The Butler weekly times and the Bates County record. (Butler, Mo.) 1918-1950, 1922-01-05
yEhas win Corn be Worth in 1oaa?

WIT Win Corn be Worth in 1saa?
The last issue of til. Wallace Far
mer published an extensive article
a the reduction of the 1922 co.:l
acreage. It is the opnon of that pa
per that now is the logical time to
! cnt the acreage OF corn and increase
the acreage of clover and other
legumes. The pursuit of this policy
would not only tend to decrease the
Ip22 crop, which according to pres
ent indications is very apt to be pro-
duced At loss, but it will also en-
able the land owner to build up his
soil at period when the production
! u grain crops is not apt to be very
proiftable proposition.
5 AS this article points out there are
only two ways of raising corn prices
Ii 1927 above the ruinously low
level which now prevails. One way
Id which this result can be brought
about is by decreasing the acreage
Of corn voluntarily, the other way for
desired results to be accomplished
Hes entirely within the hand of
Providence. Should the country suf-
fer from drouth during the months OF
July and August the yield of corn
might be curt sufficiently to achieve
Me desired results. 1t is the opin-
ION OF the wallace Farmer" that it
would be much more logical to de-
crease their corn acreage voluntarily
than to rely upon the uncertainty OF
The weather during 1922 for relief
from the present glutted condition OF
the market.
According to present indications
there will be on hand at planting
time approximately 5ooooo,ooo bush
els more of corn than is customary
at this time Of the year. Since the
sormal corn crop is approximately
10000 900 bushels it will thus be
seen that at planting time there will
still be on hand accommodations equal
ing about 10 per cent OF a normal
crop yield. With this surplus on
hand it is practically foregone con-
cfusion that with even a normal pro-
duction in 1922 prices will be SO low
that thousands of tenants will re-
alize less than five cents an hour tor
the time spent in producing their
crop. Consequently the logical thing
to do seems to be to devote sufti-
cient amount of corn land to the
production of clover and other soil
building crops in order that the corn
carry-over into 1923 may be again
normal.
On the average during the fifty
year period before the war a cut OF
10 per cent in corn production in
creased the price bushel by fifteen
cents. A cut of twenty per cent in
creased the price bushel BY thirty
four cents, and a cut of thirty per
cent brought about an increase in
price of sixty cents. Cuts in the
cotton acreage have been utilized
very effectively in stimulating the
price to a point where the crop can
be produced with profit to the farm
er. AS an average of five acreage
reduction campaigns in the south
sixteen per cent cut i'll acreage has
resulted in fifty per cent increase
in price. The increase i'll price per
pound for cotton has far more than
counter balanced the smaller num-
Der of pounds.
1t will doubtless be commended by
some that farmers are not justified
in deliberately cutting their acreage
IN order that the price may be adj
yanced. This contention is absurd
on the face of it because there is no
industry in existence which does not
gauge its production to certain ex-
tent by markets demands. Steel
manufacturers. clothing manufacture
ers, and all other institutions of SIM
liar character would not think OF go
ing ahead blindly and producing in
the face of an already over-supplied
market.
OF cour~e, it would be absurd for
one county alone to attempt to I'M
prove matters by cutting corn acre
age, but if concerted action is taken
through the corn belt as suggested
in the article referred to it will be
possible to very materially reduce the
corn acreage and assist in bringing
corn prices back to point where
they will at least repay the farmers
the cost of production.
This is a proposition for every
farmer to think about and decide ea'
according to his own idea. AS editor
of the Farm Bureau News items, the
County Agent would be glad to have
an expression from anyone on this
subject. If it is good proposition,
let's support it. If it is not let's kill
II before it goes any further.