Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-02
Tin lber Crop Proposed
AS Real Farm Relief

from the Chicago Daily TRIBUNE.
A man from Wisconsin writes, PLANT
trees to ut the farm surplus" With q
timber sh, Gtage annually more threat
ening, will ' grain surplus which Mr..
I,epre is try ing desperately to buy away,
spondent SUI SestS' 10 shllt from gram
to timber Gro oS- 49,
One out of or 10 acres under culti-
walton is a s,If plus acre. Much of that
acre, according TO good estimate, is poor
for grain but 20 od for timber. 1t is the
marginal acre in grain farming, not very
good nor efficien v put IL D@aKS GOWN
the farmers price =, a way TO make u
timber land would alo Cne Iarmer anu
restore our forests.
In Wisconsin timI YER land is taxed 10
cents an acre until thu, trees are cut.
Then heavier tax Is LEVIED on the
timber crop. Thus p1 iva tie interests are
encouraged to grow tor estS In new
York the State is buyir $ lanoS not gooo
enough for farming bu. aood 10 regroW
forests In great areas OF the southern
counties of the State lar di are removed
from marginal and sur. oh nsts tnat
break the farmer down. BY one 1ntenl-
gent method or another surplus farm
lands may be turned to tin Vi er. In Hill
nois alone six million acres pt potential
timber land lies relatively Wasted ana
unused.
When America can increas, the aver
age acreage of farms and e duce the
total acreage of farming, says u. Rlcn-
ard T. Ely, director of the ms : ttute Ior
research in land economics ar pubic
utilities at Northwestern Univer tty, the
solution of the farm problem = VII De
nearer. In this day of industry ailzeo
farming the average one-family ia nm is
too small. On test farms in Mott tana
5000 acres have been found the ef1is lent
size for dry farming methods. On ! I'D
die Western farms with one owner ana
two husky sons the proper acr,a age
would be less, but still larger than tne
present acreage. Instead of reduc1 lg
the productive acreage on the aversA e
farm, as the Farm Board advises, th e
acreage should be larger.
On a 3,000-acre unit In Montana
wheat can be raised with total labor1
time of Sd minutes per acre. This
means efficiency for one-famtly farm
ing, for though corporation farming has
not succeeded, according to- DR.. Ely,
the family farm must use the corpora
TONS methods of industrial machinery |
and science to make go of it. To re-
duce acreage on the 3,000-acfe farms \
in Montana as the Farm Board advises \
Or to raise twill only raise the costs I
of farm products to the consumer. To
reduce productive acreage on good farms
VIII InJuIe Cile ConSulAel' ~ VIII AoSt
help the farmer.
If the Farm Board could use itSh
millions buying surplus lands insteadA
of surplus crops and restore these lands
to timber, the farmer and consumer
both would profit. The timber land or
crop could be sold or leased later to the
lumber companies and governments
could break even. The farmer mean 1
while would be greatly aided.
Farms in general Should be larger 7
but the total acreage under cultivation
must be reduced. Private crops of tim L
Der should be encouraged by improved
taxation methods. Where public help
is needed in the farm emergency the
areas of cheap marginal lands should be
converted into State and national
forests.