4 ANNUAL RKPORTS OF DKPAHTMkXT (»K •ACIIK Tl/rrUK. 



reach maturity. In only 4 years of the last 37 was the pro<?ress of 

 plowinn^, up to May 1, so backward as in 1920. With this initial 

 handicap and with the prevailin*; uncertainty re<ijardin<ij weather 

 conditions durin<^ the growinf^ season, the farmers were discouraged. 

 They saw no hope of a reduction in the pi'ices of fertilizers, ma- 

 chiner}^, and supi^lies, which had increased greatly since 1914. In 

 addition, the labor supply was approximately 37 per cent short, and 

 wages had risen to such a point in 1919 that the farmers were ap- 

 palled at the thought of paying still higher wages in 1920. Many 

 of the men AAdio entered the military and naval services and war 

 industries did not return to farm work. Wages in all industries^ 

 in trade and in transportation, increased so rapidly that their lure 

 became irresistible to many laborers who had thus far remained 

 on the farm, and they, too, were carried with the current to urban 

 centers. Altogether, in the spring of 1920 the American farmers 

 were confronted with the most difficult situation they had ever ex- 

 perienced. 



The accompanying tables show at a glance the results of the 

 3'ear's agricultural operations, so far as the statistics are available, 

 and indicate also the extent to which farm products have entered 

 into our foreign trade. 



