The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1924-06-24
Renewed DEMAND
FOR FARM PRODUCTS
LAST 20 YEARS HAVE SEEN
SLUMP IN PER CAPITA AREA
OF TILLABLE LAND.

One cause OF the slump in farm
commodity prices which occurred in
the nineties was the fact that the land
area under cultivation in the United
States had then recently undergone a
tremendous expansion due to the set
Element of the middle west and west
ern states. No increase in the per cap
tia area of land under cultivation can
be cited in part explanation OF the
present slump in farm product prices,
say economists in the United States
department of agriculture. On the con-
trary, they point out, the last twenty
years have seen sharp decline IN the
per capita area OF titled land,
Good land available for farming has
been getting relatively scarcer IN the
United States for several decades.
Though the census of 1920 showed
nearly three-fold absolute gain since
1850 in the area OF land in farms, the
per capita acreage in farms had de-
creased. From 1880 to 1000 the per
capita area in fourteen principal crops
increased slightly, but it was less IN
each succeeding decade. The cOmbln-
ed production per capita of nine prin-
cipal crops was less in 1920 than in
1900. The per capita acreage OF inn
proved land in farms which was at
its maximum in the decade 1880 to
1890, has since declined.
Conditions outside the United States
have contributed to the present agri-
cultural depression Diminished buy
ing power in Continental Europe has
temporarily hidden the fact that the
trend in this country is toward In,
creased pressure of population on land
resources. But the trend is there Just
the same, and it is expected to become
apparent again within very few
years.
With many important farm products
still drug on the market seems
absurd to talk of an increasing search
tv of land. Yet there is no denying
the fact, say economists in the depart
ment of agriculture, that we shall
soon need to reckon with the prob
lens which grow out of the increas-
ing scarcity of available land in rela-
ton to population. This does not
mean that we have not sufficient land
resources to maintain a much larger
population, but rather that as popula-
ton increases there will be a steadily
increasing pressure on land resources
compelling important readJustments
in foreign trade, in standards OF con-
sumption and in methods OF produc-
ton of farm and forest products. Al
though the present area in farms is
only about one-half the total land
area of the country nearly all the
land suitable for agricultural purpos-
es is now in use either for crops or
pasture or is forest and cut-over land.
Besides the reduced ability OF Eu-
rope to buy our products there are
some other causes of the apparent IN
terruption in the trend toward an IN
creased pressure of population on land
resources. Among these is the tact
that in recent years there has been
gradual reduction in the per capita
acreage of crop land employed in live
stock raising, and an over-expansion
in the per capita acreage OF wheat and
rye at the expense of other crops. AS
these branches of American agrlcul-
ture resume their normal proportions
the real scarcity OF land will be thrown
into prominence again.
One of the most important condi-
tons which tends to obscure the in
creasing scarcity of our natural re-
sources is the continued cutting of
forest products from the stored up
supply Of past years. temporarily
throwing land out Of use which ought
to be now growing timber to provide
against the great scarcity OF timber
that will be manifest generation
from the present.
These considerations are not cited
by economists in the department OF
agriculture to give the impression that
a revival of American agriculture bas-
ed on a demand for increased produc-
ton is just around the corner. 1t is
recognized that the foreign outlook
may mean that some years will be
required to restore the normal balance
between acreage under cultivation and
the demand, both foreign and domes
tic, for our farm products. Yet it is
noted that the bearish outlook is off
set to some extent by the fact that
the population of the world is inCreaS-
ing at a rate Of about 100000 900
year and the population of the United
States at about 100000 year. There
is consequently nothing over-optimis-
tic in predicting an increased demand
for American farm land, and conse-
quently for American farm products
within few years.
IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.
Teacher-Now, how old would
...----.. -. 1. .... l., 1000