BYRONT.SHAW 69 



farmers last year reduced cotton acreage by 45 per cent and still pro- 

 duced 95 per cent as much cotton, we have to admit production 

 capacity definitely has gone up. 



It is the same story with livestock. In 1956 we had nearly 3 million 

 fewer dairy cows than in 1940, but each cow produced two-thirds of 

 a ton more milk during the year. For every two eggs a hen laid in 

 1940, her descendant is laying about three today. We have 99 million 

 cattle and horses on the same pastures and rangelands that in 1940 

 supported 83 million head. We had a pig crop of 90 million in 1956 

 on the same farm plant that produced 80 million in 1940. 



All told, we're producing 40 per cent more farm commodities on 

 virtually the same farm acreage we had in 1939. 



Organized fire protection now covers about 95 per cent of all forest 

 land requiring such protection. Utilization of logging residues and of 

 mill residues as raw materials for the production of pulp and other 

 wood-fiber products has reduced the volume of unused wood. Hard- 

 woods are being used in the pulp and paper industry. 



But these facts and figures alone don't tell the whole story. Figures 

 on manpower required to do the job also are significant. In World 

 War I, we produced our farm commodities with 13Vi million workers; 

 in World War II, with 10^/2 million workers; today there are only IV2 

 million farm workers. 



This is a good time to point out that I am in agreement with Dr. 

 Nolan's thesis that technology is a resource that can be substituted for 

 other resources. 



Now let us look at the future. Carl Heisig, of the Farm Economics 

 Research Division, states that the record farm output in 1957 may 

 need to be increased by 35 to 45 per cent by 1975 if a population of 

 230 million is assumed. The job ahead becomes somewhat more than 

 double the annual increases attained since World War II. Because of 

 our current surplus situation, the increases in output indicated by 

 1975 will need to come more in the second decade than in the first. 



A study by the Forest Service indicates that demand for timber 

 products can be expected to increase about 30 per cent by 1975 and 

 80 per cent before the year 2000. These demand projections are based 

 on median expectations of population growth and on the assumption 



