American Farmers Pile Up The Records
U. S. agriculture stacked up
more records last year. Farmers
not only turned out the greatest
volume of products in history, but
they also established alltime
highs for crop production per
acre, farm productivity, labor
productivity, and acres har
vested for export.
In its annual report Changes in
Farm Production and Efficiency,
the USDA’s Economic Research
Service (ERS) said farm output
See your PATZ Dealer today
Marvin J. Horst
DAIR Y EQUIPMENT
And Ammana Appliances
RD 1, LEBANON, PA (Iona) —On RouteB97
between Schaefferstown and Lebanon.
PHONE 272-0871
Over 30 Years In Business At The Same Place
r* »■*«'< *
I***
I JSA*’**'**' "
w
MARTINS FEEDMILL, INC.
Ephrata 733-6518
STANLEY HOFFER
Paradise 687-6860
FRANK PEIFFER
Pequea —284-4449
LANCASTER BONE FERTILIZER
Quarry ville —786-2547
CLYDE K. ESHLEMAN & SONS
Washington Boro —872-7391
F. H. BUCHER
Rotbsville 626-6504
in 1972 rose 1 percent from a year
earlier and 11 percent from 1967.
Both crop and livestock
production posted gains of 1
percent, reaching new peaks.
Increase uneven. However, the
increase in crop output was not
evenly distributed among crops.
Feed grain production dropped 4
percent; per acre yields ad
vanced 7 percent but acres
harvested declined 11 percent.
Food grain production was off by
Stuitts«« E
... is the very best time to spread lime
stone. It then has all winter through
rain, snow, freezing and thawing to
seep to root depths. Lime needs time to
unlock vital nutrients and sweeten the
soil so the fertilizers you apply in the
Spring will do all you expect them to.
Give you bigger, healthier crops.
Baker's agricultural limestone is avail
able in two types, high-magnesium or
high-calcium. Both sweeten acid soil,
raise pH and unlock vital plant nutri
ents. For fast, efficient delivery, call
your dealer or Baker today.
'Conestoga Valley balanced
limestone from our Ephrata Quarry
' Prime lime' dolomite
limestone from our Gap quarry
'Hy-Mag - limestone from
our Paradise quarry.
nearly 5 percent and fruits and
nuts by 10 percent due to un
favorable growing conditions for
most crops. Hay and forage
production just missed equaling
the 1971 record.
Oil crops continued the uptrend
of the past 2 decades. Cotton
made the biggest leap among all
crops, 27 percent, reflecting
stepped-up acreage harvested
and better yields. All other crop
groups exceeded the 1971 output.
Regionally, farm production
records were set in the Northern
and Southern Plains, Appalachia,
Delta States, and the Mountain
and Pacific regions. The Lake
States, Corn Belt, and Southeast
regions narrowly missed the 1971
highs. In contrast, output in the
Northeast plunged 10 percent as a
result of exceptionally poor
growing conditions.
Best yields. Crop production
per acre, up 2 percent, surpassed
the previous record of 1971.
Alitime highs were established
for corn, grain sorghum, peanuts,
all hay, sugarbeets, and many
other crops. Yields of wheat, bar
ley, and rice were the second
highest on record, and cotton
reached a 5-year high.
All told, the volume of farm
inputs used to produce the record
1972 production showed no
change from the previous year.
Thus, the farm productivity
index-output per unit of input
notched up by 1 percent despite
difficult harvesting conditions.
Productive Plainsmen.
Productivity gained 12 percent in
the Southern Plains, 4 percent in
the Delta States, and in most
other regions by 2 percent or less.
Productivity declined in three
regions-the Northeast by 10
percent, the Southeast by 3
percent, and the Corn Belt by 1
percent Hurricane Agnes was
responsible for most of the drop
in the Northeast and Southeast.
Though the volume of inputs
did not change last year, there
were significant shifts in the
Calcium
Oxide
53.5%
Products of The J. E. Baker Co.
Call collect - (717) 354-4202
Magnesium
Oxide
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 22.1973 —
input mix. Farmers continued to
purchase increasing amounts of
inputs from the nonfarm
economy. Purchased inputs rose
2 percent above the 1971 level,
whereas nonpurchased inputs fell
1 percent in continuation of a
steady 21-year decline.
The input group showing the
most change was the
miscellaneous category, which
climbed 7 percent. Pesticides and
cotton ginning accounted for the
bulk of this increase.
Farmers used fewer hours of
labor in 1972 than ever before.
About 6.2 billion hours were
needed, down from 6.4 billion in
1971. Planting, cultivating, and
harvesting crops required 3.2
billion hours, and 2.1 billion were
spent caring for livestock. The
residual 0.9 billion went for
overhead jobs and miscellaneous
tasks.
Labor used in all group
production declined in each
group except sugar crops, cotton,
tobacco, and oil crops. These four
required more labor because of
increased acreage and
Soybean Field
Day Oct. 1
Area farmers are invited to the
Penn State Research Farms,
Landisville, on Monday, October
1 to observe soybean plots.
Dr. Richard Cole will be the
main speaker for the Soybean
Field Day, which will begin at
1:30 p.m. Varieties, full season,
double crops, and herbicides will
be under discussion and ob
servation, according to John
Yocum, Research Farms
manager.
production. Hours of labor
continued to fall for all classes of
livestock, with decreases ranging
from 7 percent for poultry to 5
percent for meat animals.
Most per hour. With the labor
input at a record low and farm
production at a record high,
output per hour scaled to new
heights. Labor productivity
advanced 6 percent from 1971--6
percent for livestock and 3
percent for crops. Poultry scored
the largest gain in the livestock
group, 11 percent, followed by
milk cows at 9 percent and meat
animals at 6 percent. Among
crops, cotton led with a 13-
percent increase. Food grains, on
the other hand, registered a 4-
percent decrease because of
smaller production. Fruits and
nuts were also down, by 1 per
cent.
The volume of farm products
exported last year required the
equivalent of 85 million acres,
topping the 1963 record by 8
million. Acreage of wheat for
export went from 19 million acres
in 1971 to 35 million in 1972; corn,
from 8 to 11 million; soybeans,
from 20 to 22 million; and cotton,
from 4 to 5 million. Dairy
products dipped from less than 3
million acres to only 1 million.
Other livestock products
remained near the 1971 level.
Cropland used for crops totaled
336 million acres in 1972, or 4
million less than in 1971. The
largest acreage changes were in
the Corn Belt, down 3 million
acres, and in the Northern
Plains, down 1 million.
Rose Developer
James Brady, a White
House gardener, developed
the American Beauty rose in
1875, during the presidency of
Ulysses S. Grant.
19