28 CIRCULAR 661, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Only within the past few years, when the whole agricultural set-up 
was changed, has there been a broad public program for attacking 
the farm-forest problem. For the first time farm forestry is begin- 
ning to be accepted as an integral part both of the rural economic 
problem and of its solution. 
Among present programs affecting the farm-forest situation is 
that dealing with soil conservation. Demonstration areas established 
by the Soil Conservation Service since 1933 have provided an oppor- 
tunity, heretofore lacking, to develop unified plans of farm, forest, 
and general land management based upon the need of increasing farm 
income and agricultural stability through good use of resources. An 
effort has been made to fit the farm woods into their proper place 
in such plans—to take advantage of their value in holding the soil, 
in producing an income from worn-out agricultural land, and in 
providing raw materials needed on the farm. 
There is reason to doubt whether such a voluntary system for 
regulating land use will provide all farm-forest lands with adequate 
protection against injurious practices. More direct and positive 
public action may be needed. 
In 1937 a comprehensive program of upstream flood control was 
begun in the Lake States by three cooperating agencies of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture: The Bureau of Agricultural Economics, the 
Soil Conservation Service, and the Forest Service. Here the farm 
woods have had an important place in flood-control plans, because 
the critical lands lie almost entirely within farms of the southern 
part of the region. 
In 1937 Congress passed the Norris-Doxey Act, providing especially 
for improvement of farm woodlands through public aid to farmers 
in woodland management and timber marketing. An appropriation 
was made for the first time in 1939, to be used to match State funds 
to carry out the provisions of the act on a cooperative basis. As 
already indicated, part of the funds made available annually under 
this authority are used for farm-forestry research and to supplement 
Clarke-McNary appropriations for farm forestry extension work 
and for the production and distribution of forest planting stock to 
farmers. However, over half of the appropriations made under the 
Norris-Doxey authority are used to operate intensive farm-forestry 
demonstration projects. Four of these projects are under way in the 
Lake States, two in Minnesota and one each in Michigan and Wis- 
consin. On each of these projects, which are selected to represent 
the more important farm-forestry problem areas, a technically quali- 
fied forester 1s assigned to aid representative farmers in planning and 
applying the woodland management, harvesting, utilization, and 
marketing operations adapted to their individual farms and in record- 
ing the physical and economic results, particularly as they relate to 
the farm enterprise as a whole. These projects are building up a 
nucleus of experience in each problem area to implement and guide 
efforts needed to reach all farm woodland owners. 
The farm woods have entered, also, into recent programs of the 
Agricultural Adjustment Administration. Payments have been made 
to farmers for planting woodlands or shelterbelts as a soil-conserving 
measure, for care of plantations, and for timber-stand improvement. 
A. new feature was included in the 1940 program providing a specific 
allowance of $30 per farm, to be earned solely by tree planting. This 
