Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 August 1893 — HARVEST OF THE YEAR. [ARTICLE]

HARVEST OF THE YEAR.

gcmmur of the “American AgrlculturUt'e” Annuel Berlew. The harvest of 1893 in the United States is in many respects similar to that of three years ago, but with every prospect that home consumption and an increase of foreign demand will also advance values so as to yield as large a net return to farmers as on the average of recent years. Indoed, the American Agriculturist’s annual review makes a distinctly encouraging exhibit in spite of the* prevalent drought, though it is admitted that the financial stringency may interfere with the early movement of crops and have a temporarily restorative influence on prices. Present indications point to a crop of 1,750,000.000 bushels of corn, contrasted with 1,630,000,000 last year, and over 2.000,000,000 bushels in the immense yield of two seasons previous. But unless abundant rains prevail throughout the com belt in August, followed by milder weather, the production may shrink to 1,600,000,000, and may even drop to the size of the 1890 crop, when we harvested less than in any year for a decade, with a single exception. While the area in com is some 2,000,000 of acres greater than last year in the seven com surplus States, over » million less acres are devoted to maize than was the case two years ago. The corn crop has been greatly injured so far during August, the first two weeks of the month having wrought ten times as muph damage as the whole month of July. Kansas will not raise more than half a crop, having but very little except the eastern quarter, and Nebraska’s crop has been seriously curtailed. The wheat out-turn will not exceed 443,000,000 bushels, compared to 614,000,000 bushels as the average for the past two seasons and 400,000,000 bushels in 1890. Nearly 2,600,000 less acres were devoted to wheat last year, and the bulk ofthis decrease was in the surplus States, which bid fair to have 78,000,000 fewer bushels than last year and 126,000,000 bushels under the surplus States' product in 1891. Available supplies of old.wheat are 40,000,000 bushels greater than a twelve-month ago, but even allowing that farmers also hold 17,000.000 bushels more old wheat now than then, the total supplies for the ensuing year are only 600,000,000 bushels, or 11T,000,000 bushel • less than the average of the two previous crops. Our home consumption has averaged 366,000,000 bushels annually, leaving an apparent export surplus of 135,000,000 bushels, against exports last year of 192,000.000 and the season before of 266.000,000 bushels. This year’s acreage of oats was never exceeded except in 1889, when over 866,000,000 bushels were grown on 27,400,000 acres, compared with 620,000,000 bushels on a slightly smaller acreage this season. This is within 40,000.000 bushels of last year’s ont-tum and Just about an average of the three previous crops.

Reviewing the financial situation from the farmers’ standpoint, the American Agriculturist concludes: The prospect for prices in the early future depends more upon the monetary situation than upon natural conditions, all of which point to causes that should result in higher prices. But the wheat crop is conceded to be over 150,000,000 bushels less than last year in the leading importing countries. Stocks abroad are not materially larger than a year ago, so that the excess of GO.oO’i.OOO bushels in the United States in old stocks still leaves an Indicated shortage on the bread crop of the world of 100,000,000 bushels of wheat. This allows Russia as good as last year. The European rye crop is hardly a fair average; oats are under average, end potatoes are injured by drought. With no extra surplus of the bread crops and an assured deficit of wheat, the United States are likely to he called upon to export as much wheat as last year, if not more. Indeed, exports have been much heavier since July 1 than last season. The conclusion is justifiable that present prices of all grains are abnormally low, as there is little evidence of our ability to spare as much wheat as Europe wants, unless a large underconsumption prevails in the United States. The hay crop is believed to represent a value to the farmers of $1,000,100. Com at 43 cents per bushel comes next with a total of $726,000,000. followed by wheat valued at $300, 000, 01i0, if worth 60 cents a bushel, and oats worth slN\000,000, if valued at 30 cents on the farm. Potatoes promise to net an average of 70 or 75 cents per bushel or a total of $126,000,000. This list is about one-half the prospective value of the cotton crop of 1893, reckoned at $36 per bale.