Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1921-04-15
BY Henry c. Wallace
Secretary of Agriculture


Let me speak first OF the agricul-
tural situation in general. | think
IL we can get an understanding OF
this, the proper work of the Depart
ment of Agriculture will become APP
parent. We must approach it from
two angles; first, present conditions,
which are decidedly unusual, and,
second, conditions which may de-
yelop in the future.
doubt whether the people of the
East realize just what has happened
to the farmers of the producing sec
tions. Take the grain and live stock
producing country of the Central
West, for example, and | speak OF
this because it is the region with
which / am most familiar and also
because it is the region which gives
us our great surplus crops. We
have the finest rural civilization, TAX
en- as a whole, the world has ever
seen; our farmers average very high
in intelligence; they produce more
per man than almost any other farm
ers in the world; they have adopted
the most advanced system of extern
sive farming yet developed. Not
withstanding all this they are now in
a most trying period and are suffer-
ing severe financial losses. Farm
ers throughout the nation, especial
~ those in the South and West, are
experiencing exactly the same
trouble. The cotton farmers of the
South, the rice farmers, the cattle
and sheep growers of the Far West,
the fruit growers; all are passing
through this same valley of discour-
agement and financial stress.
People who are not familiar with
agriculture find it hard to under
stand the situation. They refuse to
believe that the depression is as SER
ious as 1t really is They point to
the high value of our land, to the
high prices at which farm products
were selling prior to this heavy drop,
to the large number of automobiles
owned by farmers, to the apparent
wealth and comfort on every side;
and they refuse to take seriously
what the farmers say concerning
their troubles.
There are two causes for this wide |
spread agricultural depression. One
is the high cost of production last |
year. If we include all the factors
which properly enter into the cost |
of production, we find, for example,
that the cost of producing a bushel
OF corn in Iowa. the greatest corn
state, was more than 90 cents This
includes the land cost, the labor cost,
and everything else which ought to
be included
Many people say You are figur-
ing the land at an inflated price
You should not do that. The farm
er did not pay that price for the
land. He wants dividends on water"
1t is true that the land charge is
considered on the basis of its value
a year ago, but it is also true that
the advance in land prices was not
nearly as great as many people sup
pose, They hear of the occasional
sales at $500 or $500 an acre and
assume that that represents the av-
erage. Nothing of the sort. The
average advance in the value of our
rich corn belt land was only about
so per cent above pre-war values. It
must be remembered also that in the
principal corn states over half the
land is farmed by tenants and these
tenants mostly had to pay rent on
the basis of the advanced land val
ues. 1t is true further that if we
omit the land charge altogether, the
price which the farmer can get for
bushel of corn is still considerably
below what it cost him to produce it
The largest item of cost in corn pro-
duction is not land, but labor.
The man who has been farming
his own land and who has saved his
money has prospered. The five
years prior to 1920 were profitable
years, especially to the grain farm
er who was so fortunate as to have
good crops. If he exercised ordinary
intelligence he made more money
than he ever before made at farm
ing. Those years were not so profit