| Show U S seed raisers grow record crops to meet wartime demands american producers must make up for imports now cut off in a remote outpost of new caledonia a sergeant bellows from r m the door of a mess hut ah hey ley I 1 murphy how about those vegetables 11 coming right up and private murphy moves at a fast clip from the camp garden laden a en with fresh vitamins and minerals in the form of sweet corn tomatoes and string beans for the evening nin me meal a tha this scene is not as fantastic as it sounds even in the middle of a war according to the war food administration mini tion its a fact that uncle sim sam Is sending many hundreds ot of tons of vegetable seeds to all parts of the world with th the armed forces wherever a perman permanent nt camp Is set up and other factors are favorable who otherwise would get none of the bulky perishable vegetables are themselves raising the familiar things they know and like with seed from home seeds are so small comp compared ared with th the a vegetables they produce that th they e y are an economical letb method 0 d of exporting food via either steamer or airplane in european countries tor for example as much as five tons of tomatoes can be raised from a single ounce of seed rutabagas another favored vegetable there will produce as much as bushels from the seed contained in a pint jar the total vegetable supply through june 1944 Is estimated by the department part ment of agriculture at million pounds of the allocable portion pounds pound s 73 per cent or million pou pounds n dg W will ill go to american farmers to victory gardens of which 22 million are sought this year and to other civilian consumption this Is a somewhat larger supply than wa was savall available in 1943 some varieties to which gardeners are accustomed may not answer roll call this spring and there will be a scarcity of cabbage seed but no U S gardener says need be without plenty of vegetables another allocation of P pounds au ads or 25 per cent goes to lend lease outlets about five million pounds will be available to russia and some four million pounds to the united kingdom an additional 13 per cent or about pounds will be divided among the other allied countries and liberated areas A total ot of pounds or 1 per cent will be apportioned to U S territories the red cross friendly nations etc U S military and war services will receive substantial quan quantities titles all of these exports and shipments total only 48 4 8 per cent of the total seed allocation the remainder ol of the allocable supply 84 million pounds or 22 2 per cent will go into what Is known as contingency reserve a reserve to be used as need arises ailse seed needs during recent years have made increasingly large demands on americas domestic supply balancing available seed against claims to bring about a fair division among the claimant groups and assisting the necessary expansion in vegetable seed production has been a part of the war food administrations overall food production and distribution programs seeds came from europe small vegetable seeds were pro pio deuced almost entirely in continental europe prior to 1939 when the outbreak of war cut other supply lines it also stopped tor for example the importation of cabbage and cauliflower seeds from denmark and hoi 1101 legumes such as clover are a valuable source of natural ni nit troge as every farmer knows more seed will wi 1 I 1 be needed for cover cove r crops crop in 1 1944 present estimates show 7 k W 4 2 1 t in i V Z X av I 1 X enough seed for five tons of tomatoes is in the little pile on jhc thc scale 8 according to the department of agriculture one ounce of seed can g row into that much it carefully cultivated as Is the practice in europe land great britaina Brit ains growers who once looked ao to the european seed market to answer most ot of their needs faced a serious shortage seed requirements had In increased in accordance with a 50 per cent acre age increase while the accepted sources of supply diminished russia ial suffered a dan dangerous gerou s domestic seed source loss when germany invaded the ukraine and other areas were in similar difficulty As a natural result production of almost the entire load of vegetable seed for world needs was assumed by U what what those growers accomplished Is history and the prospect for or 1944 is tor for a still further increase in acreage and in yield the 1943 vegetable seed harvest was the largest in united states annals latest figures showing production of million pounds this is a 91 per cent increase over the three year 1939 41 pre pearl harbor average of million pounds very few american farmers grow vegetable seeds as their only cash crop however many give legeta ble seeds first place particularly in the pacific coast states A government survey has shown that production of 29 out of 48 seeds topped the 1842 1942 record harvest for a total increase of 21 million pounds over the million pounds harvested last year beans pens peas and corn accounted for million pounds of seed in 1943 6 per cent more than the 1942 production of million pounds the figure for or small or light seeds such as beet carrot and cucumber totaled about million pounds last year 16 per cent more than the 1942 crop of 20 8 million pounds the harvest on these small seeds tell fell below expectations due to a smaller yield per acre for 27 of the seeds and a total harvested acreage 16 per cent less than was intended yields multiplied phenomenal increases to in acreage yields on some seeds were recorded brussels sprouts with an increase of per cent led the list other large increases were per cent tor for okra per cent for or mustard tard andjus per cent for or kale and per cent for or total crop production for or 1943 ex ceedee 1842 1942 by 27 times for or brussels sprouts per cent far or mustard per cent for or dill per c ent cent for or mangel per cent for or okra per cent for or kale pei per cent for or loose leat lettuce per cent for or chinese cabbage per cent for or chicory per cent foi or carrot per cent for or onion and per cent for or leek seed greatest decline in total production probably will be recorded for or broccoli cabbage romaine lettuce pepper kohlrabi and parsnip seed feed larger kinds hinds of 0 vegetable seed 30 out of 0 48 helped offset decreased yield per acre of 0 a majority odthe of the crops biggest reductions duct ions in acre yield were reported for or cabbage 40 per cent less than 1942 broccoli 58 56 per cent pepper 70 per cent parsnip 73 per cent kohlrabi pumpkin chicory and cauliflower li 11 each 76 per cent less total land in seeds harvested in 1943 was acres with acres covering the small or light seeds and the remainder in garden beans peas and corn these figur figures e compare with total acreage to in 1942 and acres in the light ligh t seeds production of certified seed potatoes last year set a new record 42 per cent higher than the 1942 record crop the harvest totaled bushels compared with in 42 this represents more than 6 per cent of the U S production of 0 all potatoes and Is nearly 2 times the 10 year average 1932 41 ol of bushels ilay hay and cover crop seeds seed for forage and cover crops Is receiving more attention than usual this year the 1944 conservation program emphasizes cover crops to help increase production with a consequent need for more seed harvest of legume and grass seeds will be encouraged in 1944 under the provisions of 0 the conservation practices program of 0 the agricultural ri adjustment agency pay ment of tor for each harvested acre will be allowed up to a maximum of 25 acres on any farm seeds included are legume and grass seeds with the exception ot of timothy redtop austrian peas kentucky blue grass cowpeas and soybeans the clver clover seed harvest taken as a whole did not fare so well red clover seed acreage was expanded 15 per cent with an estimated production of bushels 11 per cent more than the 1942 crop of 0 bushels acres harvested were upped to an increase of acres over 1942 yield dropped from 92 of a bushel per acre to 89 of a bushel acreage increase was largely in wisconsin and michigan timothy seed with an estimated bushels dropped 11 per cent below the 1942 harvest of 1678 bushels of seed the decrease Is reported due to a smaller acreage since yield per acre of bushels is only slightly less than the ahe bushels tor for 1942 and is more than the 1932 41 average of bushels harvested acreage tor for seeds wa was 8 s smaller m in all important states except wisconsin and pennsylvania but acreage cut tor for hay was larger than a n the previous year apparently because of a greater need for tiro tini 0 thy othy hay than for or the seed more lespedeza lespedeza seed production totaled pounds a 67 per cent increase over the average ol of pounds but 6 8 per cent smaller than the 1943 crop crop of pounds A 9 per cent reduction to in yield per acre more than offset a 3 per cent increase in planted acres yield was only 1965 pounds due to summer and fall drouth as compared with 2164 pounds in 1942 total acres w were ere estimated at the harvest during the coming season of increased amounts ol at grass and legume seeds vegetable seeds and of seed crops in general genera is highly advisable says the witt wai food administration it WIN will raise the national seed supply and provide tor for increased domestic farm production to meet expanding wal wai requirements for food and fiber and it will provide seeds to help meet the needs of the allies ind and of the th liberated countries as they are treed freed from axis control making as mud seed as possible available to european farmers when that phase of the th war ends will aid them to reh rehabilitate abill their land so that they can groa more food and fiber tor for themselves thereby lowering their require requirements mento for farm arm commodities from the unit ed states |
