Our Productive Land (1955)

[Music] this is the story of the land on which we Americans live it is a beautiful land and a wonderfully productive land we realize that our forests our Waters and our mineral wealth are among the most valuable of our natural resources but also the soil itself is one of the greatest bounties that nature has bestowed upon us more than half of the land in America is Farmland over a billion Acres our more than 5 million Farms are providing us with a greater supply of food and a wider choice of food to eat than is the fortune of any other Nation when one farmer asks another how's crops it is a question of the greatest importance to all of us so it is worthwhile to study the broad picture of American Agriculture and learn how the Bounty of our good soil and its products can be a permanent blessing corn is our largest single crop today the annual Harvest of corn measured in acres or bushels or dollars exceeds that of any other crop our 3 billion bushels of corn a year is 3 fths of the world's production our chief grain crops such as wheat barley oats and rice together occupy the largest proportion of the cultivated farmlands of America we have dozens of vegetables all the way from the common potato to the arch show and vegetables are very essential to our modern and balanced diet orchards in many parts of the country furnish a great variety of fruits and nuts which also add to the wide selection of our daily [Music] Foods cotton not only provides fibers for industry but also food for humans and animals from its seeds sugar produced from the canes of our Southern States and Hawaii and from our sugar Wheats is our energy food hay and other forage crops which are fed to livestock are an important part of most Farmers produce our beef cattle and Hogs and sheep depend as much as humans do on the things that grow on the [Music] farm a big part of farming is our great dairy industry for butter and milk and ice cream and poultry by the millions adds still more variety to our long list of appetizing and nourishing foods fortunately this wealth of food is now available to use anywhere any time of the year in earlier times the farmer's market for his produce was limited to the distance that a horse and wagon could go in a day people used to can some food or store it in a seller but most food had to be eaten near where it was grown and quickly before it [Music] spoiled modern packing refrigeration and transportation has changed all this mass production of canned foods has extended their use throughout the year today our largest crops of fresh vegetables like this lettuce for instance are harvested at the peak of their value and kept fresh for a much longer time they are rushed immediately from the fields to a washing and cooling plant and sent by fast refrigerated trains and trucks to all parts of the nation fresh meats also travel and keep by Refrigeration all the way from the packing plants to ice cold warehouses then to be sent to stores and home refrigerators in the remotest parts of our land thus Foods travel long distance from where they were grown the Farmers Market has widened and we have good food to eat all through the year in earlier times the farmers's production was small and the work was hard but mechanization has increased greatly the productive capacity of the land and relieved the human drudgery of farming the time was when a farmer with his own two hands aided by a few farm animals could barely grow enough food for his own family but today the average Farmer in the United States with the aid of Machinery produces enough food for his own family and many others who now work at other occupations our present production of food would have been far from adequate today had it not been for the mechanical progress of recent [Music] years our population is is growing fast the Census Bureau estimates that by 1975 we will have nearly 200 million people in the United States so it becomes increasingly important to assure the future output of our [Music] Farmland before we realized how vital it is to protect the soil a lot of good Farmland was ruined by water and wind erosion we still have lots of good good soil and properly Managed IT is practically inexhaustible to keep a good layer of top soil and keep it productive is the chief objective Farmers today are scientists and they use many methods to protect the soil for its present and future [Music] value the beaver taught us a lesson in soil conservation his homes made of branches in the stream beds often serve as check dams in times of high water man-made dams also help to hold back the flood waters in a similar way Farmers retain water in ponds which Aid in flood control such ponds also Supply water to livestock and make Pleasant places for recreation Farmers plant and cultivate sloping fields in contoured rows to get the best use of water with the least washing away of good top soil in some places they plant crops in alternate strips across the slope the thick growing crops between those which have to be cultivated clean help slow down the water runoff Farmers keep Woods in good condition to help store water and to provide future supplies of wood [Music] trees are often planted as wind breaks to prevent soil from blowing away soils are enriched by plowing crops of clovers into the ground or by turning into the stubble from hay crops and by adding fertilizers and [Music] mulches in many livestock producing areas poor range lands are being improved and additional land made usable by effective programs of range management ranchers and soil conservation and Forestry groups of the states and the federal government are cooperating in the project after plowing out the thick Sage Brush the land is receded with good types of forage grasses more fencing is added and the cattle are kept out until there is a well-rooted stand of new grass results of such programs have been that where formerly 50 acres would barely support one steer now the same 50 acres is providing better forage and enough for seven or eight steers developing Water Resources has been worthwhile in many arid regions where new land is being put into production in order to bring water to the soil most effectively many large areas of formerly unused land are being leveled an operation like this makes it possible to spread irrigation water uniformly over the fields and to control its flow without [Music] waste thousands of Acres that once were covered only with Sage Brush or drifting Sands now produce huge crops irrigated from canals and ditches through improvements like these and farming methods which will keep our soil productive we can look forward to assuring the future food supply for our people we can expect further advances in Agricultural Science and [Music] mechanization maintain the heritage of our good land as one of the greatest contributions to