The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-12
NUME ER0US CAUSES ANNUALLY BRING LOSSES TO FARMER
Weather, Plant Diseases, Defective Seed and Insect and Animal Pests Are a
 Few of Enemies

WASHINGTON, March 11.-Pre- vented production aggregated to- tai average value of s4,230.0e0 yearly in II of the country's important crops during the 13 years 1909 to 1921, the department of agriculture estimates. Weather, plant diseases. defective seed, and insect and animal pests account fer this. prevented pro- duction.
 The corn crop is the chief suf ferer. it's annual average prevented production being 1.56S,S79. 900 bushels which at the average December 1 farm prices makes its value s1.256,- 2S2.00O.
 Next in order is the cotton crop whose prevented production aver sSS2,5S5, 900, including seed. Wheat follows with an annual aevrage dam age of 44S,762,000 bushels, valued at s59S.372, 900.
 The average prevented production and value of ether crops are esti- mated as follows:
 Oats, 596,493,000 bushels and value s2S0,277,000; barley, 10S,063,000 bush. els valued at ss1,31S.000; flaxseed, 11.77o.ooo bushels. valued at s2s,- 494 ,000,000 rice. 11,267o00 bushels, valued at $14,s1s,ooo; potatoes. 21o,s21 900 bushels. valued at $2o1.- s4s, 900; apples 163,45S.00o bushels, valued at $lS6,946,0oo; hay, 34,o25,ooo tons, valued at 900, and to- bacco, 455,72s,00o pounds. valued at $s0,7 ,000.
 Apple Crops Suffer.
 The absolute quantities of crop production prevented by the many and uncertain causes do not indicate the relative severity of the damage to the potential crop. From this point of view the one of these II crops that suffers the greatest rela tive damage Is the apple crop. with yearly damage that averages 47.4 per cent of a potential crop. That is to say, only about one-half of the po- tential crop of apples, on the average, is actually produced.
 The potential flaxseed crop is dam aged. on the average, to the extent of 45 per cent, or nearly as much as the apple crop, and the potential cotton crop 40.6 per cent, although in 1921, the damage was as high as 57.4 per cent. In relative damage as well as actual the rice crop is at. the bottom of the list with 25.S per cent or only one-quarter tf the potential production.
 Flaxseed Uncertain.
 Flaxseed leads all of these crops in future uncertainty of production, with a range between high and low damage to the potential crop as great as 5l.S per cent of that crop. Fol lowing in Crder of uncertainty come apples with range of 35.7 per cent, cotton with range of ,30.5 per cent, barley with 1912 per cent, wheat and rice each with 17.3 per cent, and to- bacco far below with 9.s per cent. As measures of the uncertainty of the future crop, a range of damage equaling 41.S per cent of potential production goes with tho flaxseed crop at the highest extreme and 9G per cent with the tobacco crop at the 1 lowest. These are ranges for United States averages. Ranges are greater in state averages and in individual farm experience.
 "If farmers could harvest a poten tial production" says the department of agriculture, they could greatly reduce the acreage now devoted to these II crops. Tn greatest reduc- ton would be one-half for flaxseed, apples and cotton, taking the aver age of the last two years for cotton. Ths reduction would be third for corn, wheat, oats, barley, potatoes and tobacco and for two crops. rice and hay, the reduction would be one-fourth.
 Had the potential production been realized on the actual acreage of crops, prices would have Been smashed. However, it will not do to say that tho farmer has lost an in- come equivalent to the value of the prevented production based On the price of the harvest production. The fact is that the cost of the efforts to produce that portion of the potential crop which failed is part of the cost of producing that portion of the crop which succeeded. and tho eco- homie necessity is that the farmer shall receive the equivalent of this abortive cos. in the price of the crop