Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-24
CROP D|vERS|FY |NG
|. BIG AID TO FARMER
Great Northwest Particularly
Has Profited by Raising
Several Products.
BY j. &: ROYI.E.
Special Dispatch TO The star.


NEW YORK, February 24.-onl!
the farmers with all their eggs In on'
basket are worrying about the tate
the McNary-Haugen bill. The advice
Of a great financier to put all eggs II
one basket and watch the basket Is
80 years old. The modern day farmer
has found that his watch on the pas
ket is not sufficient. He has discov
ered ms he must insure the basket
and ae has accomplished this through
diversification of crops.
Not all farmers nave followed this
system any more than all household
ers have insured their lives and prop
erty But the movement to that enc
is extended from the Southeast to the
Northwest. from the potato fields oi
Maine To the melon fields Of Imperial
Valley, Calf.
General Income Increases.
Diyersification of farming in the
= Northwest shows that those not de
pendent on grain alone can make a
success OF their business even in spite
of drouth and short crops. rms
statement is vouched for by the Fed
eral Reserve Board of the ninth dis
trict. Although the income from
grains in the district comprising
Minnesota. Montana, the Dakotas and
parts of Michigan and Wisconsin has
declined since 1924. farm income from
Minnesota, for example, has In
creased from $516.775, goo in 1924 to
S532 152 900 in the last year.
The total farm income from Mime
sofa North and South Dakota and
Montana in the last year was $1.l71,-
$50. 200. as against 81, 1881 ,405, O0o in
1924 The farm value of grains in
those years amounted to 1901, 72e 900
I'm 1924, $707 .ST4 900 in 1925 and S594,.
81 ZOO in 1926. The main gain was
made in potatoes. live stock. butter
fat, eggs, chickens and wool. But
when other farm products. such as
sugar beets, alfalfa. clover seed, fruit
honey, etc. are added, the Northwest
ern National Bank asserts that even
better showing would be made. Also,
If the parts of Wisconsin and Michi-
gan belonging in the district were add
ed the loss in grain would be still
further lessened
Takes Up Decrease.
ut is a remarkable fact" says the
bank, that the "a per cent increas sc
other than grain is the same as the
"a per cent decrease in the valuation
of grain due to smaller crops and
lower prices"
A similar condition is becoming evil
dent in the Southeast. Cotton former
~ was the big money crop of the en-
tire South. Now sweet potatoes. live
stock, tobacco, fruit, canning. dairy
ing and other agricultural activities
have more than counterbalanced the
losses resulting from a record break.
Ing cotton production, a slack period
In textiles and a lowering of cotton
prices.
Georgia is taking steps to estab.
fish agriculture on a sound economic
basis. first, by passage of legislation
to exempt from all taxation for five
years or more all farms and farm
products grown by the planter who
lives on and tills his land, and, sec
ond, by diversified planting which will
make cotton surplus crop.
Live Stock Profitable.
In the Southwest cotton growers
were not hurt, despite the low prices,
for in much of Texas the acreage
planted to cotton was virgin soil, I'M
exhausted, and did not require the
expenditure for fertilizer necessary in
the older cotton regions. In addition.
the fruit, nut and vegetable crops
brought splendid returns. Live stock
was profitable. Wool prices have
been high enough to show a profit to
many growers in view of advanta-
geous range and weather conditions.
The decline i'm the farm value of
grain and cotton prices is less i'm
portant than ii once was Nobody
now can venture to say what con-
stitutes a big money crop or produc-
ton. since by-products are coming TO
play such an important part in farm
incomes.