Evening star., 1946-12-18
Greatest Crop Placed
l6 Per Cent Higher
Than Before War

Food officials will get their
first picture tomorrow of pros
poets for 1947 winter wheat pro-
duction as the Agriculture De-
partment looked back on the
best crop year in history.
Winter wheat, which is planted in
the fall, makes up about three
fourths of the Nations annual wheat
production. If prospects are good
for another bumper crop, this coun-
try will experience its first real wheat
surplus in several years.
In a final report on this years
crops yesterday, the department said
total production was the biggest on
record. Aggregate production was
26 per cent above the 1922 aver
age, per cent above last year and
2 per cent above the previous record
Of 1912.
Record Crops Listed.
Record crops of corn, wheat, rice,
potatoes, tobacco, peaches, pears,
plums and truck crops were pro-
duced. Near-record production was
reported for oats, peanuts and
grapes, while better -than-average
outturns were reported for hay,
sorghum grains, popcorn, dry peas,
sweet potatoes, applies, prunes, april
cots, hops, sugar cane and sugar
beets.
The only below average crops
were cotton, barley, rye, f1aXseed,
buckWheat, broomcorn, dry beans,
cowpeas, pecans and maple prod
ucts.
Meanwhile an international food
official warned that some European
countries "are moving in the direc-
ton" of near-famine conditions
similar to that of last winter and
predicted that bread rations may
have to be cut unless American
shipments of grain can be stepped
up.
The warning came from D. A.
Fitzgerald, secretary general of the
International Emergency Food
Council, as Government officials |
considered drastic steps to make
more transportation available for
movement of grain from the in
terror of the country to sea ports.
"Stern Measures" Needed.
Some Government officials claim
that only through stern measures"
can the United States expect to
make up the recent lag in grain
shipments and meet goals eStab-
lished earlier this week for January.
This may include priorities on box
cars and other preferential treat
ment for export grains.
The United States seeks to ship
nearly 100000 tons of grain next
month, which would be almost
double the pace of the last few
months.
President Truman may discuss
the foreign food situation at press
conference this afternoon.
Secretary OF Agriculture Anderson
Informed the President last month
that "a resort to priorities or prefer
entail treatment for export grains
may be unavoidable. He further
warned that the Office of Defense
TRANSPORTATION should stand ready
to match its actions to export needs,
mot hesitating to take drastic steps
If we continue to lose ground on our
commitments"
Further Ground Lost.
A source close to the Secretary
comedies that further ground has
been lost in recent weeks. He added
that "if we pick up our lag and get
the transportation, we will move
the 100000 tons in January"
Failure of the United States to-
keep pace with its objectives is
blamed on the maritime strike dur
ing September and October and the
transportation bottleneck.
This lag comes at time when
shipment of Canadian grain is
slowed by the freeze on interior
waterways. 1t also is an interim
period for Argentine wheat The
new crop there does not become
available before the last of January.
Great Britain is in particularly
bad position for grain, according to
Mr.. FITZGERALD. This is due in part I
to bad weather this fall, which
caused a deterioration of much of
England's crops still in the fields.
1t has been described as the worst |
fall weather in at least half
century.