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the normal amount of livestock should be carried over, be- 

 cause the important consideration is the number of people 

 that can be fed. The present agricultural policy has been 

 the reverse: store grain in bins in time of peace and scrape 

 the bins in time of war. 



The nation cannot continue an agricultural policy based 

 on one-dollar corn and fifteen-dollar hogs, when hogs are 

 normally worth only eleven times the price of corn. There 

 will be relatively little difficulty in maintaining the fifteen 

 dollars for hogs as long as war lasts, but it will be difficult to 

 prevent corn from rising above one dollar. Two of the safest 

 predictions that one might volunteer in these uncertain times 

 are: 



(a) The price of corn will rise above one dollar per bushel, and 



(b) Corn prices will rise relative to prices of hogs and other livestock 

 and livestock products. 



Corn prices may be controlled on the major open markets, 

 thereby controlling inflation by preventing the official index 

 numbers of wholesale prices from rising. However, such ac- 

 tion will not prevent corn prices from rising relative to the 

 price of livestock at the crossroads in the Corn Belt. 



It is certain that livestock production must be curtailed. 

 There simply will not be enough feed for our tremendously 

 expanded livestock population. Under our present policy, 

 this will be realized when it is found that the grain bins are 

 empty. The liquidation of livestock will be abrupt and dis- 

 orderly. 



General recognition of the impracticality of further live- 

 stock expansion will be delayed, however, until the hog, the 

 hen, and the dairy cow have literally "eaten themselves out 

 of house and home." Even after the impossibility of con- 

 tinued expansion is recognized by thoughtful folks, there is 

 little that will be done about it until the damage has oc- 

 curred. The nation has been thoroughly sold on the livestock 



