WARTIME SHIFTS IN FEED AND LD7EST0CK 

 PRODUCTION 



By Worley S. Earp, Agricultural Economist, and Eileen McDonald, Agricultural 

 Economist, North Central Division, Agricultural Adjustment Agency 



WARTIME PRODUCTION RECORD 



American farmers, as part of their war job, have produced more live- 

 stock and poultry since 1940 than during any other 4-year period. In 

 response to war needs, they have raised record numbers of hogs, cattle, 

 and chickens. They have produced record quantities of milk and eggs. 

 While doing all this, they also were increasing tremendously their pro- 

 duction of food and oil crops. All in all, their achievements during this 

 war are perhaps the greatest ever performed by the farmers of any 

 country. 



Food production has risen steadily throughout the war period reaching, 

 in 1944, a level 37 percent above the 1935-39 average. The average pro- 

 duction of food for the 3 years 1942, 1943, and 1944 is 31.3 percent 

 higher than this pre-war level. Food output is now running 45 percent 

 above the average for the 1920's and about 58 percent above the 1917-18 

 period of the last war. 



Farmers not only have increased the total volume of food produced 

 but also have increased the food items that people need most. For one 

 illustration, the yearly production of milk has jumped from about 70 

 billion pounds in the last war to about 119 billion pounds in this war. 



Because grain production did not keep pace with livestock and poultry 

 production during the first 3 years and because of difficulties in trans- 

 portation, grain became scarce in many areas during late 1943. This 

 situation was not eased until the harvest of small grains in 1944. 



Hay shortages also developed in some areas where drought hit in the 

 summer of 1943 and again in the summer of 1944. 



The greatly increased production of livestock and poultry during the 

 war was made possible by vast reserves of feed grains that had been built 

 up before the war in the Ever-Normal Granary. These reserves were 

 stored in elevators and farm bins, mostly under Government loan, in the 

 years when this country was producing more grain than its livestock 

 and poultry needed. One purpose of this storage was to make sure that 

 in time of need, whether a drought, crop failure, or a war, the Nation's 

 farm animals could be fed. 



During the war years up to 1944, American farmers were feeding more 

 feed grain than was available from current production after deductions 

 were made for industrial purposes. 



As a result, by the end of 1943, the Ever-Normal Granary was prac- 

 tically empty, except for some wheat. With no more reserves of feed 

 grains to draw on, farmers during 1944 had to depend on current pro- 

 duction and large quantities of wheat for feeding their livestock and 

 poultry. This situation was eased by the harvest of a record corn crop 

 in 1944, together with a drop in the 1944 pig crop. 



