Show american farmers to continue high production goals in satisfying demands of the entire world peacetime need for products assures farmers of good market and price what will the impact of wars end mean to american agriculture that question has been raised with increasing ire frequency quency ever since I 1 hirohito liro hito accepted president tru nans unconditional surrender arms lerms and the jap hordes have laid lown their arms it has brought in ts train other questions will a arm slump occur will continued rast ast production smash prices will transition tion to peacetime schedules imset farm economy three fairly definite answers answer have merged and each is reassuring to everyone who lives on ir r near a farm 1 demand for foods fibers and ils will continue to require a high rate of farm production the world must eat and american farmers must feed it 2 farm prices will not be deflated rhe government has already guaranteed the farmer support prices for many of his products for one or tw two years rears after the war 3 the farmer unlike industry I 1 is not faced with problems his job is growing crops and he needs no different set of tools to accomplish his objectives all of these factors eliminate the possibility of a sudden crash in farm income farm economists are agreed there will be no immediate cutback in production despite the end of the war in the months to come domestic and military needs of the united states plus the relief demands from liberated areas in europe and the pacific will take all the food this nation can produce with vast areas of europe and asia laid waste american farmers will be called on to produce and keep on producing it may be years before the ravaged countries can come back anywhere near to normal in the meantime american farmers have a big job ahead to help keep whole continents alive and healthy during this same time the united states itself must be fed As demobilization of our armed forces proceeds there will be less need for the various services to have great stocks of food in reserve T that hat will tend to increase civilian supplies as well as permit better distribution trib ution no major farm surplus with industrial getting the green light the dislocation of workers caused by war contract act cutbacks may be of much shorter duration than hai has been anticipated that means more peacetime civilian jobs one thing the war demonstrated was that if the entire nation is at work there is no major farm surplus problem the greatest crops in history have been produced during the war the record year was 1942 next was 1944 and indications are that this year will exceed 1943 so that 1945 may be the third best credit for this epic achievement must go to the nations farmers but the contribution of the fertilizer in industry should not be overlooked agricultural ri authorities estimate that more than 20 per cent of the crop production in the war years has been due to the use of fertilizers the use of plant foods has been of essential importance to the food production program because it has enabled farmers to produce bigger crops on existing acres instead of having to plow up millions of acres of additional farm land the sav saving ing in labor equipment and man hours has been enormous farm income during recent years has has passed the peaks reached during and immediately after world war I 1 prices are now near or P 4 the war production of garden crops reached a new high the demand will ill continue for some time new varieties improved soil fertilization and an new equipment will aid the farmer in repeating his record production of these crops above parity even if prices should come down to government support levels a drop of perhaps 15 per cent below present peaks farm purchasing power will be enormous the farmer has a higher amount to spend out of his income than other wage earners for the reason that less of his income is required for rent food and fuel than is the case with city dwellers six million farm families comprising approximately 30 million people having a gross income in excess of 20 billion dollars a year will be a factor of tremendous importance to americas peacetime economy farmer fanner in strong position just as significant as agriculture agricultures agri cultures is high income rate in recent years is the fact that the farmer has been laying aside a good portion of his savings in war bonds to spend for essentials in years to come clearly the farmer has emerged from the war in a stronger position than he was at its start to maintain that position the farmer should do some straight thinking and planning two things are especially important 1 I he should avoid through the purchase of additional land in the peace years ahead 2 he should make immediate plans to repair the damage to his soils fertility level which the vast war crop production quotas have caused the experience of the last war with its farm land boom and subsequent collapse should be a reminder that the american farmer should not go in for more land than he can successfully cess fully handle farm land prices have already risen dangerously toward inflation levels farsighted agricultural authorities are urging farmers to keep their shirts on and steer clear of the pitfalls of land speculation better soil management methods on a well equipped and economically operated farm will prove safer in the long run than vast fields without efficient management the key to successful farming operations erat ions in postwar years will lie in increasing the per acre yield on existing crop land rather than in bringing additional acreage under cultivation a recent statement by the middle west soil improvement committee pointed out in months to come the emphasis I 1 amft t gabi increased production of dairy and poultry products has been little short sho of t a miracle better breeding feeding and management has been the tl answer even greater results can be expected in the next few years will be on reducing the cost of crop production per unit the statement sets forth that means making every acre do a better crop producing job in every community there are farmers who increased their wartime crop output as high as 50 per cent without increasing the cultivated area by one single acre in every case the larger yield was the result of adopting good daod sou soil fertility practices the experience of these farmers can be profitably followed by their neighbors in their peacetime operations their soil consert ing methods not only prevented waste of fertility but actually have helped restore it such methods include growing legumes to enrich the soils nitrogen and organic matter supply the use of adequate quantities of mixed fertilizers containing nitrogen phosphorus and potash liming contour plowing and a limiting so far as possible of soil depleting crops soil fertility replenishment the matter of soil fertility replenishment will have an important bearing on the peacetime continuation of farm prosperity if the nations farms are to be kept productive duc tive a vast soil rebuilding job lies immediately ahead how important this is may be understood der stood from a recent report issued by the soil conservation service of the department of agriculture which estimated that nearly one billion acres more than 90 per cent of the nations farmlands need soil conservation se treatment to protect them from erosion and to maintain their fertility wartime crop goals used up the soils resources of nitrogen phosphorus and potash faster than they could be replaced in spite of the tact fact that the fertilizer industry broke all previous production records farmers have realized that this wartime drain on their soils fertility level was a necessary contribution to victory but the fact remains that wealth borrowed from the soil to help hasten peace must be repaid while every encouragement will be given to soil rebuilding projects by the federal government and by state agricultural agencies the major responsibility for getting the job done will rest on the shoulders of individual farmers the effectiveness of the individual farmers soil rebuilding program can be enhanced by the co opera tion of agronomists at state agricultural colleges and experiment stations through research and experimentation over a long span of years these experts have developed information concerning fertilizer needs for various crops and soils that is helpful to the farmer who is undertaking a replenishment program the operation cooperation co of the fertilizer industry will be an effective aid also the present plant capacity ot of manufacturers is sufficient to meet all peacetime needs of agriculture farmers are more fortunately situated for accomplishing their soil restoring job than at any time in the pa past t generation dollars invested in war bonds during the period when farm cash income has been at a high level and farm debt at a lo 10 low w point can provide the ready cash to pay for the nitrogen phosphorus and potash needed to build up the fertility level of americas soil |