The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-28
Sectional Farm Gains Held As Bright Hope
 For Coming Crop Year
Many Maladjustments Have Faded Away, Says Farm Federation Head-Alabama, Missis- sippi and Georgia Show Marked Improve ments-$ OO,00O,O00 Gain In Prices Seen.

of gain. as the best estimates show that North Dakota will receive 90 per cent more income than last year. It must be remembered. however. that this 95 per cent increase is based on last years income and last years income was terribly depressed by failure of the wheat crop. South Dakota, with a bumper oats crop. good whent and barley and with cattle and hogs gaining, will increase about 20 per cent.
 For the west. in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and California, agricultural con- ditions are not so bright. Freezes ruined the fruit crops in all of these states and ak four will show decreases averaging around 10 per cent for this year.
 Cooperation Increases. Cooperative marketing is going for ward with rapid strides. This is evi. denced by the fact that $3,OOO. .O00. .O0O worth of agricultural products will have been marketed through cooperative agencies this year. According to our best available figures that. is an increase in this manner of marketing of from 20 per cent to 90 per cent year. Organi- zation, standardization, merchandising advertising and competent management are the keystones of cooperative mar keting. This, the American farmer is commencing to understand. Good, sound growth in the cooperative marketing of farm products has been somewhat re. tarded in recent years by over-enthusi- astic persons who hold cooperation UT as panacea for all agricultural ills from which agriculture is suffering This over-enthusiasm is dying down and farmers are getting down to brass tacks in the formation of their marketing as sociations.
 A Brighter Promise.
 Nineteen twenty-five holds a brighter promise to American agriculture than we have had for the past few years The American farmer is naturally ar optimist rather than pessimist. They have encouragement in that direction in that 1924 was better than 1923, and 1923 was better than 1922. We go into 1925 confidently expecting it to be bet ter than 1924.
 While financial conditions of the farmers seem to vary in different parts of our country, there has been during
 
 provcment in those sections which suf. fered the greatest shock of economic crisis which followed the war. Diversi fled farming is becoming more widely established. There is a most financial east, or at least most freedom, from financial difficulties in those sections which practiced diversified form of agri culture. There is least difficulty where farmers have given the greatest care tc high-class production and greater yields with the least possible cost factors There is least difficulty where farmers have made most careful study of theil business and farming is big business the biggest business in America both in investment and in production.
 Farmers are improving the quality of their products in sending them to mar ket in more saleable condition. They are placing their products on the mar ket when and where they should be to meet the demands of the consumer these economic improvements in agricul ture have come to stay and betoken great things for the future.