Compass for Agriculture

[Music] the story of this important government service started in the US patent office there commissioner Henry Ellsworth felt that to protect the interests of the farmer it was the government's responsibility to provide the congress with reliable information on the Harvest his was the first crop [Music] report 14 years later when government interest in crop reports had waned the farmers themselves attempted to supply the sorely needed agricultur information through their own organizations James T Earl of the Maryland Agricultural Society attempted to gather National information on the crops as he put it to guide all Farmers as to the best time to dispose of the fruits of their labors but Earl failed to receive cooperation from other state [Music] societies next to try reporting was Farm editor orange Jud but his magazine also found the job too big this helped toward the establishment of the Department of Agriculture in 1862 and regular crop [Music] reports Through The Years many forces have helped shape American crop reporting into a valuable service there was increasing immigration homesteading and Westward Expansion the new Iron Horse which never tired of hauling crops waterways which brought agricultural produce from newly opened lands drastic effects due to booms and depressions a succession of global Wars with their hungry aftermath and an Ever growing American Market approaching 200 million people people who must be constantly supplied today the Agricultural Marketing service publishes Reliable Reports that give current estimates of production stocks labor and prices this wide variety of crop reports is released on a regularly scheduled basis for the benefit of all users of the services include Farmers organizations where one man passes along to his neighbors information that helps them plan their Crop Production producers cooperatives these Farmers depend on honest reports timed to each season and complete as to condition and probable yield of the crops railroads and other carriers instruct their dispatchers to use the reports as a guide to allocating Freight cars and trucks to transport the nation's crops State and County Extension workers in their hands the reports play an important part in helping Farmers decide what to plant where and when legislators use the reports to Serve American interests at home and abroad then there are the processors and handlers a long list of farm product buyers and sellers from coast to coast who constantly follow and use crop and life livestock reports don't forget the Credit Agencies and the busy exchanges the impartial reports also Aid the banks in servicing the farmers needs directly as well as indirectly all crop reports benefit the farmer today the service accurately gauges the strength and well-being of all the country in terms of food feed and fiber behind the doors of the field offices financed jointly by federal and state funds crop reporting starts with the mailing of questionnaires since America's tremendous agricultural output is the total production of about 4 A5 million individual Farms the farmers themselves through the mail provide the bulk of the information rural free delivery supplies the most economical and rapid means of obtaining the answers to questions addressed to individual farmers in addition male carriers across the country distribute about 2 million unaddressed questionnaires every year at most farms in return for his help the farm farmer receives published reports to guide him in his farming operations timely and reliable information is important to men like Jim Baldwin for timely information on acreage that farmers Countrywide expect to plant to various crops Jim Baldwin relies on the latest published intentions to plant report and so Jim Baldwin decides in the same way crop reports help all Farmers steer a course to more efficient production although there are hundreds of different questionnaires the voluntary reporters answer only the few that apply to their particular Farms or communities in the case of soybeans and other oil bearing crops the producer is asked to report number of Acres planted as well as production and disposition there's a monthly Hatchery report report which inquires into incubator capacities eggs set chicks and PS hatched and prices Dairy Farmers report number of cows production of milk and feeding practices to help them follow changing conditions in the industry information on farm feed Lots is obtained through the inquiry which asks number of cattle Hogs and sheep fun feed and in some cases intentions to Market Wheat inquiries obtain information on the crop from the time of fall seeding through winter hazards additional spring planting Harvest and disposition estimates are made of vegetable crops which the producer sells Through The Fresh Market or to processor for freezing and canning basic information used for monthly estimates of farm employment is collected by mail from crop reporters on the monthly farm Report and by personal interview it covers persons employed family workers and the number of hours they work certain livestock inquiries ask for sheep numbers and wool production information is also furnished by Meat Slaughter and other primary processors and handlers Mills and elevators Supply data on stocks of grain that have already left the Farm Dairy processing plants report production Jenners contribute information on Farmers marketings government agencies provide data like the supply of water for irrigation back to the State offices now come the filled out questionnaires from the farmers from the specialized producers and processors and from the private and government agencies all users of and contributors to the most complete crop reporting service in the world individual reports are combined into State totals and averages for the agricultural statistician a scientist by training and a farm at heart now the statistician has to make the best possible interpretation of the collected data in the light of experience and the current situation to ensure accuracy the findings are checked in many ways for firsthand information the statistician travels within his assigned territory he observes the crops and livestock and discusses conditions and Prospects with those best able to know such as dealers and the producers of various crops and livestock in the field he collects downto Earth facts on occasion special devices have been developed by the service a crop meter can measure Frontage of each crop along a highway to obtain an indication of acreage change utilizing the tools of related Sciences the the statistician also measures soil moisture weather data and other god-given and man-made things that are agriculture these indications of what will be produced are examined and recorded on the spot small areas are sometimes harvested to determine the actual yield of grain and samples are sent to the laboratory to measure moisture and protein content the information thus gathered is more Grist for the crop reporting Mill how can you check the production of corn when it is still young and immature an experienced eye can tell a lot but actual measurements of small sample plots can tell more Specialists are constantly trying to develop new procedures for improving estimates of yields of corn cotton tobacco and other crops these plots are visited each month during the season to make counts and measurements that will be useful in estimating yields per acre take this tobacco field what are its yield prospects sample counts and measurements properly and carefully made can help take guesswork out of the early season estimating consider some of the steps in estim estimating cotton about the 1 of August specially trained people go into a few scientifically selected Cotton Fields they mark off sample plots and then carefully count and record the number of plants in the unit which enables them to compute the yield per acre as the season progresses the cotton plants develop fruit that goes through various stages first squares are formed which next become blooms first White then red then small bowls and finally mature bowls but bowls which fall prey to Insects disease or bad weather do not survive for example the bow Weevil Cotton's most expensive enemy is about to take his toll by revisiting these same plots each month systematic counts are made of the number of plants squares blooms and bowls and this information is used to make an estimate each month of the cotton yield per acre at Harvest Time the cotton in the sample units is carefully picked and weighed after weighing the cotton sample a record is made then in the laboratory the cotton is allowed to dry and is reweighed in this way the yield forecast can be made on a dry weight basis after harvest plots are laid out and carefully gleaned to determine the amount of cotton that is produced but which never goes to market the sample plot yields are adjusted for these harvesting losses to improve the accuracy of the estimates and forecasts information from all sources contributes to the final report prepared in the field office state governments participate in the operation of these offices so they can obtain additional County and local information for certain crops like corn wheat oats soybeans and cotton any advanced knowledge of production might permit speculators to make unfair profits consequently the information must be carefully safeguarded therefore as soon as it has been completed and signed each state report is sent by special delivery to the secretary of agriculture in Washington the state reports will be combined in the office of the crop and livestock reporting service in the Department of Agriculture reports from all states have been given rapid and special handling all the way just as soon as they arrive at the department post office the envelopes are delivered to the chief of the SEC Secretary of agriculture's record section she has the responsibility of checking in the reports and placing them in a special mail box on the morning of the day that has been set for the release of the lockup reports the chairman of the crop reporting board and a representative of the secretary of agriculture go to the locked mailbox the only keys in existence that fit these locks are used the states had asked the farmers how for your crops and the farmers replied now the state reports will be secretly reviewed combined and publicly announced safeguarding the information in this way makes it fair to all meanwhile in the lockup rooms Venetian blinds are closed and kept sealed while the crop board is in session all telephone lines to the crop reporting rooms are dis connected the corridor is kept locked and a guard is on duty at all times there can be no leaks everything is Secret in accordance with laws established by Congress like a jury the people who work on the reports are locked in here state reports and other data are separated and placed in state folders to help find the answers to the primary question what will the Harvest be State statisticians who have observed the growing crops are represented on the crop reporting board each member of the board makes his own interpretation of the data on each of the speculative items for each of the states the chairman reviews these recommendations and if members are in disagreement they discuss the situation until an agreement is reached when estimates have been adopted for all states for a given product they are handed to a Computing unit necessary computations are made and national production and yield per acre are figured commodity statisticians carefully review the results of the computations and prepare statements covering highlights of the report these statements are typed checked and stencl along with the report figures and both are prepared for final approval at this point the secretary of agriculture is admitted to the lockup quarters after reviewing the report and discussing it with the board members he signs it when his signature has been added to those of the crop reporting board the report is approved and ready for release now as fast as hands and machines can work the reports are duplicated and assembled for distribution speed is the watch word meanwhile outside the lockup men of the press Gather in the release room just before the deadline the chairman Secretary of the board and a few members proceed to the release room looking neither to right nor left and speaking to no one nor acknowledging any greeting according to regulations the Press stands Out Of Reach of telephone behind a broad white line everyone has been waiting for the moment when the chairman distributes the reports by placing one copy face down in each Booth the report is still a secret nerves are tense All Eyes count the [Music] seconds time now takes command of the stage even the release officer has to wait for the clock the leading actor in the scene is the second hand the ticks on unmoved by the hurry of the occasion deadline there's the signal reporters lose no time in a rush the telephone girls open the lines to the outside world and the News pours forth it might be news of certain harvests livestock cotton wheat General crops or prices whatever the particular report from this moment on the news is public information in a few minutes newspapers radio and TV will be telling the crop report story throughout the [Music] land now buyers and sellers all have equal access to the impartially prepared facts of Agriculture thus reducing speculation via the radio and television the farmers and all concerned can get the results farmers who supplied the data on their individual crops later received copies of the Nationwide totals so they can farm with facts in this way every year hundreds of different crop reports are released and reported by the newspapers and other news media thus the nature and scope of America's ever changing and continent wide agriculture becomes public information like a compass in a Great Wilderness these factual reports made possible by the voluntary cooperation of The Producers themselves continually point the direction of progress in crops livestock and prices for the benefit of All American agriculture [Music]