The Redwood gazette., 1935-02-28
Cannot Be Planted To Corn
For Fodder; Other
Crops Allowed


without limitation to any other
crop than corn, but not to corn fo1
use as fodder or other forage pur-
poses, is reaffirmed by A. G.
Black, chief of the Administra-
tons corn-hog section.
This statement was made with
respect to requests from the
northwestern corn belt area that
the 1885 contract be modified to
permit the planting of corn fol
Monogram purposes in excess OF
the acreage permitted under the
contract.
"This question of modifying the
1885 corn-hog contract has been
carefully considered" Mr.. Black
said. at appears that further re-
Taxation would jeopardize the in
tended effect of the program, is
not essentially necessary, would
complicate compliance with the
contract and is not favored by the
large majority of corn-hog pro-
ducers
"The minimum acreage adjust
ment requirement in the 1885 con-
tract of 10 per cent of the 1882
1888 base average acreage gives
farmers an opportunity to produce
an ample margin over expected
feed needs" Mr.. Black pointed
out. at must be kept in mind
that with about the same general
participation in the corn-hog pro-
gram in 1885 as in 1884, farmers
of the United States may plant in
the neighborhood of 95,000,00O
acres to corn this coming spring
With anything like normal yields,
this planted area should take care
of all needs and leave margin of
not less than 20O,0O0,OOO bushels
for rebuilding feed reserves. A
liberal margin over requirements
is desirable, of course, to assure
adequate reserves following the
recent drouth, but indiscrimin-
ate planting of corn, even for 9TH
er purposes than grain. would
tend to produce really burden
some surplus of corn.
"The serious feed situation that
will exist in the drouth areas
during the next five or six months
and the consequent need for mini
mum restriction on the planting
of early-maturing emergency
crops is recognized in the 1885
corn-hog contract as it now
stands. Further relaxation, there
fore, is not essentially necessary,
Contract signers in 1885 may put
in any desired acreage of pasture,
hay or feed grain crops, except as
they may be limited by other COM
modify contracts. This privilege
is of Importance to drouth areas
than any other thing. Planting
of early-maturing feed crops 9TH
er than corn will provide adequate
new feed supplies by mid-year. In
most cases, forage crops will pro-
duce a higher quality feed than
fodder corn, will involve less labor
in production and, if leguminous,
will be more beneficial to the land.
The lifting of restrictions on the
use of non-corn land this year will
encourage the prompt reestab-
lishment of hay and pasture stands
destroyed by the drouth last sum-
mer."
The early planting of several
crops other than corn for forage
purposes also will offer the maxi
mum protection against the poss-
ible development of unfavorable
local weather later in the season,
says Mr.. Black Corn, the last OF
the major crops to mature, is very
seriously effected by adverse wea-
ther conditions and would not be
of greatest value in meeting The
feed and pasture requirements at
the forepart of the current sea-
son, he pointed out.
"In connection with the seeding
of emergency crops" Mr.. Black
said. "the Agricultural Adjust
ment administration, in cooper
alton with other governmental
agencies, will continue efforts to
make available to drouth areas
an adequate volume of suitable
forage crop seeds for planting on
the non-corn land. Local supplies
of farm seeds are short in some
sections. The greatest shortage
exists in timothy, alsike, clover
and red clover. For the country
as a whole, however, the available
seed supply appears to be ample
for most needs. Recent reports
indicate there is enough red top,
lespedeza, alfalfa and sweet clov-
er seed for planting somewhat
more than the normal acreage, at
moderate rates of seeding There
is an abundance of soybean seed,
as the 1884 crop was the largest
on record"
Another consideration which
makes increased paintings of corn
for fodder or other forage purpos-
es seem inadvisable is the problem
of administration and compliance,
he states. 1t is almost impossible
TO determine dates for planting
or harvesting corn so that 1t VIII
yield only fodder in all instances
Experience gained in 1884 also
indicated that determination OF
compliance tends to be complicat-
ed and difficult when the planting
of corn for any other purposes IN
excess of the terms of the con-
tract is permitted.
Reports from the field indicate