Evening star., 1932-08-28
Controlled Farm Production Big Problem

KNOWING that the American farmer is
y faced with the problem of increasing COM
petition in foreign markets, the Department
of Agriculture is handing its efforts to stabilize
production in this country at figure which
will meet the demand but avoid the disastrous
surpluses which have so seriously cut into farm
revenues in the past few years. Sterilization
is faced with three serious handicaps of course.
First is the difficulty in convincing all farmers
that they should curtail certain of their crops
in order that they might receive higher price
for their products and make as much or more
net revenue than with larger yields. Second
is to guard against shortages resulting from
insect and disease attacks which might bring
serious shortages at times. Third is the prob
lem of weather, which is always more or less
uncertain.
In the case Of the second and third problems,
the department can make considerable progress
through control measures and development OF
strains of seed which are disease and weather
resistant
Most of the plant pests and diseases have
been thoroughly investigated and understood.
Control measures are worked out for the curb
ing OF the inroads which pests and disease
threaten. Only application Of what is known
is necessary in most cases In other cases
where control measures are not successful, de-
velopment Of new varieties Of seed have solved
the problem Of drought resistance, wheat rust
and similar hindrances to crop production.
Proper means of fertilizing and preparing the
soil, of cultivation and harvesting of handling
and shipping crops have been worked out and
the information passed on to the farmer Every
thing that science can do has been done and
the research continues.
1t remains then, only to teach the farmer
the lessons in economics which vital If the
first problem, that Of controlled production is
to be solved.
Take the case of wheat, for instance. The
A.
and the experts Of the Department of Commerce
have worked out definite figures on the annual
requirements for wheat in this country. They
know through planting reports how much
wheat is to be produced under normal condi-
tions in the other wheat growing nations.
They know the total world market. Under these
circumstances they can judge just how much
of foreign market the American farmer can
hope to find. With these figures to work with,
they can estimate, using average figures for
production of course whether the American
farmer should increase, decrease or hold level
the acreage he devotes to wheat production.
If in their opinion the production of the pre-
vious year should be maintained or an increase
be undertaken, the problem of putting the idea
across would be easy, but il they should decide
that production be curtailed, they would run
into difficulties as they f,avesh the past.
Stubbornness and stupia,ty would as it has,
lead many to figure that 4 the others would
reduce then the wise" individual who kept
up or increased his production would reap just
that much more harvest A general following
of that principle would naturally result in the
production of the surpluses which bring price
disaster
An ideal situation one which must come II
the farmer is to prosper, would be a crop suf-
fciently large and only sufficiently large to meet
the American demand, with surplus which
would fill any deficit in world production and
provide for a small carry-over to take care Of
a shortage which might result from adverse
weather conditions the following year. If thu
ideal condition is accomplished and maintained
the wheat farmer would prosper. What holds
true for wheat holds true for other types Of
agriculture which can be held to a fairly GER
tain yield.
OF course crops which are based on years