Milford chronicle., 1924-04-18
Business Service
Aid for Farmers
To Meet Changed Condi-
tions New Forms Have
Been Devised.
prepared by the United States Departmen
of AgricultureD

prepared by the United States Department
of AgricutureD
To assist American farmers in or
ganizing their business to meet the
changed economic conditions of pres
ent-day agriculture, new forms OF az
ricultural information have been deyel-
Oped, and fundamental studies in farm
organization, marketing and crop es-
Inmates have been expended by the
bureau of agricultural economics dur
ing the past year, according to the an
nual report Of the bureau.
I'm the period of agricultural re
adjustment experienced during the
past year, it was important for farm
ers to secure the facts bearing upon
current problems that would give them
the greatest aid in making accurate
decisions in planning farm operations
and in marketing their products" says
the report. "The first attention of the
bureau staff has been directed con-
stantly toward these problems in re-
spOnse to the greatly increased de
mands upon the bureau for infOrma-
tiOn on the general conditions of supply
and demand, price trends, the effect of
various domestic and foreign factors
upon the farmers returns, and for in
formation bearing upon problems Of
crop readjustment."
Live Stock Surveys Help.
Special effort was made to strength
en- present crop and live stock report
ing methods, and to supplement these
methods by surveys designed to give
a more accurate knowledge of future
supplies. The semi-annual pig surveys
which give an indication of intentions
Of farmers regarding the production Of
hogs, and the reports of farmers in
tentiOns to plant various crops are out
lined as indicating the bureaus activi-
ties along this line. Numerous me-
chanical and other methods have also
been developed to obtain maximum ac-
curacy in acreage and production esti-
mates.
A worldwide crop and market report
ing service was developed by the bu-
reau, to obtain the essential facts con-
Cerning probable foreign competition
and demand for American farm prod
ucts. Agricultural commissioners in
England and Europe, and the Interna-
tiOnal Institute of Agriculture at
Rome keep the bureau constantly in
formed, regarding the current foreign
agricultural situation. This news is
broadcast by the bureau to farmers by
radio and the press.
g o. hot s,,A,
the market demand in domestic mar
kets, as expressed in the prices and |
movement Of crops and in consumers |
requirements was made. Results of |
several years of farm management |
surveys were reviewed to secure facts !,
of value in the present agricultural re- !
adjustment, the objective being shift
ed somewhat from studies with the his
tOrlcal point of view to the current re-
adjustment point of view
A steady growth in the bureaus
work in warehOusing, improved farm
finance and in the study of agricultural
cooperation is required. The CORE
latiOn of various research projects con
Quoted by state and federal institu-
tons such as in the establishment of
the New England research council on
marketing and food supply is also re-
garded as a forward step. A similar
council has been planned for the Mid
die West.
Market News Service.
The market activities of the bureau
have been extended along the lines of
,.oeoorob standardization ,,,arIy at !
news, and food products inspection at
shipping points and terminal markets
Grades were prepared for hay, wool,
tobacco, rice, rye, peanuts, dressed
meats, and a number Of fruits and
vegetables.
Farm management studies were eX-
panded during the year to include
studies of farm income on various
types of farms, farm production in To-
calities adjacent to cities, the organi- =
zation of cane sugar farms, specia !
survey of cotton farms in boil weevij t
districts, studies Of the earlier farm d
management records, surveys of re I
giOns on which studies have been 1
made in previous years to discover i'm
portant changes in management. Cost :
of production work was expanded to .
include wheat, cotton, tobacco, fruits, !
sugar beets, sugar cane, and cattle.
This extended service to farmers i
was made possible largely by the con
of three former bureaus into O
what is now the bureau of agricultural b
economics. In the new bureau the Il
identity and the organization of the
various lines of work formerly handled 5
in the three bureaus has been pre-
served in the associated divisions un-
der the three groups Of production, n
and problems dealing with \
the economic phases Of both produc-
tiOn and marketing. q
----------- is
n MM-------- Il N