The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-02-11

! WlNC 1IlNNllbOly VI manpower. And among the hundred or more skillS which will be listed are those of the more specialized agricultural trades such as dairy farming, tractor jockeying, farm machine operating.
 Authorities on the farm labor sit uation don't foresee that farm labor will have to be drafted" to take off the crops this year. There will be no resort to Hitlerian tactics of forced mass misunderstanding whole communities to remote rural areas for cOnScript agricultural labor. h. stead an effort will be made to see that local resources of manpoWer and woman power and youth power are intelligently marshalled for each community's farm job, and that the mobile migrant labor force is also intelligently mobilized and directed. Public spirit and local patriotism are to be relied on to handle this farm labor problem for 1922 Next year? Nobody is making any predictions about how things are going to be in 1943, or who's going to be doing what.
 HERE'S THE
 PICTURE ,..--..
 The farm labor supply picture of the six million U. s. farms stacks up today approximately like this:
 The Department of Agriculture marketing service estimates tEe agricultural labor force at around 8.6 million men, made up of 69 mii- lion farm family workers and IT million hired hands. This isn't any accurate census, but sampling sur vey made by crop reporting agencies.
 Figuring backward, the increased agricultural program for this year, providing for all the extra food needed to supply those allied nations which look to the United States for food supplies. will require an esti- mated 100000 man-years of farm labor to produce. This isn't to be in- terpreted as meaning that 100000 more farm laborers are to be re- quired.
 4NuSll Ol UklC ltiCOl SO1llS AllO bIll0 increased farm program is of a sea- sonal nature, requiring extra help at planting or harvesting or canning times. The increased number of part time farm workers required, there fore, may run as high as 5O0,0O0 or 600, ,000 Seeing that this additional farm labor force is on hand at the right time to reach crop is the job of farm placement serv1ce.
 U. s. Employment Service, recent ly federalized by Presidential order, has approximately 1,500 offices oper- ating in 1,150 of the 5000 counties of the United States. These are the full-time employment offices where farm placement service men keep an eye on the year-round farming Op- erations. In addition there are some 5000 temporary or part-time farm employment agents who are moved from one location to another to re- cIuit labor for season demands.
 VOLUNTEER SERVICES
 In some states, there are volun- teer employment offices set up, man. ned by public spirited citizens - county agents, farmers storekeepers, coop managers, filling station oper- ators or AAA committee. Any tran- sients or unemployed coming into contact with these volunteers are approached and urged to take farm jobs to help harvest the crop.
 On top of that are the mobile en- ployment offices which in the farm belts are set up at important high way intersections. Migrants coming to these crossroad employment off, ces-usually nothing more elaborate than one or two men in car or tent, with sign stuck up to identify them-are directed to farms where there is work.
 This, in brief, is the recruiting service which the farm placement section of the U. s. Employment Service now sets in motion to pro- vide the extra labor necessary to take off the 1942 crops-to win the war with food, if you follow Depart ment of Agriculture's slogan, Food Will Win the War"