240 THE GREEN RISING 



exists and that the factors involved in its solution 

 demand consideration. 



It has come to be generally understood that the 

 problem of stabilizing the prices of farm products 

 is essential to rural welfare. A constructive policy 

 relating to this problem involves many factors. 

 Balanced production, economic cost of production, 

 quality of products, efficient marketing, and trans- 

 portation costs are all involved. 



The disposal of the farm surplus is the particular 

 aspect that the farm problem has taken in recent 

 years. Farm production exceeds domestic consump- 

 tion. A marketable farm surplus should contribute 

 to agricultural prosperity. But, it happens that it 

 often has the effect of depressing domestic prices 

 below the cost of production. To remedy this situ- 

 ation was the purpose of the McNary-Haugen and 

 other bills introduced in the Sixty-eighth and Sixty- 

 ninth Congresses. 



The unstable market may be illustrated from the 

 prevailing prices of wheat in recent years. The 

 Tariff Commission made a report on the cost of 

 producing wheat in certain states in the Northwest. 

 It was found that the cost was $1.40 per bushel. 



In 1921 this country produced 814,905,000 bushels 

 of wheat. It cost $1.40 to produce the crop, and it 

 was sold by the farmers for $1.01 per bushel. The 

 net loss per bushel therefore was 39 cents or an 

 aggregate loss of $314,558,330. 



In 1922 there were 867,598,000 bushels produced, 



