Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 54, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 October 1917 — THE WORLD’S FOOD NEEDS [ARTICLE]

THE WORLD’S FOOD NEEDS

What Is Required and What This Country May Do. To supply the estimated needs of the United States, the allies, and in part the neutral nations of Europe the farmers of the United States must plant for next year about 238,000,000 million acres of land to staple food crops. This is 22 per cent more than the 195,000,000 acres which represent the tenyear average plantings, and 4.5 per cent more than the large acreage —237,000,000 —0 f 1917. Compared with 1917 these acreages represent increases of 22 per cent for winter wheat, 15 per cent for all wheat, 51 per cent for rye, and 5 per cent for oats, and decreases of 6 per cent for barley and of 8 per cent for corn. Compared with the. preceding ten-year average the proposed acreages represent 43 per cent for winter wheat, 5 per cent spring wheat, 29 per cent all wheat, 124 per cent rye, 7 per cent barley, 2 7 per cent oats, and 7 per cent corn. £ \ These estimates of required acreages have been made by the United States Department of Agriculture, with due allowance for weather, farm labor supply, injury to crops by insects and disease, and the production of cereals by other nations, and for other usual and extraordinary conditions as far as they may be foreseen. The war has intensified a general shortage of food products which

has been growing for several years, but which this country had ifot felt until the war made it plainly apparent. To help solve the problem the department has not advocated any startling changes, but •has restated the principles which it thinks »e sound for the present and the future. These principles are: That each community, as far as practicable, should produce its own food and feed; each community should in crease the production of nonperishable 7 products, such as wheat, rye, beans and rice; sugar-beet and-sugar-cane production should oe increased in suitable localities; and the commercial production of perishables should not be increased except where there are ample facilities for transportation and market. The recommendations for 1918 are made with these points in view, with the idea that sound crop practices are to be continued, and that other cereals, notably rye, should supplement wheat.