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Non-Farm Lands Produce Some Food 



Almost half the area of the United States is in desert, bare 

 rock, marshlands, beaches, cities, towns, roads, parks, public 

 grazing lands, forests, and the like. A considerable part of this 

 non-farm land produces some food for man. The acreage of 

 land in public and private range and grazing lands, classified 

 as non-farm land, exceeds that in crops. About one third of 

 the land not in farms is privately and publicly owned grazing 

 lands, much of which is in the western part of the United 

 States. The ranges produce pasture grasses adapted to arid 

 or semi-arid conditions. Over half of the area in forests is also 

 used for grazing. The carrying capacity of the woodlands 

 varies inversely with the density and directly with the 

 amount of sunlight that strikes the soil. 



Since the carrying capacity of the woods and ranges is low, 

 the meat produced per acre is very low, but in the aggregate 

 it is considerable because of the huge acreage. This area is 

 one of the most important sources of mutton and beef. 



Good Farm Lands Produce Most of the Food 



Studies of good and poor farm lands indicate that there is 

 a wide variation in the amount of food produced. About one 

 third of the farm land in the United States is poor, one third 

 is fair, and one third is good. The poor land produces about 

 one thirtieth of our food supplies and the good lands, about 

 two thirds. 



Land Land Food 



classes area produced 



Poor 1/3 Ko 



Fair i/ 3 y 3 



Good 1/3 2/ 3 



Judging from past records, one should not expect to get 

 much additional food from the poor lands during this war; 



