38 



CLBCULAR 10 0, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



The quantity of tobacco under contract to the association was over- 

 estimated. (Tables 9 and 10.) According to the association's fig- 

 ures, the average member would have to cultivate T.8 acres to pro- 

 duce the quantity credited to him, whereas tke census figures show 

 that the average grower had only 4.1 acres under cultivation. Again, 

 the average actual 192-1 production per grower for the three States 

 was only 2,822 pounds instead of an anticipated per member de- 

 livery of an average of 5,114 pounds. 15 



It is possible that the association's membership contained a high 

 percentage of the larger growers or that the average acreage per 

 member may have been actually greater than that of nonmembers. 

 The number of tobacco growers may have increased from 1922 to 

 1924; the acreage or production per acre of the signers may have 

 been overestimated or exaggerated ; the tenant or landlord may have 

 signed for all tobacco produced on the farm and not for just the 

 part controlled by him; or possibly some tobacco growers were not 

 included in the census figures. 



Table 10. — Acreage of tobacco per farm needed for production reported by the 

 members on their contracts compared with acreage yields and average acreage 

 in the tri-State area in 192Jf 



Acreage per farm 



State 



Average 



yield per 



acre 1921- 



1925 1 



Sign-up 



per 

 member 



Required 



to produce 



sign-up at 



average 



yields 



1924, all j Associa- 

 farms s tion 

 I excess 



Pounds Pounds Acres 



Virginia... 667 4,363 6.54 



North Carolina 607 5,769 9.50 



South Carolina 645 4,751 7.37 



Average. 640 3 5,114 7.80 



Acres Acres 

 3. 93 2. 61 



4. 32 5. 18 



4.07 < 3.30 



4.11 



3.70 



« Data from Yearbooks of Agriculture, 1921-1927. 

 1 Data from Census of Agriculture, 1924. 

 » Weighted average. 



ACTUAL RECEIPTS 



^Whatever may have been the cause, the estimate of the receipts 

 was too optimistic. Although the association was launched on the 

 basis of a minimiun delivery of 50 per cent of the total production 

 of the three States during the first year, only 35.4 per cent of the 

 production for that year was delivered to the association. (Table 

 11; fig. 13.) In 1923, deliveries increased in volume because of a 

 large crop but decreased relatively; only 28.5 per cent of the total 

 production was received. In 1924 and 1925, deliveries fell to 22.9 

 per cent and 14.6 per cent, respectively. 



Table 12 shows that the association obtained, throughout, the 

 highest percentage of deliveries in Virginia but that, even in this 

 State, the percentage decreased each year. The deliveries in South 

 Carolina remained fairly constant on the whole, if anything, tend- 

 ing to improve during the last year — partly because of increased 



13 Data from TJ. S. Department of Agriculture Yearbook, 1924, and the Census of 

 Agriculture, 1925 (10). 





