Evening star., 1947-11-02
Farmers Are
Prosperiing
Economic Position Is
Improving Under
Initiation
Rx Clarke Beech

go
that lucky portion of the population
who have been benefited, rather than
injured, by imitation.
Many farm experts feel that the
farmer even now is not earning as
much as he should, considering his
contribution to the national econ
omy. Nevertheless. Agriculture De-
partment statistics indicate that his
economic position has improved far
more, in proportion, than that OF
most groups.
Two Important Points
To get the true perspective on this
new-found prosperity of the farmer,
however, two points should be kept
in mind:
l. Farm prices in prewar years
were far below the normal market
levels of other goods. Economists
point out that the farmer was enti-
tied to a sitter boost in prices than
other producers, for his returns were
so low in the 1930s that he was not
getting his fair share of the national
income. Many a farmer then would
have gone broke without Govern
ment ubsidies-Which now have
been reduced to a fraction of their
former levels.
2. There is wide variation in the
increases in income enjoyed by
farmers who raise different crops.
For instance, the income increases
for wheat farmers have been several
times as great as those for dairy and
cotton farmers.
The key to the farmers pres
ent well-being is the fact that his
earnings have increased subtantial-
ly more than his costs of produc-
ton and his living costs. These
figures from the Bureau of Agri-
cultural Economics show what has
happened:
Gets More of Retail Dollar
The prices he receives for his
products have increased 167 per
cent above the low averages of 1885,
| 1899. At the same time he has in
creased the volume of the goods
he markets by 81 per cent.
He Is getting larger share OF
the money that people pay for
farm products. In the 1935-1939
period Only 40 per cent of the retail
cost of food went into the farmers
pocket, the rest of it going to the
"middleman," the marketing agen-
cies. Since 1943, however, he has
received from So to Sc per cent Of
each dollar the consumer spends for
farm products.
! The prices the farmer pays have
increased only 102 per cent in the
period. This is divided between his
costs for commodities used in pro-
duction, which have increased SO
per cent, and what he pays for
commodities he uses in family main
tenance, which has risen ITO per
cent. In recent months, however,
t the tremendous spurt in prices has
steadily narrowed the gap between
current income and expenditures.
His payroll has increased l73 per
cent. Wages he pays his hired
hands have gone up much higher
than that, but he is employing fewer
workers now, using more labor-sav-
ing machinery.
| Liabilities Drop
The effect of all this shows up
in the BAE's estimate of the farm
i er's net income. This rose from
5,648 900 900 in 1910 to S18,089, ,0O0,-
600 in 1946. The BAE looks for
this to increase by 20 per cent this
year.
The farmers liabilities, comprising
real estate debt and other debt, have
dropped from $1O000,0OO, 1000 in 1910
to S8,4OO 900, 900 in 1947. His total
assets have risen from $53 300, 900 600
in 1910 to $11O,7OO 900, 900 this year.
Much of this increase IN assets,
however, has consisted of inflated
valuations of existing property.
The per capita annual net in
come of the farm population rose
from $173 in 1899 to $500 in 1916.
This includes income from farming,
J Government payments, value of
home consumption of products and
. the rental value of dwellings.
The farm population still has less
than half the per capita income of
. the nonfarm population, which was
/ 81 1875 in 1916.
But the farmers income rose 258
, per cent in the period when non
farm incomes rose only 100 per cent.
Furthermore, whatever income he
receives from nonfarming sources
, such as slack-season work in can
neries or driving truck, and return
from investments-is not included
| tDistributed by the Associated Press