Evening star., 1960-12-11
BY BERNARD GWERTZMAN
star staiR writer

COW 4UC0Ody w ICpUEt W N1k1t&
s. Khrushchev's Central Commit
tee on the status Of agriculture in
their country for 1860.
During this meeting, the sue
cesses and setbacks of the last
year will be discussed in full, and
most likely, no topic win receive
more attention that the spectac-
ular growth Of Soviet corn pro-
duction in the last seven years.
No other single product Of the
Soviet economy has been more
widely pushed in the press and at
agricultural meetings than corn
that sturdy, carbohydrate-rich.
misunderstanding crop that was
well known to Americas early set
tiers, but until 1858 was Of little
economic Importance in Russia.
Under Premier Khrushchev's
leadership. the amount Of corn
sowed in the Soviet Union has in
creased nearly TOO per cent in the
seven years from 1853 to 1859, and
from all available statistics. Soviet
corn has continued its upward
course this year.
Prineipol Crop Wheot
Russia. from pre-Revolutionary
times, has always been q starch
and sugar orientated country. It's
principal crop was wheat, and the
typical diet of the people consisted
Of bread, soup. and potatoes, with
o glass Of tea and a chunk Of
sugar. The diet was notably lack
ing in meat, milk, and other ami
NAL products.
BY the spectacular growth Of
corn-and the word spectacular"
is used freely by Agriculture De-
partment experts here-the Soviet
Union has started on an ambitious
program Of altering the funda-
mental diet Of its people. for corn
is used principally to feed cattle.
hogs, and other animals.
Where 1t would take o steer
three years to grow to maturity on
grass or hay, q corn-fed steer
whether he has eaten corn on the
cob, or corn in the form Of silage
can become mature In as little
as 20 months. agricultural experts
here point out.
In addition, they say, corn feed
can measurably increase the guam
tity and butter-fat content Of milk
from cows.
indicative Of this diet change,
Soviet per capita consumption Of
meat has increased 20 per cent.
milk and milk products, SO per
cent, and eggs, 20 per cent. At
the same time, consumption of
grain products has dropped
per cent and potatoes. l3 per cent
all in the last seven years.
Crosh Pro9rom
This does not mean that Soviet
citizens are now eating the same
diet as Americans-we eat an
average Of three times as much
meat as Russians for instance
but 1t does mean that Khru-
shchev's crash program In corn
production has paid of with i'm
pressive dividends In animal
products.
No man, in fact, Is more closely
identified In the Soviet Union
with the rise in corn production
from S,6ll 900 acres sown In 1858
to 55.385.000 in 1859 according
to Soviet statistics-than Khru-
shchev himself. .r.t.
Unlike Stain who, 1t is said,
last visited village in 1928, the
present Soviet leader seems most
at ease in the countryside where
he seems truly to understand the
problems Of the farmer. Under
Stain. Khrushchev was the
agricultural expert on the Central
Committee.
Khrushchev's many trips to
collective farms. his salty Ian
guage, and his knowledge Of
agriculture-especially his push
ing of corn which has proved
advantageous to the Soviet
countryside - has endeared him
to many peasants. According to
American farm experts who have
spent time in the Soviet country
side. Khrushchev is known affec-
tionately there as Mr.. "Kukuruza"
,Mr. "CornD.
Grain and SiIose
In September. 1858. several
months after Stalin's death, the
Central Committee. on Khru-
shchev's urging, passed a decree
to increase the growth of corn
as a grain and as silage.
Corn silage is generally corn
which is harvested before it has
reached its maturity. then chopped
up and stored in silos. 1t is al
lowed to ferment slightly and is
fed to animals with other feeds.
Depending on the climate, corn
may be cut as silage either in
its green, early stage. or In its
milk-waX later stage.
The proposal to use corn as
silage caused comment in the
West where corn Is almost always
grown to maturity as a grain -
an exception being New York
and Massachusetts, dairy areas
where silage Is used to feed the
cows.
Khrushchev apparently realized
that the climate of the Soviet
Union was not adequate to allow
corn to remain unharvested into
late October. BY that time, snow
has fallen in many areas. Thus he
ordered that much of the corn
grown be harvested as either
green fodder or in the so-called
milk-wax stage to be stored as
silage.
Corn stored as silage, agricul-
ture experts here say. has only
about 81 per cent of the feeding
value of corn grown to maturity.
but Khrushchev obviously felt
that corn silage was better than
no corn at all.
I'll NAf