The Farm Market 



Farming the Predominant American Industry 



THE importance of the farm market is commen- 

 surate with the importance of agriculture the 

 greatest American industry. Nearly one-third 

 of the people in the United States, or over thirty mil- 

 lion, live on farms. About twenty million more live 

 in cities and villages of under 2,500. That is, approxi- 

 mately one-half of the population is included in the 

 farm and small-town market. 



However, the true farm market extends much 

 farther than the small town. Nearly forty per cent 

 of the farms in the United States are rented, and a 

 large proportion of the owners live in cities and 

 villages. It is estimated that 2,000,000 acres of land 

 are "farmed" out of the city of Chicago that is, the 

 land is owned by residents of the city and operated 

 directly or rented. This is more or less typical of 

 other great cities. In most minor cities in agricul- 

 tural sections one or more officials of the various 

 banks, several of the members of the board of bank 

 directors, merchants, lawyers, doctors, real estate 

 operators and others own farms. In many instances 

 they are directly interested in the operation of the 

 farm and are purchasers of farm equipment. A manu- 

 facturer of a farm-lighting plant advertised his plant 

 in a high grade farm paper. He received sixteen 

 inquiries from residents of the city of New York. On 

 investigation it was found that eleven of these city 

 inquirers owned farms, one managed a farm, two 



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