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3 per cent from 1940 to 1942. However, the acreage of cotton 

 and wheat continued downward, declining 5 and 7 per cent 

 respectively. The total acreage increased 2 per cent. Prices, 

 unhampered by restrictions on production, direct or indirect, 

 would have increased the acreage more. 



From 1932 to 1940 the acreage of four feed grains was re- 

 duced under the policy of shifting from soil-depleting * to 

 soil-conserving * crops. Since the outbreak of World War II, 

 with its unparalleled requests for livestock products, some 

 grudging concessions have been made, but these so-called 

 soil-depleting crops have regained only about one third of 

 the lost acreage. Thanks to hybrid corn and the weather, 

 production was good despite the efforts of the restrictionists. 



With higher prices and less restrictions, farmers intended 

 to increase the 1943 acreage. Had the farmers carried out 

 their 1943 intentions, about half of the acreage taken out of 

 cultivation during the early years of the present administra- 

 tion would have been restored. Adverse weather prevented 

 the realization of these expectations. 



It seems reasonable to assume that, with further relaxa- 

 tion of the restrictions and higher prices, the acreage planted 

 will continue to increase. It does not follow that if the acreage 

 is increased, food production will rise in proportion to the 

 increased acreage. The acres thrown out of cultivation and 

 therefore those that may be brought back into production 

 will be the poorer lands with less than average yields. 



The contraction program reduced the acreage but did not 

 greatly reduce total production. The expansion program may 

 increase the acreage but may not greatly increase produc- 

 tion. Had the government permitted an increase in winter- 

 wheat production in the fall of 1942 in the Great Plains area, 

 the 1943 food production would have been greater. In the 



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

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



