THINKING & PLANNING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 January 1942, Page 4

THINKING & PLANNING

ADVICE TO AMERICAN FARMERS LESSONS OF THE LAST WAR. MISTAKES THAT MAY BE AVOIDED. Many wise farmers arc thinking ahead to the time when the guns shall roar no longer (writes Haydn S. Peaison in the “Christian Science Monitor”). What are implications in the present trends? Shall agriculture plan for the future? What can the individual farmer do to get ready for the inevitable rebound, cushioned though it may* be by restrictions,quotas,'regulationsand Federal planning? There seem to be at this time three points oi which we may be fairly certain in taking a long-range view of the farm situation. First, farmers should not use present profits to expand unduly. During the last war, many farmers bought land at an inflated value, expecting to pay off with crops at high prices. Thus, for too many, when the pot stopped boiling, the “sugaring off” left them deeply in debt. Instead of consolidating their position during the time of prosperity, they found themselves in a serious predicament. Forced sales in the Midwest and South were proof of this. At present, many major farm crops—cereals, cotton, beef, and pork are at high levels. Costs of production are up, of course. But for the fanner whose land was in good shape, who had his herds of cattle and hogs, there is a reasonable profit. For many it is the first time in a decade or longer when the farm books can be written in black ink. City dwellers too often do not realise that in difficult times the farmers really live on their buildings, fences, and farm equipment. A city business cannot so easily do this. It seems the best advice today is to use profits to pay off debts, to get the buildings, equipment, and fences in good shape, to build up the herds of cattle and hogs in quality rather than expand in quantity unreasonably. Some of the profits may well go into building up the soil. There sire fields' that need a new body of humus by plowing under green crops; there are pastures that need cleaning up and fertilisation; thousands of farms can profitbaly use more legumes, clovers, peas, vetches, and alfalfa.

Second, a lesson from the last war is that farmers as well as business men need a cash reserve. Two decades ago farmers expanded in acreage, equipment, and stock, mostly purchased on time. This sort of “margin” buying in times of high prices is a dangerous form of inflationary speculation. Various planning committees of the Federal Government, th’e American Farm Bureau, the Grange and other organiations are emphasising that during this period of good prices, farm families should definitely put part of the profits into a safe cash reserve. Today, with the Government guaranteeing savings, there is not the danger that there was a decade ago. This principle of nation-wide insurance of deposits and the defence Bonds offer farm families a safe repository for today’s profits that may well be a lifesaver in the difficult adjustment period ahead.

Third, a trend toward “protective” farming is discernible today on a nat-ion-wide basis. The term “protective” foods has become a part of the Nation’s thinking in reference to vegetables, fruits, eggs, dairy products, and cereals. Protective farming is a phrase that expresses a vital, needed truth in American agriculture. In essence, we may define it as a way of farm life that includes diversification of farm crops, so that income will not depend on one thing, and the raising of all the food possible on a farm for the family and the farm’s livestock.

During the three decades from 1900 to 1930 a peculiar, yet typicaliy American, idea of specialisation spread through the Nation’s farming. Farmers in many instances produced just one thing. Everything else was bought. Not only was this true of share-croppers and tenants, but also of land-owning farmers. The writer has seen, in many areas, piles of tin cans in the backyard —a tragic commentary on a type of farming.

It is cheering to see and feel the change in fundamental philosophy. Today farm families are planning a diversified programme that not only means a safer, steadier income, but only includes the restoration of soil fertility and wise use of timber lands. Farmproduced food for the family and the live-stock is a steadying influence on the total farming situation. The 6,800,000 farms in the United States, representing about 25 per cent of our population, are a major cog in the nation's balance wheel of economy. In so far as the future can be read from the past and present, farmers will do* well to plan for the adjustment period ahead.