REPORT OF THE ACTING CHIEF OF THE OFFICE OF FARM 



MANAGEMENT. 



United States Department or Agricultube, 



Office of Farm Management, 



Washington^ D. C, October H^ 1918. 



Sir : I am submitting herewith the annual report of the Office of 

 Farm Management for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1918. 

 Respectfully, 



E. H. Thomson, 



Acting Chief, 

 Hon. D. F. Houston, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



The unusual conditions brought about by the war have made neces- 

 sary abrupt and important changes in the management of farms in 

 all parts of the country. These changes, in the main, have been in 

 the nature of adjustments to meet difficulties in securing an adequate 

 supply of farm labor and of necessary materials used in production. 

 To the problems involved in making these adjustments the Office of 

 Farm Management naturally has directed its major activities during 

 the past year. Before this country became involved in the war, a num- 

 ber of routine farm management investigations were in progress, but 

 these were laid aside in all cases in which it was found that those 

 engaged in the work could be used to better advantage in work bear- 

 ing more immediately upon the war emergency. Just as it was 

 necessary to put the farm on a war basis, so the activities of the Office 

 of Farm Management have been put on the war basis with a view 

 to helping to solve the problems that are foremost jn the minds of 

 the farmers and most in need of attention during this crisis. 



The primary problem has been to increase the production of all 

 farm products, notwithstanding decreased facilities for production. 

 In the face of an unusual situation it was necessary to plan a safe 

 program in farming, one which would insure an ample supply of 

 food products, not only for ourselves, but also for the allied powers. 

 It was no time for experiment or untried innovations, but rather for 

 the most efficient application of standard methods that could be de- 

 pended upon to bring results. 



This program demanded maximum efficiency of labor, for in most 

 cases less labor than usual was available. In the main, this efficiency 

 of labor could be realized only by the wider and more effective use 

 of machinery and teams. Such use necessitated unusually careful 



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