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Extension Service Helps
Pressure On Farmers To Produce {
•Increasing As Population Expands j
Farmers arc being called
upon, to boost their produc
tion' to meet the food and
fibeh needs of expanding
U S. and world populations.
Irrfact, pressure on farmers
to produce more is stronger
than at any time since World
War 11. It's also putting pres
sure on agricultural scien
tists, educators, and suppliers
to help farmers produce as
abundantly and efficiently
as possible.
One way the challenge is
being met is through an Ex
tension Service program
known as on-farm testing or
demonstrations.
Thousands of farm tests
covering nearly every mod
ern agricultural practice dot
the nation each year. From
them, farmers learn how to
keep abreast of modern tech
nology. boost production
through greater efficiency,
and cut costs.
Extension workers have
always been firm believers
the “show” rather than
"tell” method of teaching.
The first demonstration
ever conducted on a farm in
the United States was in
1906, reports the National
Cotton Council. Held on a
Texas cotton farm, it was de
signed to show farmers how
to deal with the boll weevil,
a relatively new pest which
was threatening to wipe out
the state's cotton crop. From
this demonstration came the
development of the county
agent system.
Early Extension work often
was referred to as demon
stration work, and the
agency’s county staff mem
bers were known for many
years as farm and homo
demonstration agents.
The demonstration itself
usually was the culmination
of years of research. Scien
tists at agricultural experi
niifwiii.
ment stations would develop
a new practice and carefully
test it on a limited scope for
several years. Once the
"bugs” were ironed out, the
county agent would demon
strate the practice to farmers
in a side-by-side comparison
with existing practices.
Today’s on-farm tests com
bine traditional demonstra
tion teaching with applied
research. Farmers are given
a chance to evaluate a new
practice in the final stages of
development, before all the
problems are eliminated.
Thus, farmers are years
ahead if the practice proves
successful.
New crop varieties often
are tested this way.. Once a
new variety is released,
farmers know something
about it because many of
them have seen it in farm
tests.
On-farm tests are espe
cially valuable in alerting
farmers to new chemicals
that might be coming on the
market. Dozens of possible
new chemicals arc included
in such tests each year.
While farmers are compar
ing these chemicals, manu
facturers are gathering data
that will help them decide
whether to request clearance
of the chemicals for commer
cial sale and farm use.
In Ohio this year, 15 farm
ers from throughout the slate
are participating in a beef
cattle demonstration pro
gram. Each will provide 25
or more beef cows to be
bred to production-tested
bulls. The cows will be main
tained from the production
of 60 acres of meadows and
pasture.
Purpose of the demonstra
tion is to help farmers pro
duce more grass, keep more
beef cows, and earn more
dollars.
Through application of
fertilizer and lime based on
soil test recommendations,
higher grass yields are ex
pected to allow for expansion
of beef cow herds and result
in a more profitable enter
Foreign Foods Flavor
American Tastes, Too
Just in case you get the
idea that the U.S. is feeding
the whole world and no
body's selling us any food,
take a closer look at some of
the items in your supermar
ket the next time you shop.
Bananas, black pepper,
Roquefort cheese, and sea
sonal items like fresh pears,
apples, and tomatoes are
among the foreign fare found
at American food stores.
As a matter of fact, the U.S.
is second only to West Ger
many as the largest importer
of agricultural products.
When the nation’s domes
tic supplies of fresh pears fell
off sharply not long ago,
Australia harvested a bump
er crop and moved in to be
come our leading supplier.
Australia and New Zealand
also shipped apples to the
U.S. when domestic supplies
were on the short side.
Last year, new import rec
ords were set for meat, dairy
products, fruits, vegetables,
nuts, wines, and bananas.
Australia, New Zealand,
and Central American coun
tries are the chief suppliers
for our fresh-chilled or
frozen beef imports, which
totaled nearly 1.4 billion
pounds last year.
Argentina ships us canned
corned beef, while Denmark,
Economic Impact
Os Form Exports
is Far-Ranging
The economic impact of
agricultural exports extends
far beyond the farm com
munity, says a University of
Tennessee economist.
“Research indicates that
each dollar increase in farm
exports means $2.25 of busi
ness generated in the econ
omy,” D, R. Humberd points
out, '"and about 60 percent of
that accrues to the non-agri
cultural sector.”
On a gross dollar basis,
agricultural exports were re
sponsible for generating an
estimated $28.8 billion in
business activity in the 1973
fiscal year. Os that, only
$11.7 billion went to the
farm sector.
Food processors alone re
ceived more than $4.8 bil
lion, transportation $1.7 bil
lion, and wholesaling and
retailing $l,B billion.
Last year’s farm exports
directly or indirectly pro
vided more than 450,000 jobs
in manufacturing, wholesal
ing and retailing, food pro
cessing, transportation, and
warehousing.
prise. S
Cooperating farmers are
required to keep complete :J
records to determine crop I<
and livestock production, as
well as annual expenses and ;|;j
income. >1;
the Netherlands, and Poland -I
are our main import source -I;
for canned hams and shoul- -I;
ders. >1;
Most of our coffee comes I-I
from Brazil and Colombia, I-I
although more than 30 other *
countries in Latin America ¥
and Africa export coffee to li
the U, S. |l|
Besides these well known -I;
products, the U S. overseas
shopping list last year in- I-I
eluded sl3 million worth of I-I
pickled pimientos from Den- -I-I
mark, sls million worth of
canned Mandarin oranges
from Japan, and more than -I;
$1 million worth of cashmere >1;
and camel hair from Outer >1;
Mongolia. |l|l
We also bought 9 million >;1
pounds of garlic from Mex- ¥
ico, nearly 1 million gallons
of champagne from France, -I;
and a quantity of cashews >1;
from Mozambique and cinna- >1;
mon from Seychelles. >1;
FARM FACTS! |
Caesar Craved Cucumbers J;J
The forerunner of the mod- -I*
ern greenhouse was built in ¥
Rome in the first century. It ;I;
was constructed to provide ;|;
Emperor Tiberius Caesar I-I
with cucumbers the year I-I
round, ¥
o «:« >:> |»J
Hail Takes C ro P Toll ¥
Crop losses to hail average -I;
S4OO million annually in the ;t;
United States. Biggest losses
are in wheat, corn, soybeans, I-I
and cotton. I-I
* if
U.S. Ag Imports Big |:j
The United States is second -I
only to West Germany as the -I;
largest importer of agricul- ;I;
tural products. ;I;
* ts « •*«
Catsup From California? I-I
There’s about a 3 to 1 I;I
chance that the processed to- X
mato product you open X
comes from California. The -I;
state grows more than 4 mil- -I;
lion tons of canning tomatoes :j;
annually or about 75 per cent I-I
of U.S. production. I-I
« * $ v
About Those Jeans Prices |;j
The cost of raw cotton -I
needed to make a pair of -I
denim jeans usually amounts ;I;
to less than one-tenth of the
retail price for the finished I-I
product, according to I-I
USDA’s Economic Research I;I
Service. ¥
*f # * M
Farms Still Declining
The number of U.S, farms j;l
in 1974 is estimated at 2.8 -I
million—down 1 percent ;I;
from last year and continu- ;I;
ing a steady annual drop
since 1936. I-I
V « «>
Agriculture As Customer X
Latest estimates show that
farmers bought goods and -I
services worth $64.5 billion ;I,
in 1973. This is up from $23.6 ;I;
billion in 1960. I : I
<ff *f *f V
Relatively Newcomers I-I
Soybeans and safflowers |;j
are two examples of new -I
crops that have been added -I
to American agriculture ;I;
since 1930. I-I
* ♦ ♦ v
Farms’ Energy Use 3% I-I
Growing food and fiber on I;I
the farm accounts for only 3 X
percent of the nation’s total -I
energy use. Another 10 per- -I;
cent is needed to get it to you ;I;
in the form you like to have ;j;
it, I-I
<ff ** V
Milk For Less Labor X
It took 13.1 minutes of la- X
bor to pay for one-half gal- -I
lon of whole milk in 1960. ;I;
Today, it takes only 11 min- ;I;
utes of labor to buy the same ;I;
amount. X
* a * v
At Your Convenience I-I
Food processors have intro- X
duced more than 6,300 new X
convenience foods during the X
past five years—an average -I
of more than three a day. -I;
Most of the new items were -I;
frozen entrees that required ;I;
cooking or heating before
serving. I-I
Porky the Pig
Getting Leaner
Housewives may be pay- X
ing more for pork now than -I
they did five years ago, but -I
they're getting a better buy
for their money. I-I
Thanks to agricultural re- X
search, today’s pork provides I;I
more lean meat than ever X
before, -I;
In fact, Director William -I;
F. Hueg, Jr., of the Minne- ;1;
sota Agricultural Experi- I-I
ment Station, says the aver- I-I
age 200-pound hog going to I-I
market this year has 22 X
pounds more of lean meat
than his ancestors of 20 years -I;
ago, :‘-l
Continuing research on 1m
proved breeding methods for X
better meat quality will X
make pork an even better !;•
buy in the future, he adds. -I-
1
DEsntUCTtOH of foresis I
§ 11
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