Evening star., 1949-09-16
By jones BirchfieId

NAL yldIlu ldTueTS may become
the victims this fall of scientific
advances in agriculture which
have raised crop yields and of
technical improvements in har-
veSting.
The present problem centers
around grain.
With storage facilities at the
principal Eastern terminals bulg-
ing with wheat, slow in moving
into export channels, farmers face
losses on their bumper corn crop.
which must be stored in order to
come under the Government sup
port price oft$1.50 a bushel. !
Meanwhile Free StAteffarrners.
grain dealers and agricultural
specialists have attacked the prob
lem at two meetings, held yester-
day and Wednesday at Easton and
Frederick.
Big Shipments From West.
The extent of losses Maryland
farmers may incur this fall will
depend, specialists said, on what
steps can be taken to increase
farm storage facilities between
now and harvest time. Maryland's
corn crop is estimated at 18,447,-
900 bushels this year. 587 900
short of last years bumper crop
and the second largest crop since
l1925.
Ironical is the fact that while
farmers are searching for ways
to solve the storage problem for
this falls corn. terminal storage
facilities in Baltimore are over
flowing with Western wheat,
shipped in by rail for export to
Europe.
Joseph H. Blandford, State
Production and Marketing Ad-
|ministration chairman, said stor-
age facilities for 100000
bushels of grain In Baltimore are
owned by three railroads-the
Pennsylvania, the Baltimore and
Ohio and the Western Maryland.
He said space for the storage Of
/ 500, 900 bushels Of wheat there
had been made available to farm
ers in Maryland, Delaware, Penn
sylvania and Virginia.
Few Other Facilities.
Mr.. Blandford said there were
a few other storage facilities in
Baltimore, but these were negli-
gible.
He explained that the terminal
is operated by the three railroads
to take care of grain shipped by
rail to the Baltimore port for
shipment to Europe. He said the
Government has nothing to do
with these facilities.
The problem, Mr.. Blandford
said. is that grain has been slow
in moving into export channels,
thus tying up the storage space
longer than usual.
Maryland wheat in storage. he
said. is classed as No. 2 wheat
containing garlic. He explained
that this wheat is not as desirable
as the better. garlic-free Western
grain.
Congress Action Waited.
Another reason for the slow
movement of Eastern wheat, he
said, is the fact that the military
services have not yet received ap-
preparations from Congress and
therefore have not made their
grain purchases.
He said the services have in
dicated they will purchase some
wheat containing garlic. A part
of this grain also will be sent to
Germany, Austria and Ireland.
Better corn varieties, better ag-
ricultural methods and increased
mechanization also have played q
hand in creating the storage
problem.
This has been coming for a
number Of years. Mr.. Blandford
said. "but it took combination
Of good year and these other
circumstances to bring 1t to q
head"
Better Farm Practices.
The almost universal use In
Maryland Of hybrid corn varieties,
increased use of fertilizer and
other better farming practices
have increased corn production
year after yecr. ITc'-n e-'s
have made 1t poSci... : for a i---'-.-..er
to harvest his entire crop in o