EDITORIAL 



Wheat Prices 



y^ N A letter to Monroe County Farm Bureau mem- 

 Mr bers, Farm Adviser C. A. Hughes pertinently 



V^>/ points out that the big wheat crop this year has 

 dropped prices 20 cents a bushel below the Liverpool or 

 world market.-" July wheat in St. Louis was $1.09, in Liver- 

 pool $1.32. This is the same condition that existfed during 

 the surplus period from 1922 to 1929. Then a combina- 

 tion of drouth and AAA acreage control in 1933-'35 put 



^this country on a wheat import basis. The result was a rise 

 in price of 20 cents above Liverpool. 

 • This year's wheat crop is estimated at approximately 

 800,000,000 bushels which would leave about 200,000,- 

 000 bushels above domestic requirements. If a 600,000,- 

 000 wheat crop would restore the 20 cent premium above 



-Liverpool, the total crop based on the July price would be 

 worth $912,000,000 or $40,000,000 more than an 800 

 million crop at $1.09. And the wheat grower would be 

 spared all the work and expense of producing and market- 

 ing the extra 200 million bushels. 



"Farmers are awake to the fact that in past years, 

 moderate and small crops have frequently brought them a 

 greater return than abnormally large crops,'-' said President 

 Earl Smith irt a recent statement on the new Agricultural 

 Adjustment bill. The 1937 wheat crop again proves the 

 need for a permanent program to keep crop surpluses 

 under control. 



"3^ 



AAA Wm Benefit AU 



OG SHORTAGE TO CLOSE PART OF 

 stockyards: " "Receipts Set All Time 

 Low Records." 



These recent headlines are impressive reminders of 

 why business and industry dependent on agriculture should 

 support the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1937 and the 

 so-called ever-normal granary. The fact has escaped many 

 persons tfiat today's low hog numbers are after effects of 

 two years oi drouth, scarcity of grain and the disastrous hog 

 prices of 1932-'33. 



With a surplus of grain in storage handled so as to 

 maintain near parity prices, the farmer wilkbe enabled to 

 produce a more even supply of hogs. The gluts and fam- 

 ines of bygone days will thus be minimized. Consumer and 

 producer, processor and handler, all will profit by a steady 

 flow of farm products to market at stable price levels. 



_,^^ Co-operative Marketing Pays 



V^^^ROM the Producers Creamery of Olney we learn 

 ^ that the price of eggs in January and February 

 ' *^ this year was 2.47 cents closer to the Chicago 

 price for "extras" than it was in the same months a year 

 ago. This is a matter of record that cannot be challenged. 

 Apparently, the only reason for the difference is that the 

 Producers started handling eggs co-operatively last Dec. 

 28. This is history repeating itself. The incident em- 

 phasizes one of the chief benefits of co-operative marketing, 

 forcing a higher price level and narrowing the spread be- 

 tween" producer and consumer. 



26 \ 



^^^ The County Agricultural Agent 



\^^^^ HE County Agricultural Agent has now become 



r^ the outstanding source of personal and technical 

 \^ advice pertaining to agriculture. His services 

 are free to the farmer, and in addition to his advisory 

 capacity the agricultural agent has now become the propell- 

 ing force of club work and community activities for farm- 

 ers, and as a staff member of the General Extension Service 

 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture he is chief counsel 

 in club work for farm boys and girls. 



The county agent is likewise administrative officer 

 and co-ordinator for Federal farm regulation within his 

 county. 



He is truly the agrarian jack-of-all-trades and his 

 qualification standards are extremely high. A Federal em- 

 ployee of career status, he is likewise associated with the 

 agricultural extension service of his state, and is jointly 

 employed by the government of his county. As working 

 associates, he has one or more. In approximately 2,100 

 counties the agricultural agent is assisted by a home dem- 

 onstration agent and the office usually involves from one to 

 twenty-five assistants, depending upon the size of the coun- 

 ty and the type of farms involved. 



These workers are in daily and intimate contact with 

 the farming life of their counties, and their opinions tend 

 to epitomize a large share of farm opinion within their 

 area. 



In the course of this stjudy I have interviewed 41 

 county agricifltural agents, situated in as many important 

 farming counties — from Maine to Washington. 



It is my belief that the county agents of the U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture, now serving aibout 2,800 of the 

 3,060 counties of this nation, constitute one of the most 

 competent and best qualified corps of workers now in pub- 

 lic service. — from "Money at the Crossroads" by Charles 

 Morrow Wilson. 



Relief Rolls and Labor 

 (/^"NE of the things farmers can't understand is why 

 If J relief rolls and relief expenditures continue at such. 

 \_y a high rate. Thousands are on relief, yet farm labor 

 is less plentiful than it was when WPA was unheard of and 

 able bodied men had to really work for a living. Farmers 

 are in the midst of harvest. Women and children are at 

 work in the fields. The tractor and power machinery busi- 

 ness is good largely because competent help is scarce. 

 What's the answer.' Have we educated workers to expect 

 a full day's pay for a half day's work? Is that the reasons 

 WPA jobs are more desirable than work on the farm.' 



^-^^^ A Tribute to Achievement 



\^^^^ ARM recovery has come a long ways since the 

 ^ dark days of 1932-33. This fact is reflected in 

 ^^ - the highest lAA membership — more than 71,- 

 000 — since the early post-war years. That the carrying 

 out of policies advocated by the Farm Bureau is largely 

 responsible for the great progress made, no informed 

 person will deny. Non-members generally have appre- 

 ciate4 this situation. It is one of the reasons why more 

 than 8700 new members have joined this year. 



L A. A. RECORD 



Tl 



•In Th 



Sports 

 Pre 



Congress 

 to Surpl 



600 Farm 

 X^o-op 



They Getl 

 ofF<r 



and I 



Septl 



if 



