24 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



■would be of special value to producers. A group of well-knowr 

 economists and statisticians were invited to meet in Washington on 

 April 20 last to consider the report on intended crop plantings and 

 other materials relating to demand, and to prepare a statement on 

 the general factors now underlying the agricultural situation with 

 a view to furnishing all possible bases for intelligent adjustment of 

 production to demand. This committee drafted a concise statement 

 on the general economic outlook which it is believed has been of 

 material aid to all agricultural interests. 



This group met again on Jul}' 11 to consider the foreign and do- 

 mestic demands for farm products, the wheat situation, and the corn- 

 hog situation. A valuable report was prepared, consisting largely 

 of the presentation and interpretation of data collected by the Bu- 

 reau of Agricultural Economics, which set forth the salient facts 

 governing the agricultural outlook at that time. This report has 

 been received with much interest by farmers, bankers, traders, and 

 many others interested in the agricultural situation. 



COMPARATIVE ESTIMATES A GUIDE TO MARKETING. 



Producers also need information to guide them in determining 

 when to sell their crops and livestock. This need the department is 

 striving to meet by issuing promptly after harvest, as a supplement 

 to the regular forecasts of production, an estimate of the quantity of 

 each crop produced, together with comparisons with previous years. 

 In order to give a more complete picture, information concerning 

 foreign production is also gathered and published. Thousands of 

 farmers study these reports from month to month and are guided 

 in their marketing operations by them. 



PIG SURVEYS. 



The special pig report which was issued in June, a year ago, 

 showed a marked increase in the intentions of the farmers to breed 

 for fall pigs, the increase amounting to 49 per cent in the Corn Belt 

 States. When the report was made in December showing the actual 

 number of fall f arrowings, it indicated that this intention had been 

 practically cut in two. Undoubtedly the information furnished by 

 the department as to the increase had an important effect in re- 

 ducing the fall pig crop to a more reasonable basis. 



