EEPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 15 



The sale of fifty to one hundred million bushels to European 

 Governments whose people can not afford to buy, but who are in 

 urgent need of food. 



The purchase of the surplus by a Government agency and selling 

 it at a lower price in the world market. 



Combination of two or more of the suggestions made. 



Reduction of acreage has been taking place at a rate much greater 

 than is generally realized. The acres of wheat harvested increased 

 from 47,000,000 before the war to a peak of 75,000,000 in 1919, 

 From that high point the acreage has shrunk to 58,000,000 the 

 current year. This shrinkage has been due to the substitution of 

 other crops for wheat where such substitution offered a possible 

 profit, to the abandonment of wheat farms in regions where because 

 of repeated crop failures or financial stress such abandonment was 

 forced, and to the reduction of acreage on other farms and ranches 

 because of shortage of labor at a price the wheat grower could afford 

 to pay. The acreage in wheat is still larger than is necessary to 

 meet the needs of home consumption, assuming that we have normal 

 crop years, and reduction is going on. It must be kept in mind, 

 however, that in large areas of the West and Northwest soil and 

 climate are better adapted to the production of wheat than any other 

 crop. Farmers in those sections are fixed for growing wheat, their 

 farm equipment is adapted to it. They can not all at once change 

 to another crop, even if some other crop gave fair assurance of 

 profit. On the whole, the shrinkage in acreage has been as rapid 

 as could be expected. 



In many sections of the country which heretofore have specialized 

 on wheat substantial progress has been made in diversification. A 

 study of the tables and graphs which will be found in our special 

 wheat report tells this story very clearly. But diversification in 

 any large way requires that more of the land be fenced, more build- 

 ings provided, more machinery of a different kind purchased. It 

 also requires a better knowledge of general farming methods. In 

 short, the wheat farmer must have both time and money to shift into 

 more general farming, even in regions where that is clearly the best 

 thing to do. Most of them, however, probably can and should pro- 

 duce on their own farms more of the milk, butter, eggs, meat, and 

 vegetables which they need for their own tables and thus cut down a 



