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Show A FOOD SHORTAGE? A note of cheer for the farmers was struck in the convention of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at Ox-: ford, England, when Sir Daniel Hall predicted a world-wide food shortage, unless something is done to increase the production by science. Sir Daniel based his figures on present production and ; the present rate of increase in population. j It would be difficult, of course, at this time to convince the; American farmer that a food shortage is imminent For the past few years life for him has seemed to: be just one surplus after another. an-other. And yet we know that the margin between a surplus and a shortage is comparatively small. The failure of Canadian wheat in 1920 came as a blessing to the American wheat farmer and brought him a season of prosperity. It was not so very long ago that corn . was considerably more than a dollar a bushel. Hogs were comparatively cheap and so thousands of farmers abandoned the hog industry and went in for corn. For the past year the situation has been reversed. Now hogs are high and corn is cheap. The production of hogs will doubtless increase greatly during the next year or two, and then a partial failure of the corn crop is likely to reverse the situation again. The thing which will encourage the thoughtful farmer is that general agricultural conditions are gradually growing better. Following Fol-lowing the greatly increased production during the war came the slump which hit industry first and then agriculture. Industry, being be-ing the first hit, was the first to recover. Farming is only now convalescent but it is recovering steadily none! the less. It is not likely that Sir Daniel Hall's prediction of a food shortage short-age of serious proportions will come true in this generation at least. But) it is safe to say that the farmer is going to do better and that the worst of the agricultural slump is over. |