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Farm labor . Secretary Wickard has broufrht to the attention of 

 the people of the United States the fact that the ability of agriculture 

 to produce food adequate in volume to take care of our domestic and lend- 

 lease requirements may be ham-oered by limitations in the amount of labor, 

 transportation facilities and farm machinery. It is anticipated that 

 the armed forces will require from 6,000,000 to 9,000,000 men. In 

 addition the War Production Board estimates that the nation's total 

 employment is expected to reach 52,200,000 including 17,600,00G women by 

 the end of 19^3. This will include ^,000,000 more women than will be 

 needed at the end of 19^2. The additional vjcmen will be necessary 

 because of the fact that the armed forces and war Industries will have 

 absorbed oractically all available and qualified male workers, 



l/heat for feed . Pending foj^m legislation gives permission to 

 government a2;encies to sell government owned corn for feed and to sell 

 up to 125,000,000 bushels of wheat for feed. It is understood that 

 the corn will not be sold at a price below S5 V^^ cent of parity and 

 that wheat will not be sold at a price that will demoralize the corn 

 market. The legislators representing the South seem to have be^^n 

 successful in preventing the sale of government-owned cotton at a price 

 below parity, 



P'ats and oils . Because of recent adjustments in prices of 

 cottonseed oil, the question has been raised as to what will be done 

 about prices of other fats and oils, including lard and soybean oil. 

 The Office of Price Administration indicates that they intend to "iron 

 out" inequities in the current fats and oils ceiling price schedule, 

 but that no general upward relaxation in this i:T.portant price schedule 

 ^^ is contemplated. The adjustments in prices will probably come between 

 varying grades and kinds of fats and oils, and possibly between cash 

 prices and sales on future markets. The War Production Board is 



