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Show Financial Planning Recommended To Insure Future Of Utah Farmers "Now is the time to build reserves," re-serves," is the advice given by Prof. George T. Blanch, Department Depart-ment of Agricultural Economics at Utah State Agricultural College, Col-lege, in an article just published in The Utah Farmer. Recalling 1933-35 news headlines, head-lines, such as: "Ten Million Unemployed; Un-employed; Tax Delinquencies Reach Alarming Proportions; I More P.W.A. Funds Requested; Stock Market Reaches New Low; Farmers Ask Tax Relief; Public Employees Unpaid; Congress Con-gress Debates Farm Relief Measures; Mea-sures; Moratorium Declared on Farm Foreclosure Sales" Prof. Blanch says that such announcements announce-ments carried a special and personal per-sonal meaning to thousands of farm families. An individual or a family can do little to prevent a recurrence of such conditions, he said, but each family can do much to protect themselves from such conditions when they do occur and the foresight of financial finan-cial planning, now may return tremendous profits in a few years. Tracing the history of Utah farm income, Prof. Blanch men-lions men-lions a former prosperous year of 1928 when the per farm income in-come wan $2417. and compares that with 1932 income of only $970 per farm, adding that the 1928 level was not reached again until 1943. During the intervening interven-ing years the financial problems of many Utah farmers were truly great, he says, and hundreds of farms were foreclosed and other hundreds sold for delinquent taxes. "The situation became so bad that a moratorium was de- clared on mortgage foreclosures. In several counties 1934 tax delinquencies de-linquencies amounted to morel than 40 per . cent and in one county reached 56 per cent. In some communities essentially all I the families were on relief," he says. Contrasting present farm prosperity pros-perity he states that the Utah cash farm income for 1946 was $4924 per farm, and predicts 1947 total income averaging $5851 per farm, or "much more money received per family than 1 at any previous lime." I To avoid many of the tragic consequences of the reduced farm income in past periods and to meet future emergencies wisely, wise-ly, Prof. Blanch offers a six-point financial program: If in debt, get out as quickly as possible; Be cautious and conservative con-servative about investing in land or other fixed assets at present high prices; Buy only those things that are necessary; Store up dollars now, saving them for increased purchasing power; Create Cre-ate reserves by investing in U. J5. payings Bonds, "The best all-areund all-areund fprm in which to carry reserves to meet any future need: Plan now for future spending of present surpluses. |