Montana oil and mining journal., 1940-08-03
Montana Farm Statistician
Answers Variety of Queries

How many hcrses suitable for cav
airy duty are there IN haontana2" the
United States army recently inquired
of the Helena office Of the federal
agricultural marketing service.
Not an easy question 70 answer, but
1t didn't bother Jay Diamond, federal
senior agricultural statistician of Hell
ena, and his staff the least bit It was
just another routine question TO be
answered and the number Of horses
was determined in short order without
a head being scratched or an eyebrow
raised.
Hundreds OF involved posers on a
whole score Of different subjects are
put TO the marketing service force each
year and they have yet to come up
without the correct answer Constantly
keeping a finger on the pulse of Mon
tana's agricultural and livestock In
dustries, the service knows practically
all there Is to know about crop and
livestock conditions In the state, and
can readily satisfy anyone needing sta
tistics on such matters.
But replying to questions which. in
cidentally, could be answered by no
other source, Is just a part, and a /
minor one at that, Of the service rem
dered the people Of Montana and other +
sections of the country by the Helena /
office.
Size Of Schedules
In fact, when Diamond started fig
uring Just how many schedules and
releases were sent out from his office
during the past fiscal year, 1t became
Increasingly difficult to see how the
statisticians ever had time to delve
into records and charts to find answers
to questions like the cavalry horse one.
From July, 1889, TO June, 1910, the
marketing staff mailed out 98,313
schedules an increase of 5 percent
compared with the year previous.
These schedules carried 2653 questions
for their reporters to answer, per-
cent more than last year and usable
or tabulated returns showed an in
crease Of II percent.
The schedules covered every con-
ceivable angle Of the agricultural and
livestock industries and pertained TO
approximately 140 different items,
many repeated for each month.
The schedules included milk price,
corn utilization, commercial poultry, {
turkey schedule, prices paid for feed;
acreage cards, farm population, sugar s
beet and bean yield inquiries, prices
paid for autos and trucks, fruit utid- I
cation, farm real estate. potato survey,
special apple survey, sorghum inquiry, /
wheat varieties, sheep survey, census /
Of prices Of silver mink and fox, spe- {
cial chicken marketing, monthly gen.
sral schedules and monthly range and
livestock +
December Busiest Month l
Busiest month for the office, as far t
Is the number Of schedules mailed out 4
S concerned, was December, 18 differ :
INT schedules being handled during :
hat period. February was the nghtest II
month with only eight schedules mailed II
,ut. Seventeen were handled In June, II
g in March and September and IL II
n October.
A checkup of reports released during H
he past year revealed that SO reports
lad been sent out with a total OF
2,275 copies, approximately the same
IS the previous year There were 230,- II
Al pages contained In the releases as
ompared with 223 ,186 In the preceding
ear.
Included In the list of those who
eceived the releases are agricultural II
tatisticianS, county agents, railroad
'eOple, commercial clubs, grain trade,
business firms, seed grow
rs. grain elevators and the various
gricultural and livestock reporters.
n all the releases went to 18 different
stS of users.
Twenty-six weekly crop reports are
1cluded In the list of releases. Among II
theirs issued were monthly crop re-
ortS, monthly range and livestock,
lonthly price, pig crop, cattle on feed, II
neep on feed, wheat stocks, wool, cash
lcome, seed, turkey, livestock outlook, II
aper, wool outlook and fall moisture
utlook.
Increase In Inquiries
Diamond estimated a total of 975
lquiries were answered during the
ear, 625 mail, 280 by telephone and
elegraph and 20 In personal inter-
lews The number of inquiries in
-eased about 10 percent as compared
ith the year. 1938-39.
Outbreak Of hoStilities In Europe had
ute noticeable effect upon inquiries. II
e said. the increase resulting In q
rye part to questions relating to the II
fects Of the first World war upon II
yriculture. especially prices and pro-
action.
Other statistics unearthed by the
atistician revealed that members of
Ie staff had travelled some 8,434 miles
st year on official business, one radio
Tx was given, 100 reports had been
ade to WASHINGTON u q as result u