Show tighter competition after war wa r demands soil fertility be maintained at high level I 1 elements drawn from soil by bumper crops sh should othild be replaced M aliat jat will the corri coming ing transition from war to peacetime economy mean to american agriculture that question has been raised with increasing frequency not only by dirt far farmers mers but by so r called agricultural econom economists ests too as uncle sams armies and fleets have won smashing victories overseas and as prayed for peace becomes a closer possibility one thing is clear when the war ends the farmers situation will be 0 N 4 me aw 4 P 4 tt W t 4 if 1 ma 4 g A a good deal different from that of the manufacturer or industrialist the rhe farmers peak production job will be completed vast stocks of food and fiber will be in storage competition for markets will be keen industry on the other hand will be reconverting from war production to the greatest peacetime output in history the backlog of demand for virtually every commodity used in civilian life automobiles machinery building materials refrigerators radios heating equipment household furnishings will be ae big enough to require years of ligh high geared industrial activity some economists believe that it if peacetime industrial output and employment ment remain high say at about billion dollar income level annually the demand for farm products would be sufficient to absorb a total otal production at about 1943 levels but even if the nations efforts to maintain postwar production and employment succeed farm economy must be prepared to withstand some shocks the switch from peace to war will inevitably bring changes in farm methods to cope with new techniques in marketing and production in such a setup the individual farmer who uses antiquated methods cr who fails to maintain the fertility level of his soil is doomed to failure three big problems most farm authorities are of the opinion that postwar agriculture will face three major problems 1 farm acreage vastly expanded to meet wartime food demands will have to be reduced that means more efficient farming on fewer acres 2 farm surpluses mav become a peacetime headache 3 war spurred farm income will inevitably decline when the present abnormal demand for or food slackens in 1944 farm crop acreage goals totaled million acres compared with million acre plantings in prewar years that is an inc increase fease of 46 million acres commenting recently on the adjustments that will be necessary to fit postwar requirements chester davis former AAA administrator and now president of the federal reserve bank of st louis said the farm plant has been expanded beyond the capacity needed to supply abundantly the peacetime domestic market and any no normal export market that may be available farmers will face real need for acreage adjustments and in some areas shifts may be drastic the second problem farm surpluses will not be troublesome so long as the war lasts food needs of 0 our allies and liberated regions may keep it quiescent for a while even after germany cracks up but in some future day it will become a worrisome reality reports from liberated countries indicate that the food supply situation there is less acute than had been anticipated france the balkans poland and even eventually germany may require less food from our supply than we had been counting on stocks of goods in great britain are reported to be tons against a normal tons these reserves have been built up substantially from lend lease shipments out of this country if these were reduced to say tons when the war ends there would be left about for relief surveys by the stanford food research institute support the belief that europe wont be much of a market for our food surpluses when germany surrenders some decline in food prices can be expected after germanys germanas Germ anys defeat for then both military and lend lease buying of farm commodities is likely to taper off this need be only a gradual movement until some downward adjustment can be effected in production volume by the end of the japanese war the from war to peacetime production of civilian goods should d be well under way prices however could go to 90 per cent of parity for the basic crops the government is pledged to step in at that level with support for at least two years after the war so no further severe drop than that may be necessary all of the foregoing factors spell competition in the farmers postwar operations farmers can arm themselves them now to meet that co competition and to withstand the economic economic shocks that will accompany the transita tran transition siti 0 n period if they do some straight thinking they can be stronger at the wars end than they were at its beginning first of all they can safeguard their future by keeping their finances in a liquid condition by buying war bonds by shunning debt and by avoiding the pitfalls of through the pure purchase hase of additional farm land secondly they can take out an insurance policy for long range farm productivity by undertaking a soil fertility rebuilding program present high food prices have ali a ready lured some farmers into land speculation and such recklessness brought ruin to millions in the wake of world war I 1 it fan can bring disaster again this time during and immediately after the last war when food prices were even higher proportionately than they are now many farmers were foolish enough to mortgage their 0 own wn farms in order to buy more ian land d a recent statement of the middle middie west sol soil improvement committee points out the sellers were canny operators who preferred to take their 0 own wn cold profit on real estate rather than gamble on the chances of food prices remaining eternally high the memory of the crash and deflation that followed is still painfully fresh after the present war american farmers will have to compete in world markets because cause of current income levels the temptation to acquire qu ire additional acreage is strong some farmers believe it is a smart move because with more and better machinery available after the war and their sons coming home from the army they will he able to i work more land than hitherto homesteads for soldiers the government is already planning to give homesteads to servicemen men wh when en this is done th the e ony owne ner of an expensive farm will be in a tough spot to produce crops in competition with the man an who thohas has no capital invest investment me nt in in the soil portion ot of his food factory the only way the american farmer can successfully compete compe e litber es in domestic dori estic or world markets market in postwar years Is s by producing crops at a lower cost per unit in such a program the steady use of mixed fertilizer containing nitrogen phosphorus and potash wll will be an enormously important factor more abels per acre can and will wilamean mean more f food 0 od from less land it will also mean more good food per acre to help build healthier human beings and farm animals in the future the need for building up the soils productivity is widely lecog nihed as a postwar must no less an authority than secretary of agriculture clau claude de recently declared now is the time for farmers to worry about soil fertility 11 in arf answer to any farmers statement that my yields are better than ever secretary counters with this question ask yourself how much better machinery and better plant varieties have had to do with those increases over much of our best farm land better yields are the most pronounced cause of accelerated soil depletion a steady decline that most farmers cant see yet but which could bring a nationwide crisis in soil fertility no 0 great gr eat nation can afford to neglect the productivity of its soil the problems of abundance baffling as they seem are a challenge they can be solved and their solution will be the gateway to a better way of living but to the problems of steadily declining production there is no answer that pathway eventually leads to decline and ruin it not only is impossible to produce abundantly on depleted soils it is almost impossible to produce efficiently huge crops robbed soil after four years of record breaking production for war farmers fag have special need for cl checking e c up on their soil resources and for repairing the effects of depletion such a checking up would in most cases case reveal that the soils fertility level is lower than it was in prewar years fertility has been one of the necessary casualties in the battle to meet wartime food production goals peak load droppings crop pings have taken taken a heavy toll of the soils resources of nitrogen phosphorus and potash rehabilitation of the soil is thus a necessity if the fertility level is to be built up and the productive capacity of the land maintained in the competitive postwar period AU all things considered the cost of plowing seeding and cultivating a get it early the war food administration again calls on farmers to accept delivery of their fertilizers during the winter inter and early spring when the manufacturing plants can ca n make delivery most easily and to store it in their barns and sheds for use when needed P U H groggins chief of the chemicals and fertilizers branch advises the individual farmer can assure himself of sufficient fertilizer by placing his bis orders as far as possible ahead of the se season a of use it if all farmers will do this plants can be kept working at the capacity permitted by available labor continued maximum production and use of fertilizers tili is necessary in support of the war food program I 1 field is the same whether the crop yield be large or small therefore e the farmer who is able to get big yields at a relatively low production cost is the one who will make money when competition is keen attention to essentials is ol of course important in any soil improvement pro plan for post postwar w ar years in addition to good rotation the growing of deep rooted legumes contour plowing where necessary and the return of manure and crop refuse to the soil the use of mixed fertilizer is a no I 1 necessity quality as well as high yield will be important factors in the postwar farm arm market experience has demonstrated mst rated that fertilized crops are ol of higher quality and yield than utilized ones in these days when farm arm machinery of all kinds is scarce outfits to spread fertilizer may be hard to obtain frequently however companies selling crushed stone and other soil treating chemicals have equipment which may be rented at reasonable rates 1 when it en a large area Is to be covered it is generally NOW 4 wisest to call on one of these companies A P to help with the job A large dump truck hauling a spreader can cover a big pasture in remarkably short time |