SOLDIERS OF THE SOIL 

 Our Food Crops Must Be Greatly Increased 



By David F. Houston 



United States Secretary of Agriculture 



THE importance to the nation of a 

 generously adequate food supply 

 for the coming year cannot be 

 overemphasized, in view of the economic 

 problems which may arise as a result of 

 the entrance of the United States into the 

 war. Every effort should be made to 

 produce more crops than are needed for 

 our own use. 



Many millions of people across the 

 seas, as well as our own people, must rely 

 in large part upon the products of our 

 fields and ranges. This situation will con- 

 tinue to exist even though hostilities 

 should end unexpectedly soon, since Eu- 

 ropean production cannot be restored im- 

 mediately to its normal basis. 



It is obvious that the greatest and most 

 important service that is required of our 

 agriculture under existing conditions is 

 an enlarged production of the staple food 

 crops. Because of the shortage of such 

 crops practically throughout the world, 

 there is no risk in the near future of ex- 

 cessive production such as sometimes has 

 resulted in unremunerative prices to pro- 

 ducers. This is particularly true of the 

 cereals and of peas, beans, cow-peas, soy- 

 beans, and buckwheat. 



There is no danger of overproduction 



In view of the world scarcity of food, 

 there is hardly a possibility that the pro- 

 duction of these crops by the farmers of 

 the United States can be too great this 

 year, and there is abundant reason to ex- 

 pect generous price returns for all avail- 

 able surplus. 



The most effective step that may be 

 taken to increase the production of these 

 crops is to enlarge the acreage devoted to 

 them in the regions where they are grown 

 habitually. This expansion of acreage 

 should be to the limit permitted by avail- 

 able good seed, labor, and equipment. 



The placing of too great emphasis on 

 production in new regions is inadvisable, 

 since the introduction into a farm opera- 

 tion of a crop not usually grown fre- 

 quently involves practical difficulties not 

 easily foreseen nor quickly surmountable. 



Taking the winter-wheat territory as a 

 whole, winter killing has occurred to an 

 extent very much greater than usual. 

 This, obviously, if not compensated for 

 in some way, will mean a material reduc- 

 tion in the supplies of our most impor- 

 tant bread cereal. Where winter wheat 

 has been damaged sufficiently to justify 

 the abandonment of fields, it should by 

 all means be replaced by spring-planted 

 food crops, preferably small grains or 

 corn. 



The condition of our winter wheat, as 

 shown by the Department in its report of 

 April 7, is more than 25 per cent below 

 the average "condition April 1" for the 

 past ten years. This condition forecasts a 

 production this year nearly 243,000,000 

 bushels less than the crop of 191 5 and 

 52,000,000 bushels less than that of 1916, 

 when our harvest of winter wheat was 

 also poor. 



What this loss means will be appre- 

 ciated from the statement that one bushel 

 of wheat contains sufficient energy to 

 support the average working man for 15 

 days. By producing 240,000,000 bushels 

 of winter wheat less in 1915 we have lost 

 enough flour energy to support 10,000,- 

 000 people for one year. But as no man 

 lives on bread alone, this shortage repre- 

 sents wheat sufficient for the needs of 

 20,000,000 men for a year. 



THE USEFULNESS OF OATS AND BARLEY 



If land intended for spring wheat can- 

 not be put into good condition early 

 enough for seeding, oats or barley can be 

 substituted to erood advantage in the sec- 



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