ECONOMIC PHASES 169 



LAND PROBLEMS 



In conclusion, I can only mention a few of the other problems, 

 of first importance to the farmer, which the Agricultural College and 

 Experiment Station should bring under investigation at the earliest 

 possible date. 



The whole field of farm organization and operation needs to 

 be brought under more careful and more comprehensive investiga- 

 tion. Our land problems need to be more carefully studied. We 

 need to have the facts regarding land ownership, tenancy, the best 

 adjustments of the lease contract, and other phases of the tenure 

 problem. We need to learn how far the farmer can afford to go in 

 increasing the intensivity of production on our better lands before 

 he will get decreased returns. We should have more information 

 showing when we can afford to take up and develop our land areas 

 not as yet included in farms or not yet improved. 



The whole question of land valuation is one of our most difficult 

 problems. In spite of the fact that questions in the valuation of any 

 form of property can never be answered with absolute accuracy, it is 

 nevertheless important that the people who own our farm lands learn 

 to evalute them more accurately from the standpoint of their actual 

 economic return. A large part of the tendency to over-value farm 

 lands in the United States during the past has been due to faulty 

 accounting procedure in capitalizing too large a proportion of the 

 gross income of such lands. The American farmer, and the corn- 

 belt farmer in particular, has tended to use his surplus in raising the 

 price of land rather than in raising the standard of living. 



These are some of the more important problems to which, in my 

 judgment, the Agricultural College and Experiment Station should 

 be attempting to make answer in dealing with the economic phases 

 of farming in the next few years. 



