12 ANNUAL RKPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AORKTLTL'RE. 



RELATIVE PRICES OF ALL CROPS. 



It is interestinf^, in this connection, to note the relative prices 

 during the year of all crops <?rown in the United States. On March 

 1 they were 22 per cent higher than on the same date last year; on 

 April 1, 23 per cent; on May 1, 23 per cent; on June 1, 24 per cent; 

 on July 1, 21 per cent; on August 1, they were the same as on August 

 1 a year ago; on September 1, they were 7 per cent lower than a 

 3'ear ago; on October 1, 14 per cent lower; and on November 1, 28 

 per cent lower. The prices of all crops on November 1 were 33 

 per cent below those prevailing Avhen the farmer planted and bore 

 the cost of production. 



The situation may be presented in another way, using corn, cot- 

 ton, and wool as examples. The corn crop totals 3,199,000,000 

 bushels. At November 1 prices the farmers would receive for it 

 ap)proximately $1,500,000,000 less than what it would bring on the 

 basis of prices prevailing in November a year ago. The cotton crop 

 aggregates 12,123,000 bales. At existing prices it would lack more 

 than $1,000,000,000 of bringing as much as it would have brought 

 at 1919 prices. The wool clip, including pulled wool, amounts to 

 307,306,000 pounds. At prices prevailing in October, 1919, it would 

 have brought $153,083,000, but this year, on the basis of current 

 prices, it would bring $84,525,650, a reduction of about $69,000,000. 



This means that the farmers of the United States, as a whole, are 

 not receiving adequate returns for their efforts. It means also that 

 the very foundation of our Nation — the stabilit}^ of our agricidture — 

 is threatened, and that everything possible must be done to prevent, 

 or at least to lessen the effect of, the recurrence of conditions under 

 which large numbers of farmers conduct their operations at a loss. 

 The farmer must have, under ordinary conditions, a reasonable 

 prospect of a fair return for his labor and the use of his capital. 

 The science, the art, and the business of agriculture can not thrive 

 unless -he is suitably and profitably paid for the products of his 

 farm — unless he receives compensation sufficient to enable him to 

 continue to produce and to maintain for himself and his family 

 satisfactory standards of living. 



NO SINGLE SOLUTION FOR SITUATION. 



A sober national thought with regard to the importance, the 

 absolute necessity, of a sustained agriculture in this country is 

 imperative. There is, perhaps, no single solution for the situation 

 which the farmers are now facing, but there are many steps which can 

 and sliould be taken to place our agriculture on n more satisfactorj' 

 basis and to stabilize the business of farming, not in the interest of 

 the farmers alone but in the interest of the Nation as a whole. The 



