: Talk Farm Economics 

 With lAA Staff 



lAA staff members completed a series 

 of four evening discussions on agricul- 

 tural economics, April 6, in the lAA of- 

 fices. Discussion leaders were members 

 of the department of agricultural eco- 

 nomics, University of Illinois. 



The first lecture-discussion session, 

 February 17, was conducted by E. J. 

 Working. The topic was "Why Farm 

 Prices Change." 



G. L. Jordan presided at the second 

 meeting, March 2, and led a discussion 

 oo "Money and Credit." 



L. J. Norton, on Mar. 17, pointed out 

 seven ways to increase marketing eflfi- 

 dency in general and indicated which 

 might be applied to farm products. 



Paul E. Johnston closed the school, 

 April 6, with a discussion of world trade 

 and what it means to Illinois farmers. 

 The sessions were all well attended and 

 brought out some lively debate. 



Similar sessions were conducted 

 throughout the winter in many Illinois 

 counties. Their purpose was to assist 

 farmers in becoming better informed 

 about economic problems which affect 

 them. 



, The Grafton Fruit Growers Assoda- 



^ f tion elected Harry Fulkerson, Edward 



Highfill, and Edward Calhoun, all of 

 Grafton, Talmadge Defrees, Smithboro 

 and Logan Colp, Carbondale, directors 

 during the annual meeting, Jerseyville, 

 March 28. 



Myrtle E. Swanson, Emporia, Kan- 

 sas, began work as Macon county home 

 adviser April 1. 



Dairymen in the St. Louis milk shed 

 suffer losses of $10,000 a year because 

 of rejected milk carrying wild onion 

 flavor. 



Putnam county farmers were the 

 first in the state to receive notices of 

 acreage allotments. - " 



John Bicket of Randolph county, 

 member of the State Soil Conservation 

 Committee visited the lAA offices on 

 April 18. He assisted in developing a 

 series of educational broadcasts on the 

 new Agricultural Adjustment program 

 from station WLS. 



I want to tell you how much I appre- 

 ciate the skillful way in which you (Mrs. 

 Goodman) have written up the interview 

 on Home Bureau published in the March 

 RECORD. The article is as fine a boost 

 for Home Bureau as I have ever seen and 

 to have it built around my own experiences 

 does give me a genuine thrill. 



Mrs. Walter E. Neal, 

 Peoria county. 



\'c ::.<;.':;:":-' / streamlined umeb 



V. E. SIcaggs, McLecm county, and his •quipment {or houUng and spraading agri- 

 cultural limestone. He can spread about 30 tons per day with his ioui trucks ii the haul 

 is not over 40 miles. During 1937, he hauled and spread approximately 10.000 tons. On 

 February 2 he had orders for 1,500 tons booked ahead. He is one oi the reasons why 

 McLean is such a large limestone using county. 



Bottled milk sales in St. Louis during 



February were 4.5% lower than in 

 February 1937; 4.4% lower than in 

 1936 and 9% lower than in 1935, ac- 

 cording to Fred Shipley, Milk Market 

 Administrator. Milk production in the 

 St. Louis area in February was 10% 

 below that of February, 1937 and ap- 

 proximately the same as in January, 

 1938. , .. . 



There were 235,327,000 bushels of 



corn stored on Illinois farms, April 1. 

 This is the largest stored stock on 

 record. The 1927-36 average farm 

 stock are 128,832,000 bushels. 



Egg prices touched bottom in March. The 



trend is now up, says the U.S.D.A. - 



Com Belt Farmers 



(Continued from page 11) 



tion. The adverse effects can be dimin- 

 ished if the farmers will use the mecha- 

 nism made available for cooperation to 

 stabilize corn supplies and marketings 

 through the Agricultural Adjustment Act 

 of 1938 and the AAA Farm Program 

 developed under it. 



The cooperator will carry out a certain 

 program on his farm in order to get 

 known advantages. The non-cooperator 

 will remain out of the program on the 

 gamble that he can increase his produc- 

 tion enough to make up for the loss of 

 payments and loans. At the same time, 

 he is making it more difficult for the 

 cooperators to make the program success- 

 ful and is hastening the time when mar- 

 keting quotas will be needed to protect 

 farm income against expanded produc- 

 tion due in part to non-cooperation. Any 

 advantages the non-cooperator could gain 

 would be most uncertain, depending 

 largely upon good growing conditions on 

 his farm and poor growing conditions on 



most other farms. Obviously, if market- 

 ing quotas are voted by farmers to store 

 part of a large crop, the non-coopwrator 

 will meet with definite disadvantages. 



Cooperation in the AAA program for 

 the Com Belt will mean: (1) a definite 

 conservation and adjustment payment 

 from the AAA regardless of weather; 

 (2) more acres in crops which maintain 

 the fertility of the land and prevent wind 

 and water erosion; (3) assurance of a 

 corn loan at a definite rate on any amount 

 of com unless loans are prohibited by 

 definite provisions of law. 



Farmers stand a greater chance of los- 

 ing than of gaining by not cooperating 

 in the program because if they do not 

 cooperate: (1) their income will depend 

 upon unpredictable growing conditions 

 and undependable market prices for 

 crops; (2) they will have no income in- 

 surance from a definite payment such as 

 the AAA payments to cooperators; (3) 

 they will not get a com loan at a price- 

 supporting rate — only a small loan on 

 a small amount of com in case of mar- 

 keting quotas. The non-coof>erator in 

 most cases will be lowering the future 

 productivity of his farm. His total in- 

 come will depend to a large extent upon 

 one or two grain crops. He will be in- 

 creasing the chances of the Com Belt for 

 large com production that may eventually 

 bring either marketing quotas on the one 

 hand or unduly low corn and livestock 

 prices to follow on the other. 



The choice is in the hands of farmers. 

 Every com producer in the Com Belt will 

 help make the choice. It is important for 

 farmers to know the direction they are 

 traveling. With the present well-rounded 

 AAA Farm Program they can choose one 

 course or the other with greater assur- 

 ance of definite results than they e\'er 

 could in the past. .- . 



MAY. 1938 



33 



