FARM VALUES IN U.S.

Northern Advocate, 23 May 1928, Page 4

FARM VALUES IN U.S.

The United States Department of Agriculture reports that farm lands throughout the country in 1020 rose to 100 per cent, of their pre-war value. The figure is in striking contrast to the value of farm products. Such values as of February 15, 1028, were estimated to be but 137 per cent of their pre-war level, and that is I higher than they have been since the depression set in. Of course farm land values increased notablyj during and immediately following the| World War along with commodity]

prices in general. When prlees began to decline, and especially inasmuch as the price of agricultural products apparently declined more rapidly than did commodity prices in other lines, the plight of the fanners was magnified. Farm bankruptcies, which recorded a pre-war rate of .15 per thousand farms, increased to 1.23 per thousand farms in 1925. This rate, it is true, dccliiud to 1.22 in 1920, and to .99 during 1927. The figures show that there has been a cheek in the rate, but the effects of deflation have been drastic and severe. Discussing this matter, an American paper says that the agricultural problem in the United States has, upon occasion, been described as due in no small part to the increased capitalisation of farm property. That may be true in a sense, but it does not tell the whole story. Farmers can lose control of their lands without going through bankruptcy, atlhough the causes may be similar. Yet bankruptcies have been given as an evidence jot the deflation of farm land values despite the fact that such records do not constitute an absolute measure of the current economic condition of the farmers. A detailed study of the figures given by the Department of Agriculture shows that the financial difficulties in agriculture have not been due entirely to inflated land values, hut have been associated with uncertain, highly variable, and generally depressed farm receipts and with the persistence of relatively high and inflexible costs of production on the farms.