BUREAU OF CROP ESTIMATES. 



40T 



In the autumn of 1919 two Senate resolutions were passed requir- 

 ing the Bureau of Crop Estimates to estimate the cotton acreage 

 abandoned and to furnish a supplemental estimate of the condition 

 of the cotton crop on October 25. The Bureau complied witii both 

 resohitions and the information desired was published in the October 

 and November issues of the Monthly Crop Reporter. 



In cooperation with the Bureau of the Census, this bureau col- 

 lected from its crop reporters data on average prices of farm crops 

 and live stock in each county for use in computing values for the 

 1920 census. 



THE DIVISION OF CROP REPOP.TS. 



The past year was probably the most difficult the Division of Crop 

 Keports has experienced since its organization. The bureau's in- 

 ability to pay adequate salaries to meet the greatly increased cost of 

 living and the higher scale of wages in private employment, caused 

 a continual shifting of employees, 16 having left the division during 

 the fiscal year 1920. This resulted not only in the loss of clerical 

 service during the time which necessarily elapses between the date of 

 resignation and the appointment of a successor but in the necessity 

 of continually training new emploj-ees, during which time their serv- 

 ices are of little value. The expiration of the war emergency fund 

 and the partial withdrawal of the help assigned by the Bureau of 

 Markets for cooperative work on the live-stock report caused an ap- 

 proximate loss of an average of 18 employees (the number ranging 

 from 12 to 28 throughout the year), or a decrease in the working 

 force of the division of nearly 37 per cent. 



Notwithstanding this decrease in the working force, projects begun 

 during the war have been continued in addition to the regular crop 

 and live-stock reports. During the year 3,384,83-4 schedules of in- 

 quiiy were sent out by this division. 



Increased difficulty was experienced in securing crop reporters and 

 getting returns from them, probably on account of the shortage of 

 hired labor and the extra work forced upon the farmer. Neverthe- 

 less, all of the lists and the number of schedules returned each month 

 Avere maintained. The following table shows the number of re- 

 porters serving on each list : 



Number of crop reporters on the various lists. , 



List. 



Township 



County 



County aids (estimated) 



Field aids 



Special price 



Livestock 



Mill and elevator 



Individual farm 



Special cotton 



Cotton specialist 



Honey bee 



1919 



34,500 



2, 7.->0 



6,000 



28,300 



7,400 



17,500 



19,990 



50,000 



4, 650 



2,135 



5,950 



List. 



1919 



Potato 



Sheep 



Maple sirup 



Truck 



Apple 



Peach 



Rice 



Tobacco 



Pear 



Total . 



5,700 



6,446 



2,2-0 



10,000 



9,500 



3,500 



500 



360 



2,500 



219.861 



An essential piece of work performed during the year which in- 

 volved considerable labor was the checking and correcting of the 

 bureau stencil lists of about 100,000 crop correspondents maintained 

 in the Division of Publications and the Government Printing Office. 



