The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-01-16
CROP INSURANCE
 ID BE SUBJECT OF FARM CONF FERENCE
Experiments Said to Have Proved SuccessfuI-Pro- ductlon and Consump-
 ton to Be Topic
By Associated Press

Washington, January 15.-Insur- ance of crops as a method of sta balizing prices of farm products is expected to be one of many suggcs- tions put forward at the national agricultural conference, which opens here January 23. for. inclusion in a permanent national farm policy. Dis cussion within the conference would be expected to develop, whether .he proponents would recommend that the insurance be carried by the farmers comparatively. by private companies. or through government aid.
 Hail insurance has already been tried by tobacco growers and storm insurance is in force in some sec tions of the west. but experts ex- pect that the suggestion would be presented for the first time, for an insurance against all crop risks.
 Crop insurance has been tested to a certain extent, 1t was declared, both by mutual farmers companies and by private insurance companies, and agricultural experts declare it has proven successful.
 Production and Consumption
 Balancing production with con sumption is another important topic which the conference leaders expect will come up. The relation of the supply of crops and foodstuffs to markets has long been studied and suggestions which are likely to come from conference delegates, it was said, Will range from acreage limita- ton 10 more careful study of world production and consumption Along with these would be crop surveys in America which would enable the pro- ducers, in the opinion of agricultural leaders in advance of crop planting, to gauge the consumption demand
 The importance of developing sta tistical information was pointed out ty experts in discussing this sub ject. They said that for a number of years figures on production have been fairly complete, but similar data on consumption has been shy.
 Price Fixing
 Valorization, or price fixing, was said to be on the minds of several NClt-oItS. DiilS OIl liiiS SuDJecI now before Congress and suggestions from the outside have come for min imum price guarantees for certain staple commodities as wheat, corn cotton and the like.
 Extension of the co-operatfve movement also is expected to be pro- posed to the conference. Smaller CO., operative organizations have proven successful, and advocates of exten- sion of the moment will be in the gathering of delegates.
 Labor Question
 Leaders of the conference predict that the labor question inevitably will arise. since the presence of railway executives and Samuel Gompers, pres. ident of the American Federation of Labor, and of many representative employers as conference members, will bring the two sides of the ques- tion together. The farmers, it was said, are vitally interested in the labor question, through it's effect on transportation rates and because of realization that wage scales gre reflected on the farm in the buying power of labor.
 The purely agricultural nature of the conference, agriculture depart mept officials said, has been kept in mind and the dirt farmer" will be fully represented Half of the per sonnel is made up of farmers and farm leaders, and the other half of industries which are dependent on a prosperous agriculture
 Care will be taken. officials de- clared, that the findings of the con ference will be thoroughly consid- cred in the light of their legal stand- ing, and they will be finally pro- mulgated with this aspect in mind.