Evening star., 1932-01-30
FARM IMPLEMENT TRADE FACES
HANDICAPS IN NEAR FUTURE
Manufa cturers Reserves and Dealers
Stocks Are at Hig Levels, With
Potential Demand Weak.

able During the past two years farm
ers have fallen into arrears, and 1t has
been difficult for them to make even
reasonable payments on their accounts.
1t is unlikely that there will be any
appreciable improvement in this situ-
alton during the first half Of the en-
suing year.
Crop Costs Reduced.
With the present lower selling prices
for farm commodities, the farmer more
than ever is dependent on the efficiency
of machinery to reduce production
costs. This will be a year when every
motion will count and when every
acre must yield the full quota of its
harvest
The experiences of the past few years
have proved that machinery offers the
most dependable way to keep produc-
tion costs to the minimum. For with
modern equipment, one man can handle
$50 or more acres of corn, against an
average Of about 80 acres a few years
ago. The combine can harvest and
thresh 35 to 40 acres of wheat in a
single day. with one machine handling
as much as 500 acres in Is days. Com
bines now are used in every State in
which small grains are of any impor-
tance. With modern power machinery
only 80 to 35 hours of man labor are
required to grow an acre of cotton
ready to pick, as compared with 80
hours under the old one and two mule
system.
When 1t comes to making hay, one
man with tractor drawn mower and
side delivery rake can cover 25 acres
day, which is about SO times the area
one man could, cut and rake a century
ago. The combine method of harvest
ing rice has reduced costs from SO cents
to rs cents on each barrel In addi-
ton, there is considerable increase in
the amount of grain harvested per acre,
as compared to the former method.
Many Improved Machines.
While machine farming is a century
old, the centennial of the grain reaper
having been celebrated in 1881, power
farming, in the inclusive sense OF the
word, has been brought to its pertec-
ton in the past decade The high
point OF its development was marked
by the introduction of a general pur-
pose tractor that could cultivate corn
and cotton. Prior to that time, it was
necessary to use horses to till the row
crops, which constitute about third
of the entire acreage.
The perfection of machinery for the
use of the corn grower has done more
than almost any other implement to
reduce the cost Of production on the
farm. In 1929. there were $4,000 900
acres cultivated in corn, whereas the
wheat acreage was but Gl,000.00O
Wheat once planted requires little at
tentlon until harvested whereas corn,
the acreage of which is far less mecha-
nlzed than is the wheat acreage, must
be cultivated number of times during
the growing season.
Fair Expansion Expected.
Taken as a whole, the farm imple-
ment industry is in good physical con-
dition. Heavy expenditures have been
made for modern machine equipment
in most factories and line production
has been established where it naS been
practicable. Quality workmanship is
on high plane, and The selection of
materials used for manufacturing pur-
poses is extremely thorough.
The agricultural implement industry
naturally is dependent upon the farm
ing class, and its recovery IS resting
upon the betterment of crop prices and
general improvement among the
agricultural classes A favorable fea-
ture from a selling standpoint, is the
TACT that requirements are inevitable,
due to the lack of purchases by farmers
during 1880 and 1881
AS viewed from most angles, the farm
implement industry ~ppears to have
placed itself in strategic position.
wherein it awaits only better general
domestic and foreign trade conditions
for full assertion of its place in the bust
ness world. Although the value of
farm lands and buildings shrank from
S66, COO, 100000 in 1920 to $4,000, COO
farmers who will be back in their fields
with renewed hope and courage on the
first warm day of Spring.