White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1927-12-30
A SUMMARY OF The ANNUAL REPORT OF
THE SECRETARY OF AeRICULTUR

The following summary of the an
nual report of Secretary Of Agricul-
ture Jardine was prepared by E. C..
Durdle, county agent, and is worth
reading by everyone interested in
the farming industry:
Agriculture in the United States
during the last year has made sub
stantial progress in recovery lom
the effects of the postwar depression:
Progress is manifest in better bal
anced production, in advancing prices
for some important crops, notably
cotton and cattle, and in further
Improvement in the relationship be-
tween the prices of farm products
and the prices of other goods. This
relationship is expressed by the De-
partment of Agriculture in index
numbers showing the purchasing
power Of unit of farm products in
terms Of nonag1icultural goods. On
September Is the index number in
dicating this purchasing power was
81, compared with an average of IS
for the year 1926, with 100 repre-
senting the average for the years
preceding the war. Since June, 1921,
the unit buying power Of farm prod
ucts has increased more than IS
Fer cent. This means that agricul-
ture has regained more than three
fourths of the buying power lost per
unit of it's products in the post war
p-ice decline.
1t is important to bear in mind
moreover, that the Improvement
thus registered in the purchasing
power index does not show the full
extent of the recovery effected. In
dex numbers indicating gains in the
exchange value of farm commodities
tell only part of the stc'-y. They
do not accurately reflect advantages
accruing from increased efficiency.
In the last few years the produc-
tivity of American agriculture, as
measured in output per farm workec,
has increased greatly. On fewer
acres, and with farm population
100000 less than in 1919, the agri-
cultural industry since 1923 has av-
eraged largei volume of produc
ton than in the years Immediately
following the war. The farmers,
through increasd efficiency, are eff
setting, to some degree at any rate,
the effect Of unfavorable relative
prices.
In general the showing for the
year is good. Yet much remains to
Lle done before the position of the
farmer will cease to constitute
problem. In order to achieve higher
net incomes for agriculture, advance
is necessary along several lines.
while farmers themselves are reduc-
ing their costs of production through
increased efficiency, public agencies
should cooperate with them in eff
fecting better adjustment Of pro-
auction to demand also efforts
should bsax111asiss to- diminish waste,
to 1esu.n margins between producers
and consumers prices, to reduce
I. .ansportation and distribution costs
and lessen tLe farmers overhead
charges by lowering or redistribut-
ing tax burdens and by improving
agricultural credit facilities. Farmers
should be encouraged to enhance
their bargaining power through CO..
operative marketing, and til, re-
sponsibility of the public in helping
to reduce price fluctuations due to
unavoidable gluts and shortages OF
agricultural products should be res
ognized in a practical manner. Over
emphasis on the. fairly satisfactory
results of a single year may cause
us to forget the existence Of uneer-
Lying. causes Of farm difficulty, and
therefore to neglect practicable
means Of affording relief. .
In the nine years since, the World
War ended our agriculture has un-
dergoae far-reaching changes that
have materially increased the output