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Good Lands Already in Use 



The acreage of idle land in the United States is an index 

 neither of waste nor of how much our wartime food produc- 

 tion could be increased. 



It is sometimes thought that the acreage of crops could be 

 expanded considerably if only we believed it necessary. How- 

 ever, the great bulk of our good agricultural land is already 

 in production. Most of the land not being tilled has been 

 proved by the competitive process to be unworthy of the ex- 

 penditures of capital and labor that would be necessary to 

 bring it into production. Drainage and irrigation could bring 

 some additional land into production. For a number of years 

 reclamation of new acreage has approximately equaled aban- 

 donment, and the acreage of farm land has been substantially 

 unchanged. The acreage of land that could be reclaimed is 

 small when compared with the acreage already under culti- 

 vation. 



There are some marginal lands, it is true, that it might 

 pay to cultivate in tune of war. A large and sustained rise 

 in prices could bring some of these marginal lands into culti- 

 vation, but the increase in total production would be small. 

 The United States has nearly reached agricultural maturity. 

 Increases in the acreages of certain crops can come about 

 mainly through a reduction in the acreage of other crops. 

 Total crop production cannot be materially increased by 

 planting more acreage. 



Corn, Hay, and Wheat Our Biggest Food Crops 



Corn, hay, and wheat, in the order named, are our biggest 

 crops, and represent almost two thirds of the harvested crop 

 area of the United States. Most of the corn, all of the hay, 

 and a part of the wheat are fed to beast rather than to man. 



The next most important food crops oats, cottonseed, 



