GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 1039 



Mr. Pace. Those exhibits will be incorporated as a part of your 

 statement. 



Dr. Saville. Yes. In Mississippi, tung nuts are grown mainly 

 in the three southern tiers of counties. Due to past shifts in the econ- 

 omy in this area, the farm people have sustained sharply reduced 

 agricultural incomes to near the low^est per caj^ita incomes in the 

 State. With very adverse jjroduction conditions for cotton, long the 

 main cash crop for most of the operators of small farms, and the 

 decline in timber resources, these people have needed a new cash 

 crop and other ways in which to utilize the land and labor resources. 

 Tung-nut production, under new technical advancement made pos- 

 sible through research and experimentation, provides an opportunity 

 for this adjustment. Also, this change in land use has aided in provid- 

 ing additional opportunities for livestock and dairy enterprises because 

 of the way these fit into desirable farming patterns where tung produc- 

 tion is carried on. 



According to the 1945 census of agriculture there were 1,599 farms 

 in Mississippi reporting 4.7 million tung nut trees of all ages. Assum- 

 ing 70 trees per acre, this meant about 67,000 acres in tung orchards. 

 For the Gulf coast as a whole, there were 4,160 farms reporting 9.6 

 million trees of all ages, which would be equivalent to about 137,000 

 acres. Since 1945, there has been further substantial development. 



Not only has the industry been developing in the number of people 

 and in the acreage involved, the production has become a much more 

 significant item because more tung tree^ are reaching productive 

 ages. In Mississippi, according to data of the agricultural statistician, 

 of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, production of tung nuts 

 has increased from a very small output of 425 tons in 1939 to 29,000 

 tons (preliminary) for 1948, with a value of 1.6 million dollars (exhibit 

 A). The sharpest upturn in production occurred in 1944 and has 

 been expanding rapidly since that time. Highest total value of 

 production for the crop was reached in 1946 at 2.4 million dollars. 

 However, by 1948, with nearly a 20 percent increase in production 

 and with the absence of price support, the total value of production 

 to Mississippi producer dropped nearly one-third from the 1946 peak. 



Tung-nut production in the Gulf coast area has shown substantial 

 gains since 1939 with a similar price behavior that has made the two 

 past crops of much lower farm value than in 1946. The economic 

 importance of the crop to the areas other than Mississippi is quite 

 similar to that in Mississippi, and they are beset with essentially the 

 same economic problems affecting the industry. What is discussed 

 here for specific application to Mississippi will apply generally to. 

 these other areas. 



It is out of this income from tung nuts that many farmers now get 

 their main cash income from crops and where many w^orkers get 

 seasonal employment that adds to their annual income. All of the 

 workers used in the production, harvesting and marketing of tung 

 nuts in recent years come from the ai-ea and its immediate surround- 

 ings. Operators of small farms, of which the area has many, find 

 added cash income from tung, and from opportunities for seasonal 

 employment in w^orking in the larger tung orchards. 



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