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Show Livestock I 1 Los Angeles, May 14, 1934 Drouth - conditions appear to be general throughout the major portion of the United States. True there are isolated areas where there has been sufficient moisture, yet a map of the great livetock and farming sections of the country shows a serious shortage short-age of water. What the effect may he upon livestock and livestock markets mar-kets remains to be seen. It is a strange twist of the times that many peope are even inclined to be optimistic because of poor crop j conditions, even some of our federal officials pointing out that thereby the prices of the things the farmer has to sell may be enhanced. Most of b j us were brought up to believe that in times of plenty, we would have prosperity. pros-perity. Now, it appears that we have reversed our ideas. Statistics and market trends bear out the conten- 1 tion that smaller crops actually bring fnore aggregate cash than abundant yields. It may be that this country is entering a period of drouth years. If such is the case, we may have serious problems of food shortage to face. ; The bible tells of the years of drouth and the years of plenty. Ancient Egypt prepared for lean years by 'toring up surplus foods in years of plenty, and we all remember that the result of this policy was that the people peo-ple of the world had to come to j Egypt to bargain for food, i Government statisticians insist that we have plenty of food in sight, even though pestilence and drouth i wreak havoc with this year's crops. We have a huge carryover of grain, i Middle western farmers have sealed i in cribs 270 millions of bushels of corn on. which the federal government govern-ment has loaned 45 cents a bushel. All of this is from the 1933 crop. I Even with a ten per cent reduction in acreage and drouth damage to the ; 1934 crop, there will be plenty of corn for 1934 we are told, i But our great flocks and herds of j range cattle and sheep must have : water to exist. There are many large ! and important areas in the western ; country where, even this early in the I season, stockmen must haul water to I their livestock. We are told that in ; some areas where normally grass is ' green and crops are sprouting at this ! season of the year, the dry dirt is ; drifting over fence tops like the sands of the desert, i Is it at all possible that we may see the time when the federal govern-' govern-' ment will be offering cash benefit payments as a bonus for increased productions, instead of cash for crop reduction? |