1938 Soil Conservation Plan 



i 



\^^^HE 1938 Agricultural Conser- 

 / vat ion Program, announced 

 \^ by Henry A. Wallace late in 

 September, follows the broad outlines 

 already established by previous pro- 

 grams and sets up definite objectives 

 for 1938. 



Like the soil conservation programs 

 of 1936 and '37, the 1938 program is 

 not a production control program. Its 

 purpose IS to further conservation and 

 help maintain economic gains which 

 agriculture has made since 1932. 



The 1938 program was drafted with 

 the assistance of farmers and farmer 

 representatives from every state. Its 

 salient points are: 



( 1 ) Establishment of a national goal 

 for soil-depleting crops and a national 

 objective for soil-building crops and 

 practices. The national goal will be 

 sub-divided into state, county and in- 

 dividual farm goals. 



(2) Establishment of individual soil- 

 depleting crop goals for the following 

 crops: cotton, corn, tobacco, peanuts 

 and rice. Corn goals for individual 

 farms will be established only in des- 

 ignated areas in the Corn Belt. Other 

 crops included in the total soil-deplet- 

 ing crop goals will be classified to- 

 gether in the general soil-depleting 

 crop goal. 



(3) A maximum payment will be 

 calculated for each farm. Payment 

 will be made for keeping within soil- 

 d&pleting crop goals and for attaining 

 soil-building goals, including carrying 

 out soil-building practices. 



If the soil-depleting goal is exceeded, 

 or there is failure to reach the soil- 

 building goal, the payment will be less 

 than the maximum payment. 



( )) In general, the 1938 crop classi- 

 fications will follow those frr the 1936 

 and 193"^ Agricultural Conservation 

 Programs. 



(5) In all regions the p.iyments will 

 be divided between landlord and ten- 

 ant in the proportion that they share 

 the principal crop, or all crops anvl 

 practices on the farm. 



(6) The AAA regional organiz.ition 

 for the administration of the program 

 and provisions for local administration 

 by county and state committees will 

 correspond to those of 1937. Admin- 

 istrative expenses of all county agri- 

 cultural conservation associations, as in 

 193"'. will be deducted from payments 

 to farmers in their respective counties. 



As was the case when the 1937 na- 

 tional program was announced, the actual 

 appropriation for next year's program has 

 not been made. The 1938 program is, 



therefore, dependent upon the a.tion of 

 Congress. In 1936, however, (Congress 

 authorized an annual appropriation for 

 carrying out a program under the Soil 

 Conservation and Domestic Allotment 

 Act. 



The 1938 program will he easier to 

 comply with than were previous pro- 

 grams. Each farm will have a ileftnite 

 goal ; if that goal is attamed exactly, the 

 farmer will receive the maximum pay- 

 ment. But if he over-plants soil-deplet- 

 ing crops and under-plants soil-biulding 

 crops substantial reductions will be made 

 from his payment in line with the amount 

 he deviates from the goal. 



Each farmer will know, after goals 

 for his farm have been established, ex- 

 actly what he must do to comply with 

 the plan and just how much he will 

 receive for complete compliance. Only 

 one type of payment will he made. 



Rates of payment for all commodities 

 were determined m a uniform manner. 

 In arriving at the rates the following 

 factors were taken into consideration : 



(1) The number of acres in each goal. 



(2) The farm value ol the crops in each 

 goal. (3) The shift in acreage from the 

 10-year average necessary to reach each 

 goal, (-i) The farm value which these 

 shifts represent based on 10 year a\eragc 

 values. 



This means that one-half the payment 

 is based on the conservation attained by 

 reaching the goals and one-halt on tlie 

 sacrifice involved. 



The soil-building goal includes the 

 normal acreage in soil-conserving crops 

 and the increases resulting trom the 

 shifts in soil-depleting crops. It also 

 includes practices such as liming, ter- 

 racing, restoration of land to native 

 grasses and tlie seeding of legumes and 

 perennial grasses. 



Goals will be set for each stale 

 Within the state, county goals will be 

 established by tlie AAA and the State 

 Agricultural Conservation Committee. 



In each county, the county agrii.ultural 

 conservation committee will establish tor 

 each farm a total soil-depleting croj-^ goal 

 and any goal tor an individual soil- 

 depleting crop applicable to the farm. 



In establishing individual goals within 

 the county, the county committee will 

 consider the tillable acreage on the tarm. 

 the type ot soil, topography, protluciion 

 facilities, the crop rotation, acre.ige uis- 

 tomarily grown on the farm and the 

 acreages of food and feed crops needed 

 for home consumption. 



Under the previous program, separate 

 rates were establishcil for diversion from 



soil elepleting crops to soil conserving 

 crops Under the 193"' pl.in the producer 

 could lakidate his payment onlv at the 

 enil ot the crop year by applying these 

 separate rates to each acre diverted. In 

 1938, the maximum payment for each 

 producer will Ix: calculated at the begin- 

 ning ot the crop year. He will know 

 before he plants his crop exactlv what 

 he must do to i.ollei.1 the full p.nment. 

 Methods of Payment 

 Payments will Ix.- made for staying 

 within a farms soil depleting crop goal 

 and for athieving the soilhuilding goal. 

 The payment will be lomj^uted as fol- 

 lows: 



(1) SI.*"!! per acre, adjustc-d for the 

 productivity of the farm, for eaih acre 

 in the general .soil-depleting crop goal. 



(2) 10 tents per bushel of the farm's 

 normal yield per acre of lOrn for each 

 acre in the lOrn goal. 



( s) In Illinois an<l several other states, 

 three cents per acre of non-crop open 

 pasture land plus 7^ cents for each animal 

 unit ot grazing capacity on a 1 -! month 

 basis of suih pasture. 



The sum of any of those payments 

 whiih apply to a farm shall Ik- the farm's 

 total payment for 1938, II- both the soil- 

 depleting crop goal and the soil-build- 

 ing goals are fully met. ()nlv partial 

 payments will be made if the soil-de- 

 pletmg trop goals are exieeiled or if the 

 soil-building goal is only jiartially 

 .ichieved. 



Specilic crops and pr.ictices to be 

 counted toward the attainiiienl ot a tarm's 

 soil-buildmg goal correspond, in general. 

 to tiiose approved lor use in the l'.'s7 

 program. A list o! soil ionver\uig i rops 

 and pra(.lues tli.it will apj^ij in lllinuis 

 will he selected later by the stale tom- 

 iiiutee rile ( ountv larm bureau ottice 

 will be headijuarters ag,im Ini detailed 

 iiiloriiiauoii regarding Ilie ilea program. 



Little Dumb Creatures 

 Are They 



Did you ever «atih the anxiety of 

 parent birds when their voiing are learn- 

 ing to riy.'' They're on the job every 

 minute, coailiing. demonstrating .ind urg- 

 ing belter efforts. 



Human parents could well t.ike a Ic-s- 

 son here. Youngsters le.iin tn Jtive 

 largely In watdlini: llieir elders .i( the 

 wheel and by lollowing their ,uK ice. 

 It llie example or the .idvue is laiilty 

 so will be the driving;. 



I'.uenls should aiiept iliiu lu'l re- 

 sponsibility tor the viriviiii: skill, or the 

 .ihseiue ot it, in their mmis and dauL;htcrs. 



OCTOBER. 1937 



29 



