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Show AMERICAN FARMERS SURPASS OWN MARK TO I PRODUCE ANOTHER RECORD FOOD CROP IN 1944; 153 Million Ton Grain Harvest 25 Billion Pound Output of Second Best. Meat All-High. America's soil and America's farmers are an unbeatable combination. That's the belief of N. E. Dodd, chief of the agricultural adjustment agency of the U. S. department of agriculture, as he points to the eighth successive record food production soon to be completed, and the all-time high for total farm production that is also being entered on the books for 1944. In all the history of the world, says Dodd, no country has before provided from its own farms enough food for all its civilians and all its fighting men, and had some to share with its allies. -: " ' ... . :: f rvv -it y y , - . i I. ' '' ?" I K f it I Busy with harvest on farm near Trappc, Md., William Eason and crew leave field with four bushels of tomatoes, infinitesimal part of estimated esti-mated crop of 3,173,800 tons. Proof, he says, can be found in a review of the record. The 1944 harvest, according to department of agriculture figures. fig-ures. Is estimated at 4 per cent more crops reaped and threshed than last year, while food production pro-duction is up 5 per cent over 1943 's record and 29 per cent over the pre-Pearl Harbor average aver-age for 1937-41. Beginning in 1939, when war engulfed en-gulfed the European continent and America began to receive calls for supplies of all kinds, both food and total agricultural production have Increased In-creased each year, building up to the 1944 records that top anything In the nation's history. Yield of crops appears generally excellent, despite the hard use the soil has had of necessity during the war years. It is pointed out that only seven major crops show a lower low-er yield than the average for 1933-42, which includes 1942's phenomenal yields. These crops are buckwheat, rice, dry beans and peas, peanuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes. Leading crop this season is wheat. It is the second billion-bushel harvest har-vest in U. S. history, exceeding by 10 per cent the previous record set In 1915. Estimates are for some 1,115,402,000 bushels in 1944, 33 per cent more than last season and 47 per cent more than the average for the 1933-42 decade. Yield per acre exceeds 1943 by 10 per cent, and the earlier decade by 30 per cent. Biggest Big-gest average acre yield for winter wheat is reported from Nevada, with 30 bushels per acre, compared with the national average of 18.8 bushels. Idaho is next with 29 bushels, followed fol-lowed by Washington with 28.5 bushels bush-els and Utah with 27 bushels per acre. Idaho and Utah lead in acre yield of spring wheat other than durum, with an average of 33 bush-' bush-' ls per acre, compared with the national na-tional average of 17.5 bushels. Bumper Corn Harvest. If the anticipated corn harvest of 3,101,000,000 bushels is realized, it will top last year by about 25.000,000 bushels and exceed the 1933-42 average aver-age by 732,000,000 bushels, or nearly one-third. This is only a little below the all-time record set in 1942. The acre yield this year is slightly under 1943, but 23 per cent more than the average for 1933-42. Iowa heids the list for acre yield among the states with 52 bushels, compared with the national average of 31.8 bushels. Idaho takes second place with 47 bushels, followed by Illinois with 45 bushels, and New Hampshire, Vermont Ver-mont and Wisconsin tied with 40 bushels per acre. Hybrid seed corn has played no small part in increasing corn production, pro-duction, according to the department of agriculture. Hybrids have been found to raise yield as much as 20 per cent, and in 1943 it was estimated estimat-ed that 609,000,000 bushels more corn were produced than would have been possible without the hybrids. Nearly 52 per cent of the corn acreage acre-age last year was planted to hybrid varieties, government figures show. A third more sorghums for grain than in any previous season is anticipated antic-ipated with the harvest of about 150,-000,000 150,-000,000 bushels compared with 112,-000,000 112,-000,000 bushels in 1941, the highest production to date. The acre yield is 15 per cent more than in 1943, and 33 per cent greater than the 1933-42 average. California sets the pace tor acre yield with 36 bushels per acre compared with a 17.9 national average, followed closely by Arizona with 32 bushels, Illinois with 26 bushels bush-els and Missouri with 21 bushels per acre. g The ontsyp is estimated at l,190,540uWr4iels, 4 per cent more than last yea. ind 16 per cent more than the 1933-42 average. Acre yield is only slightly higher than last season sea-son and about 5 per cent above the 1933-42 average. Washington and Wisconsin have the highest acre yield among the states, probably influenced influ-enced by the new Vicland variety which is hardier and particularly adapted to those areas. Washington's Washing-ton's 46 bushels per acre and Wisconsin's Wis-consin's 42.5 bushels compare with the national average of 30 bushels. Utah with 41 bushels, and Nevada and Idaho with 40 bushels per acre also report good years. Good crops of buckwheat and barley, and a near-record rice . crop, when added to the other grains. Indicate a total grain harvest at 153,000,000 tons. This would be slightly less than the peak year of 1942, but 10,000,000 tons more than in 1943 and ranging rang-ing from 12 to 28 per cent in excess ex-cess of the harvest during the five years before 1942. Hay production of some 98,000,- 000 tons in 1944 would mean a harvest har-vest of this important feed greater than in any years but 1916, 1927, 1942 and 1943. Acre yield of all tame hay is estimated at 1.39 tons, with California's Cali-fornia's average reaching 2.84 tons per acre, and Arizona's 2.40 tons. California also leads in acre yield of alfalfa hay with 4.20 tons compared com-pared with the national figure of 2.21 tons per acre. Arizona is again second, sec-ond, with 2.75 tons per acre. The state of Washington tops California for clover and timothy hay with 2.10 tons per acre compared with the national na-tional acre yield of 1.32 tons, and 1.85 tons per acre in California. Peanut production may set a new record. The anticipated 1944 harvest har-vest is 2,365,630,000 pounds picked and threshed, 7 per cent more than in 1943 and 76 per cent more than the 1933-42 average production. Acre 1 s j V y i ' . y yyts , 'Vv , , ' V j , i f , I'rcd Marshall of Minnesota I'piU omizes the American furmer, whose estimated 1,115,402,000 bushels of wheat for 1944 represent an all-time high for the U. S. yield is up 13 per cent over 1943, although it is 6 per cent less than the average for 1033-42. Dry beans, dry peas and flaxseed are considerably below the large 1943 production, altholigh compared with prewar harvests the production is of good size on all three crops. Production of white potatoes is expected ex-pected to be down substantially below be-low the 1943 record harvest, although al-though exceeding the 1933-42 average aver-age by about 4 per cent with a production of 377,589.000 bushels. Acre yield is down about 11 per cent this year, although some 4 per cent above the 1933-42 average yield per acre. The crop of sweet potatoes is estimated at about 2 per cent above average, although some 5 per cent below 1943's high. Banner Vegetable Output. Housewives interested in supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables are expected to look with favor upon the record or near-record fruit and vegetable harvests indicated for 1944. Fruit supplies for the 1944-45 season are estimated to be 10 to 15 per cent greater than in 1943-44. Tonnage Ton-nage of citrus from the 1944 bloom is expected to be as hirge or larger than the record 1943-44 production I from the bloom of 1943. The eight major deciduous fruits, including apples, ap-ples, peaches, pears and grapes, will j probably be 21 per cent greater than last season, and 10 per cent more than the 1933-42 average. Apples, for example, are expected to exceed the 1943 pick by 38 per cent, with 33,583,000 more bushels than last year, or about the same as the average aver-age for 1933-42. The peach harvest probably will total 30,092,000 bushels, 71 per cent more than 1943, and 25 per cent above the 1933-42 average. Some 4,640,000 bushels more pears are indicated, in-dicated, exceeding 1943 by 19 per cent and 1933-42 by 2 per cent. The condition of most fruits is reported greatly improved over the condition condi-tion at the same period last year. Commercial vegetables for fresh market are up over the 1943 tonnage by approximately 18 per cent, and exceed 1933-42 by 22 per cent. They are expected to top the 1942 record of 7 million tons by 11 per cent. New highs are indicated for cabbage, lettuce let-tuce and onions, with the harvest of the latter crop reported as some 52 per cent greater than last year and 45 per cent more than the 1933-42 average. Tonnage of vegetables for processing process-ing is reported as about 10 per cent more than in 1943 and 51 per cent above the 1933-42 average. These crops include snap beans, green peas, sweet corn, tomatoes, beets, lima beans, kraut cabbage and pi-mientos. pi-mientos. The tomato harvest is estimated es-timated as 19 per cent in excess of 1943's total of 2,659,100 tons for a new high of 3,173,800 tons. High acre yield of cotton, partly influenced by dry weather that held the boll weevil in check, has resulted in the picking of slightly more than last year's 11,427,000 bales, for a total of 11,483,000 bales from a million mil-lion and a half fewer harvested acres. Tobacco production is expected to be the second largest on record, with a total of 1,730,680,000 pounds, all types combined, compared with the 1939 record crop of 1,880,793,000 pounds. This year's tobacco harvest is estimated at 24 per cent in excess ex-cess of 1943. Another record egg production on farms is indicated. During the first eight months of 1944 total production is reported as up 6 per cent over the same period last year, and 48 per cent over the 1933-42 average. Although Al-though chickens for market dropped substantially below last year's high, about 3,500.000.000 pounds of chicken meat, or 42 per cent more than the 1933-42 average, are expected to be produced in 1944. An increase of some 4 per cent in the production of all meats is indicated indi-cated for 1944. compared with the 1943 record. A total of 25.000,000.000 I pounds is expected this year, of which 10.790.000.000 pounds will he beef and veal. Beef production is estimated at about 10 per cent more than in 1943, with veal possibly 20 per cent more. An indicated 13,-250.000.000 13,-250.000.000 pounds of pork would be a little less than the large production pro-duction in 1943, due to lighter market mar-ket weights, but lard production will probably total about 3.390. 000. nnn pounds, or 11 per cent more lhan last year's peak. Lamb and mutton production of about 970.000.0,10 pounds compares favorably with prewar years, although it would be 12 per cent below the 1943 record. With manpower shortages one of the farmer's pressing problems during dur-ing the war years, with many men drafted and others seeking employment employ-ment at higher waires in inrlustry. many women look to the fit Ids beside he mrni'olks to help in the production produc-tion of record food crops. Picture h(iv.s young women on farm near Vork. I'a assisting in hay harvest, ' hti'h ii:;s expected to approximate S million ions, liflh largest on record I Vs , ' ; X r : ' f: i ' - s - v - v ' k ; ? s'' . ' .-. :-'. . . , : . I r - : |
