possible. "Compunications," the use of computers 

 combined witti the techniques for collecting, organiz- 

 ing, and transmitting information, holds the potential 

 for greatly improving managerial efficiency Other 

 advances will be needed, and some doubtless will 

 occur. But this will be one way of increasing yields 

 per acre, per animal unit, and per unit of managerial 

 input. I am not predicting that, if this were adopted, 

 this would necessarily result in huge farms That is 

 not the point. The point is that I think it is the source 

 of technology that has not yet been fully exploited 



Now, in summary I believe agricultural exports from 

 the United States can continue to grow, and that the 

 welfare both of the United States and of people every- 

 where will be improved if our exports do grow. As I 

 have suggested, public policies will influence the out- 

 come in several important ways And I reiterate just 

 four examples: 



1. The strength of the dollar against other curren- 

 cies discourages agricultural exports. 



2. Agricultural exports depend on efficient agricul- 

 ture, and efficiency depends on both public and 

 private investment in agricultural research 



3. Exports based on exploitative farming practices 

 are not sustainable We very much need to 

 pinpoint erosion problems, determine their sever- 

 ity, and take the necessary public policy steps to 

 correct them 



4. The institutions governing the development and 

 allocation of water between agriculture and other 

 uses are not working as well as they should. 



We must better understand these institutions so 

 that public policies can be adopted that will 

 improve their performance. 



Governor Atiyeh, I say that based on not only read- 

 ing books and studying research reports, but ten 

 years of experience with Oregon's Water Policy 

 Resources Board. 



US agriculture is marvelously productive, but it will 

 not stay that way if we ignore the current and emerg- 

 ing forces that will shape its future The most impor- 

 tant crop of the next two decades may well be the 

 design and nurture of effective public policies and 

 institutions. .v 



Thank you. 



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