UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 





Contribution from the Bureau of Markets and Crop Estimates 

 H. C. TAYLOR, Chief 



^^Tv-fl. 



Washington, D. C. 



August 26, 1921 



PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS IN THE UNITED 



STATES. 



By G. F. Warren. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. | 



Rise and fall in prices during three war periods . 1 



Money and prices 5 



Relation of weather to production G 



Periods of over and, under production 7 



Relation of wages and farm prices 10 



Wholesale prices of farm products during the 



Civil War and World War periods 12 



Prices paid to farmers 14 



Comparison of farm prices with prices of some 

 other basic commodities and with freight 



rates 16 



Comparison of farm and wholesaic prices 17 



Purchasing power of farm products 19 



Purchasing power per acre 20 



Effects on industry 22 



What can be done 22 



Summary 25 



Tables 27 



No price is high or low except by comparison. If the price of a 

 product has been cut in half it does not mean that the product is 

 necessarily cheap. One must know the general price level in order 

 to make comparisons. 



The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor 

 publishes an index number of wholesale prices each month. Prices 

 of 328 commodities are obtained and by comparison with previous 

 prices an index number showing the general price level is prepared. 

 Index numbers of wholesale prices since 1791 are shown in Table I. 

 (See also fig. 1.) 



By comparing prices with the general price level one can judge them 

 fairly accurately. Compared with the five-year average before the 

 war, wholesale prices in 1918 had doubled, or were represented by 200. 

 Many commodities were higher and many lower than this figure would 

 indicate. Any product that had not doubled in price was then rela- 

 tively cheap. Any product that had more than doubled was rela- 

 tively high priced. 



RISE AND FALL IN PRICES DURING THREE WAR PERIODS. 



A very great similarity in the rise and fall of prices is shown for 

 War of 1812, Civil War, and World War periods. In each case the 



59143°— 21— Bull. 999 1 



