Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-06-01
CropReporting
System in II. S.
Is IS Years Old
By Malcolm Lomborne, Jr.

This year is the 85th anniversary
of the crop reporting service, begun
during the administration of Presi-
dent Lincoln.
It's come a long way since May,
1862, when Commissioner of Agri-
culture Isaac Newton rounded up
the names of Northern farmers from
members of Congress and sent out
his brief questionnaires.
Weeks later replies came in from
some 1000 farmers in % States. 1t
was rated such a success that Com
missioner Newton decided to con-
tinue the service on monthly basis
from May through October. The
Nation was at war and officials were
quick to see the value of knowing
the food potential in wartime.
Today there are 100000 volunteer
crop reporters, along with numerous
State statisticians, who keep a
steady flow of information moving
into Washington at the rate of two
reports a day throughout the entire
year.
The service was initiated prina-
rily as a self-help project for farm
ers. Commissioner Newton summed
it up this way:
Ignorance of the state of our
crops invariably leads to speculation
in which oftentimes, the farmer does
not obtain just prices and by which
the consumer is not benefited"
Crop Reports Vital to Peace.
1t might come as a surprise to
some to realize that so long before
World War II the theory of food
helping win war was recognized.
And, now that efforts are being
made to carry out the rest of the
well-known slogan-namely food
will help write the peace-crop re-
ports are as vital as ever before.
The eyes of most of the world are
turned to this country and it's farm
ers who will produce the food so
vitality needed abroad.
Typical of the reporters who give
willingly of their time in order te
benefit themselves and others is
w. P. Hunter of Beallsville, Md. He
has been a crop reporter for almost
40 years.
| In making out his reports, the
Montgomery County farmer says
he details what he is growing or
his own 194-acre place and what his
neighbors are doing. after a few
years." he commented recently, ''you
get so you know about all that's
going on In your community"
Mr.. Hunters reports and many
like them are sent to College Park
Md, where State Statistician Harley
M. Brewer and his staff go over
them. They then are sent to the
Agriculture Department at regular
intervals.
A Closely Guarded Secret.
The information for the crop re-
port issued by the Bureau of Agri-
cultural Economics on the 10th Of
each month is a closely guarded
secret. Extreme precautions tc
avoid premature leaks of nationa.
or State figures in advance of the
3 pm. release time have been taken
ever since the so-called cotton scan
dial of 1905.
1t was that year that the present
day Crop Reporting Board was
formed to review all State reports
and issue national surveys. In 1912
the board began making Its pre-
harvest crop forecasts. The system
of livestock reporting, in which rural
mail carriers distribute unaddresseo
cards along their routes, began
in 1922.
The department began a new
series of quarterly surveys at the
start of this year, using the master
sample" as basis. This is cross
section of farms linked with the FIVE
/ year census of agriculture in such 9
way that reliable national estimates
can be obtained by interviewing 6
relatively small number of farm
operators.
| But, regardless of new techniques
| the department almost certainly viii
continue to depend on it's big stat
of "legmen Nations volunteer
| repOrterS