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Show FARM PROSPECTS ARE GOOD v According to the latest reports, of the Department of Agriculjt)utie on the farm situation, the farmers this year, on the whole, have better prospects pros-pects than in any year since 1919. The report declares that taken as a whole the main crops are promising fairly well, except for winter wheat in certain localities. It is said further that the present nice balancee in. both livestock and crop production "is a tribute to the readjustments made by the American farmer since the fall of 1921. The main fact seen in the present outlook was that, while production will be ample to meet consumption needs, agriculture will not be in the market this fall with any large surplus sur-plus of the major products. Present tendicies in the general business situation sit-uation were found to indicate little change in the prices of non-agricultural commodities and consequently no marked change in the purchasing power of farm products. "The outlook in the corn belt is apparently good" 'says the report, Hogs are relatively higher priced and may go higher. The pig survey shows, a decline of eleven per ,cent in the number of spring pigs compared with last year. Corn prices iare not so high as to prohibit feeding and every thing points to a profitable feeding season ahead. It is from conditions like this year, when price, ratios furnish fur-nish a stimulus to feeding, that the corn belt can ussually hope for some degree of prosperity. 1 An average balance of '; $1,024, the margin of cash receipts over cash expemditues, was returned to owner-operators in 1924 and 15,103 farm surveyed by the department. In addition ad-dition to this margin,' these firms increased inventories of crops, live stock, machinery and ' supplies -181 making an average return oj $1,205 for the use of $17, 260,' of capital and the labor of the farmer and his' family. fam-ily. These farms also , produced', food and fuel consumed on, the farm estimated es-timated to be worth $2T6 on the 'ever-age. 'ever-age. I -. ) "This is a somewhnV better ,fehow- ing than in 1023" sajj s the depart-' ment, "when a similar! survey on 16,-183 16,-183 owner-operated fa: rms averaged a cash balance of $890; increased inventory in-ventory of $130 and i iroduced food and fuel worth $265 oj 1 capital that amounted to $17,490. . |