( & ) 



couraged the expansion of hay, soybeans, and sorghums. 

 Hay, the second most important crop, increased 8 per cent. 



The decreases in acreage exceeded the increases. Four im- 

 portant crops cotton, corn, wheat, and oats declined 47 

 million acres. Three crops hay, sorghums, and soybeans 

 expanded 16 million acres. The policy of contracting some 

 crops and expanding others caused striking changes in indi- 

 vidual crops, but the total harvested acreage was reduced 

 only 9 per cent. Some of this decrease was due to crop aban- 

 donment caused by low prices and would have occurred de- 

 spite AAA. 



The government set out to reduce production of "soil- 

 depleting" crops * by decreasing the number of acres planted 

 to them. The farmers, who are piece-workers, set out to in- 

 crease production on the decreased acreage. The farmers ob- 

 viously eliminated the poorer acreage and applied more man- 

 labor, power, and fertilizer to the better acres. As a result, the 

 acreage of soil-depleting crops fell 19 per cent, the yields rose 

 20 per cent, and total production declined only 3 per cent: 



Government-con- Yields due to farm- Nation's production, 



trolled acreage ers' efforts and the a product of gov- 



fell to weather rose to ernment's efforts 



times the farm- 

 ers' efforts, de- 

 clined slightly to 



81 per cent 120 per cent 97 per cent 



Attempted control of acreage is a poor tool for those who 

 would have a planned agriculture. 



Curtailed Acreage Brought Back into Cultivation 



Following 1940, there was some loosening of crop controls. 

 This and the advancing prices increased the acreage of corn 



1 Soil-depleting crops such as corn, cotton, wheat, etc.; and soil-conserv- 

 ing crops such as alfalfa, clover, and other sod crops. 



