THE FARMERS OF THIS COUNTRY are as effi- 

 cient as any other farmers in the world. They do 

 not produce more per acre than the farmers in 

 Europe. It is not necessary that they should, do so. 

 It would perhaps be bad economy for them to at- 

 tempt it. But they do produce by two to three or 

 four times more per man, per unit of labor and 

 capital, than the farmers of any European country. 

 They are more alert and use more labor-saving 

 devices than any other farmers in the world. And 

 their response to the demands of the present emer- 

 gency has been in every way remarkable. Last 

 spring their planting exceeded by 12,000,000 acres 

 the largest planting of any previous year, and the 

 yields from the crops were record-breaking yields. 

 In the fall of 1917 a wheat acreage of 42,170,000 was 

 planted, which was 1,000,000 larger than for any 

 preceding year, 3,000,000 greater than the next larg- 

 est, and 7,000,000 greater than the preceding five- 

 year average. 



But I ought to say to you that it is not only neces- 

 sary that these achievements should be repeated, but 

 that they should be exceeded. I know what this ad- 

 vice involves. It involves not only labor, but sacri- 

 fice; the painstaking application of every bit of 

 scientific knowledge and every tested practice that 

 is available. It means the utmost economy, even to 

 the point where the pinch comes. It means the kind 

 of concentration and self-sacrifice which is involved 

 in the field of battle itself, where the object always 

 looms greater than the individual. And yet the 

 Government will help, and help in every way that 

 is possible. From President Wilson's Message to 

 the Farmers' Conference at Urbana, 111., January 

 31, 1918. 



WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE; 1918 



