Show immense ta task sk of soil oil re rebuilding building faces fu aces managers mana gers of nations six million farms F arms land being mined by Ex excessive cessie cropping will need fertilizer american merl an farmers face the most gigantic soil rebuilding job in all history when world war il II is fought to a successful conclusion that is the considered opinion conof of farm economists soil conservation experts and leading agronomists of state agricultural colleges throughout the country what this job will cost no one knows yet but it will be consider ably above the to million dollar expenditure farmers have been making for fertilizer in recent years virtually all of the nations farms arms will need sirloin attention two major reasons are cited by soil experts tor for this situation I 1 wartime crop goals necessary to produce foodstuffs meat dai ry products oil and fiber cr crops aps ops for victory are eating up the so soils its resources of nitrogen phosphorus and potash much faster than they can be replaced today steps to correct this must be taken immediately the war crisis Is over a 2 the long range job of toll soil conservation must be stepped up big scale operations can be postponed no longer the fifth column attacks of erosion are becoming more menacingly serious wasteful farming practices over a century and a halt half have squandered precious topsoil to a dangerous degree farmers recognize that the present wartime drain on an their soils fertility level Is a necessary contribution to victory but they should bear to in mind the imperative tact fact that wealth borrowed from the soil to help win this war must be repaid later on dr george D head of the agronomy department of purdue university summed things up when he said farmers to in the middle west and elsewhere throughout the nation are making a sacrifice in the war production program to an extent not no fully realized by the world sous soils that have bave had to produce war crops crop by fertility exhaustion practices will not have dividends to pay pal etter the war but will vill require e their own una kind of taxation in the form I 1 orri of fertilizers j in reality farmers ere are in the manufacturing business the same as munitions makers or steel producers they are turning out essential products for our armed forces they are manufacturing foods feeds fibers and oils out of the raw materials of the soil the nitrogen phosphorus potash and lime fortunately all our soils are not exhausted of their inherited riches but exhaustion is on tse the way even with our best soils and we uce ace a future where these raw materials must be added to the soils soil as fertilizers in greater amounts amount than in the past unless we do this the productivity of the soil will sink to a dangerous level concerning the future outlook he said our war debt wont be only a matter of taxes and maturing bonds our farmers are asked to mine their soils oils r because fertilizer materials are scarce but crops must be made on the fat of the soils this means that a farmer of the future will have the handicap of a more exhausted soil and smaller crop yields to pay the taxes that will follow this war tremendous dra drain in just how big a drain on ahe the soils fertility resources does this extra crop production impose the answer Is plenty take one single crop corn for fop example agronomists estimate that the 1941 corn crop in ten midwestern midwest ero states removed pounds of nitrogen phosphorus and potash from the soil increasing wartime yields boosted this tax to pounds in 1942 and pounds in 1943 large as this removal was it rep resents but a portion of the fertility loss from a single region add to it the fertility drain caused by producing huge yields yield 1 of wheat soybeans potatoes alfalfa clover oats and other crops and you have corp some idea of the depreciation of fertility resources 13 but U t that tell the whole story elther either for the job a of producing livestock and dair dairy products requires heavy amounts of plant food 00 oo 00 the plain tact fact is that every time a crop is harvested and hauled to market or livestock are shipped t to a packers yards some of the farms fertility goes with them those essential elements nitrogen PO si and potassium in various compounds have been drawn out of the i soil by the plants thit that grew on it the bigger and better the crop the more vital minerals extracted tr ordinarily much of these elements Is replaced by rotation fal lowing orl or application of fertilizers er but during these war years when every very field must be made to yield to 0 the limit there Is isan an annual loss los sAlso also the scarcity of fertilizers tili and shortage of help and machinery have conspired to impoverish the farmers land there is still another important Import ait factor iti in this present so soil II exhaust ing problem that is the matter ot harvested crops yank rank next ande in depleting the soil and eire are in normal years responsible for t taking aking out an additional tons of nitrogen n tons of phosphorus and tons of potash nearly a third f of the fertile topsoil of american farms has been lost due to erosion goods floods and the damaging effects of over cropping according to a statement a tat ement issued is sued I 1 by the Midd leWest soil improvement committee six inches of topsoil Top soll A century and a half ago says the statement there was an average of nine inches of topsoil spread over the entire united states to ia A N I 1 V 1 W p 0 o ar I 1 11 I 1 1 1 I 1 r v 1 an AM aerial view of t ft a large larf georgia farm an which eberl several soil couser methods area r used in the th riar upper part of the picture appears a i large enlow meadow strip which serves tatt as a safe water disposal area re tr for sur lur face fac runoff from adjoining i fields elj the th curved bands are r contour st arl rip cropping ui and terracing The th war owner dr A C brown of royston kyta also in follows improved imp rived practices increased acreage in order to produce the extra crop quotas not only do existing acres have to do a bigger crop yielding job but more and more acres have to be tilled much of this land represents a lower strata of fertility liti level and hence it is not able to bear the burden of heavy cropping effectively A glance at acreage figures tells telis th the estory story in 1841 1041 the total harvested acreage of principal crops in the united states was in 1842 1942 it rose to and to in 1943 to acres red new iRo production goa goals lilor tor 1944 propose the use of 91 some million acres one twelfth of land ruined when we turn to the long range job of soil conservation that has been accumulating s we since the pioneer settlers plows first broke americas virgin farm land we find an even more serious situation hugh H bennett chief ot of the U S soil conservation service is authority for the statement that 50 50 million acres of the nations million tillable acres have been completely ruined tor for agricultural purposes an additional 50 million acres he estimates are seriously damaged and a very large further acreage has suffered a marked decrease in soil fertility As a result of the soil conservation services work and the efforts of agronomists at state stat agricultural colleges and experiment stations significant steps have been taken in recent years in combating this menacing trend but the major task lies ahead six principal factors are te responsible for the foregoing losses according to mr bennett they are erosion leaching the removal of fertilizer elements by harvested crops alvest livestock ek and livestock marketing ox oxidation dation of 0 soil organic matter and fire erosion Is the worst offender removing amov ing annually tons of nitrogen tons of phosphorus and tons of potash the three major maior plant plait foods which make the productions of crops possible 1 billly land often considered practically worthless can be made to yield good returns by proper strip cropping 0 D blubaugh danville ohio Is shown the harvest from such a fi field eid ile lieis is oni one of tic the three million farmers now included in soil conservation projects day this oils averages only six inches in depth the present war emergency as well as the future of american agriculture itself calls for a determined fight against the forces of soil depletion ion the effectiveness of the individual farmers soil management plan in wartime as well as in the peace era ira to follow can be aided by the cooperation of agronomists at state agricultural colleges and experiment peri ment stations through research anak and experimentation over a long span spa n of 61 ceiri years these experts have developed information concerning fertilizer needs for various crops and soils that Is helpful to the farmer who is striving to rebuild his soils productivity in combating the destructive effects of erosion individual farmers and oriani organized zed agriculture are confronted by a stealthy fifth column enemy erosions Ero damage is gradual and in the first stages barely noticeable but once it gains headway winds and rains not only carry away valuable topsoil top soll but also remove needed fertilizing elements such as nitrogen phosphorus and potash conservation methods are the surest means of reducing these losses of valuable topsoil and plant nutrients it has been found that soils having a cover crop suffer only a traction of the losses from erosion that other farm areas experience not only will grasses and legumes provide effective f e active vegetative cover tor for holding topsoil in place and furnish a balanced ration for farm animals but they promote nitrogen fixation improve the soil and help increase crop yields following follo iving in the rotation this Is particularly true where adequate fertilization ls Is undertaken bonds will provide funds 1 fortunately the means for accomplishing shing this soil replenishment job are in the hands of virtually every american farmer dollars invested in war bonds now that farm arm cash income Is at the highest level in history and farm debt at the lowest point in many years can provide the ready cash to pay for the purchase of nitrogen phosphorus and potash needed to restore the fertility level of farms farms later on it is not too early to begin planning for this agricultural reconstruction job any more than it is premature at present to lay plans tor for future political and economic peace a statement by the middle west soil improvement committee concludes for it Is becoming increasingly clear that the whole structure of future security will rest on an the productivity product duct vity of the soil while every encouragement will be given to soil rebuilding projects by the federal government and by state agricultural agencies the major responsibility t tor for getting the job done will rest I 1 oh the lie shoulders of individual farmers by earmarking part ot present war bond purchases ngy for peacetime soil rebuilding expenditures farmers can be ready w when n the materials and manpower become readily I 1 available in thi the postwar era |