Evening star., 1938-07-17

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sured on his 1899 crop on an "all-risk" basis
against loss in yield of wheat because of
drought, flood. hail, wind frost, winter kill,
lightning, fire, tornado, storm, insect in
festation animal pests, plant disease, ex-
cessive or deficient moisture, incursions Of
animals and ANY other unavoidable cause
not specifically excluded"
Pay Half Bushel an Acre.
Messrs Pugh, Purvines and Meyers are
insured for IS per cent of their crops, and
each paid to the Government in premiums.
for storage purposes, a minimum of half a
bushel an acre. Reports seeping into Wash
ington from Kansas City, Mo, the capital
OF the wheat country, make officials here
optimistic about the number Of applica-
tions being made for insurance The more
applications, the more wheat is taken of
the market. If half of the Nations wheat
acreage should be insured, the program
would set aside in q few good crop years
from 50,000,000 bushels to 100. .0ao 900
bushels Of wheat that can be used for one
purpose only" Secretary Wallace has said.
That purpose is to provide insured farm
ers with wheat to sell when. their crops
fail"
SO, under trying circumstances, the crop
insurance program, which was first seri-
ously proposed by the White House two
years ago. is ready to unfold Its initial ap-
plication is to wheat only. With wheat, a
farmer is at the mercy of the elements.
Corn he can cultivate intensively, but rain
and sun, grasshoppers and fungus-they
determine his wheat crop. This fact SIM
plifies its insurance The factor of man is
negligible
Nobody can estimate today how many
bushels Of wheat will be kept of the mar
ket by the operation of the loan and in
surance programs. For next year, however,
the department is willing to take try at
fixing the crop in advance by acreage
alotnlents and marketing quotas.
Figure Tentatively Computed.
Washington two days ago set the acreage
for 1889 at 55,0o0000. The number of
acres in wheat this year is almost 30
100000. The A. A. A. explains the COM
putation thus:
Under present export demand and
domestic consumption conditions. the na-
tional acreage allotment is to be the num-
Der OF acres which, at average Yields will
/ produce enough wheat to constitute a
total supply of 910.oO0,00o to 975, 900 900
bushels. This includes the carry-over.
The larger the carry-over, the smaller
the acreage allotment, and the smaller the
carry-over the more wheat acreages will be
needed. Changing conditions of demand
in future years will alter the required sup
ply levels and acreages
THE program is designed to maintain
in this country q total supply off wheat
about 80 per cent larger than normal
domestic consumption and exports, which
means an annual carry-over of 21o, 900 900
to 225000,0oo bushels in addition to the
7oo, 100000 to 750,000,00o bushels needed
for such consumption and exports. The pur-
pose Of maintaining this carry-over is to
protect both the consumers and the income
Of the producers-to make sure that even
in bad years there will be wheat for farm
ers to sell and for consumers to buy, at
fair prices"
How the Quota Works.
The fourth shell in Secretary Wallace's
farm-protection gun, marketing quotas is
fired only if the estimates of wheat produc-
tion fall below a sum found by an intricate
bit Of arithmetic. The A. A. A. gives this
model Of the quota at work on one farm:
Assuming that the national marketing
quota was 80 per cent of the national
acreage allotment; that the acreage allot-
ment for the farm in question was 80
acres, and the normal yield for the farm
was 10 bushels to the acre.
Then the marketing quota for the farm
would be the normal production 90 bushels
to the acre. of 90 per cent of 80 acres (72
acres) or 720 bushels This amount of
wheat could be marketed from the farm
without penalty. If more than this amount
were purduced, it could be stored under
seal and a Government loan on it OBJ
tanned. As much of the excess as re-
quired could be used by the grower to pay
premiums on crop insurance for his wheat,
If he so desired, and no penalty would
attach to such ,lse.''
Will this fourfold program enable the
farmer to keep ahead OF the weather and
the international supply situation? This
year and next are the perfect years to
give the answer. +
Foreign trade in wheat, like inter-
national trade in almost everything else.
declined with the depression. United States
wheat exports averaged is1 900 900 bushels
q year frem le33 10 1927, when domestic