellers are always
! looking ahead to the time when they
will be able to evade the rent col
| lector and to own a home out where
: the grass grows and where gardens,
and fruit and berries flourish outside
of tin cans.
A number of such will get out into
the country this year. But the men
| the farmer will value most are those
who left the farm for the front, for the
mills, factories and shipyards. Men to
I the manner born and to whom farm
ing is the natural vocation. All of
these will be doubly welcome and
truth to tell, many farmers will have
no other except in dire emergency.
In existing conditions the city and
! factory is losing much of it's charm
for former country boys, a host OF
whom have already returned to he
land. Dollars being worth more this
year, fewer of them will secure good
help The labor problem should be
easily solved in most localities this
year.
Intensified Farming
Az manufacturer of farm machinery
says: intensified farming must BIZ
practiced more energetically than ever
before if the year 1921 and the years
to come are to show a profit to Ameri
can farmers" He cites the fact thai
Land values have advanced beyond
all former limits, and history shows
that the value of American farm lan6
never drops"
In this latter statement we are fal
from agreeing; land too greatly in
flated must inevitably come down t