TOTAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SOILS-RESEARCH PROGRAM Mr. MARSHALL. Undoubtedly that is true. Can you furnish for the record estimates that would show the major cost requirement for carrying on such practices as the use of lime, phosphates, and plowing under green manure and those types of measures which would be desirable to maintain the fertility of our soil, or even increase it? Dr. PARKER. If you so desire, Mr. Marshall, we will make an estimate of the research requirements in this field on a national basis. (The estimate requested is as follows:) In 1951 the total expenditures for soil research in the United States approximated $9,000,000, including $3,700,000 by the Federal Government and $5,300,000 by the States. The Agricultural Research Administration has developed estimates, in cooperation with State agricultural experiment stations, that an additional $10,800,000 would be needed for soils investigations by 1960. $4,700,000 of the increase would be needed by Federal research agencies and $6,100,000 by State agencies. These estimates do not include funds required for research on nonagricultural land. The National Reclamation Association, in cooperation with the State agricultural experiment stations and Federal agencies, prepared an estimate of soiland water-research requirements for the 17 Western States. These estimates are given in a report entitled "Soil and Water Problems of the West" (S. Doc. 98, 82d Cong., 2d sess.). The report indicates that $8,200,000 would be required annually and that $7,020,000 of nonrecurring funds would be required in the initial years of the program. These estimates include funds for soil and water research on forest and grazing lands, as well as on cultivated land. There is no similar detailed analysis for the research needs of the humid or eastern agricultural areas; but, based on the recommendations of the National Reclamation Association, the estimates provided by the Agricultural Research Administration would appear to be reasonable and conservative. VALUE OF MAJOR SOIL CONSERVATION PRACTICES IN TERMS OF INCREASED YIELD Mr. MARSHALL. Dr. Parker, could you supply for the record the best estimate available to you, showing the value of major soilconservation practices in terms of increased yields. I have particularly in mind the use of lime, phosphates, and those types of practices, and the plowing under of green crops. Do you have figures available to show what that increase would be? Dr. PARKER. Yes; we could develop some very good figures, on fertilizer and lime particularly, and we would be glad to do that. (The information requested follows:) The use of fertilizers and lime probably accounts for about 25 percent of our current crop production. These materials, of course, are most effective when used in combination with other good soil and crop-management practices. Their efficiency probably can be increased substantially by using improved varieties, better tillage and water conservation practices. A detailed study of fertilizer practices, in 1950, indicated that under good management an increase of 50 percent in the plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash) applied to the soil in the form of a well-balanced fertilizer might have produced the following increases in crop yields in 1950: 85 million bushels of corn, 22 million bushels of wheat, 483 million pounds of seed cotton, 1 million tons of hay, 25 million bushels of potatoes, and 58 million pounds of tobacco. It was also estimated from the results of this study that an increase of 50 percent in the lime used in 1950 would have provided the following potential increases: 6 million tons of hay and 4 million tons of pasture and cover crops. The use of fertilizers and lime will provide one of the most effective ways of increasing crop production. The choice of fertilizer and its proper use, in combination with other soil and crop management practices, presents many problems that remain to be solved. We may be confident, however, that as need for higher crop production develops, these materials will be more extensively used. RELATION OF FARM INCOME TO ADOPTION OF IMPROVED VARIETIES AND IMPROVED PRACTICES Mr. MARSHALL. I have asked some of the other people who have been before us, Dr. Moseman, concerning a problem that is fundamental with all research. That is the dependence upon income of farmers to put these practices into effect. Dr. MOSEMAN. Yes, sir. Mr. MARSHALL. Can you submit a statement for the record showing what effect income has in connection with the ability of the farmers to put into effect the practices of improved varieties and improved methods of farming. Dr. MOSEMAN. I am sure we can do that. (The information requested follows:) RELATION OF FARM INCOME TO ADOPTION BY FARMERS OF IMPROVED VARIETIES AND OTHER RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS The effect of income on the ability of farmers to adopt improved varieties and improved farming practices will vary with the nature of the specific improvement. IMPROVED VARIETIES There was relatively slow acceptance of hybrid corn 20 years ago, when farm income was low, and farmers faced the alternative of selecting their own seed from their cribs, when corn on the market was valued at 10 to 20 cents per bushel, or purchasing hybrid corn seed at $8 to $10 per bushel. The benefits from hybrid corn and from other improved crop varieties released in the 1930's have led farmers today not only to adopt new varieties promptly but to press experiment stations and research agencies for constant greater improvements in crops. The ready acceptance of new strains of crops is indicated by the increase in acreage of the wheat varieties Elgin and Alicel in the Pacific Northwest, from about 5 percent in 1943 to 70 percent of the acreage to which they were suited, by 1949. Similarly, the new hard red winter wheat varieties, including Comanche, Pawnee, Wichita, and Wester, released in about 1944, had taken over 60 percent of the acreage for which they were suited, by 1949. The Stewart and Carleton durum wheats expanded from about 5 percent of the acreage in 1945 to 55 percent by 1949, in the durum areas of the Dakotas. The new sugarcane variety C. P. 44/101, released in 1949, occupied 10 percent of the acreage in Louisiana in 1952 and is expected to be the leading variety in the State by 1954. The Kennebec potato, which is resistant to late blight, has increased from a small supply of 200 bushels of certified seed in 1948 to 1,886,000 bushels in 1951. It is recognized that this rapid acceptance of improved varieties of several crops occurred during periods of high farm income. It is probable, however, that farmers have grown to recognize the value of disease-resistant or otherwise improved crop varieties and will continue to utilize them promptly regardless of the level of farm income. SEED COSTS The cost of good seed has been reduced materially in recent years, and it is now possible for farmers to buy and grow certified seed of superior varieties at very little cost over the price of common seedstocks. This spring, in Montgomery County, Md., certified seed of Ranger alfalfa was available at about 53 cents per pound as compared with approximately 50 cents per pound for common northern grown alfalfa seed, which would generally be suited for growing in the same area. Seed of southern common alfalfa, which is considered less well adapted than Ranger and the northern common, was available for about 45 cents per pound. Seed of the new variety Williamsburg, which was bred and selected particularly for the area including Maryland and Virginia, and which is in short supply, was priced at about 83 cents per pound. The seed supply of Williamsburg was completely exhausted and one dealer advised that he could have sold much more at that price had it been available. This may not be clearly indicative of farmer interest under extremely low-income conditions, but it demonstrates that the cost of improved seedstocks is not necessarily a limiting factor and farmers appear to be convinced of the value of the added investment in superior seed. 30505-53-pt. 2-36 CULTURAL PRACTICES The adoption of cultural practices is somewhat more difficult to evaluate but the experience with the new methods of growing corn in the South, combining adapted hybrids with closer spacing and heavier fertilization, which has spread rapidly and widely throughout the Southern States in recent years, indicates the tendency on the part of farmers to put into practice those improvements which have been proved superior. FERTILIZER USE It is well established that farmer expenditures for fertilizer are closely correlated with farm income. During the period 1910-50 the annual expenditure for fertilizer in the United States has been about 5.5 cents out of each dollar of farm income from crops and Government payments. The lowest average was 3.8 cents for 1921 and the highest was 6.8 for 1951. During recent years the average rate of expenditure has steadily increased. The level of expenditure in different States varies widely. It is high in the Southeast, moderate in New England and the Midwest, and low in the Great Plains. PEST CONTROL CHEMICALS It is possible that lower income might result in some decreased use of pest control chemicals, including fungicides and insecticides. This would represent the inclination of an individual to assume a greater margin of risk from damage to his crop rather than pay for the insurance that investment in fungicides or insecticides might provide. This would undoubtedly depend upon the degree of potential danger to the crop. LABOR COST AND AVAILABILITY In some instances the availability and relative cost of labor will have an important role in determining the application of a new research practice. Cotton farmers, who in 1952 had to replant a sizable portion of the 300,000 acres sprayed with herbicides for weed control, indicated that even though they recognized the possible damaging effect of the herbicides, which undoubtedly required some of the replanting, they would again use herbicides on the crop they were replanting. It was their only alternative since labor for hand hoeing was not available and it was a choice between using herbicides or facing certain loss of their crop from weeds. The greatest reluctance to adoption of new practices can be expected in those fields where there is some uncertainty regarding the economic benefit from the new practice. As pointed out in the National Planning Association pamphlet No. 79 entitled "How Farm People Learn New Methods," released in October 1952, annual farm output of food and fiber increased by 75 percent in recent years as compared with the years around 1910. This increased output was achieved with a total estimated input of productive resources into farming of about only 20 percent over the corresponding 1910 period. This relationship between investment and return may be a principal factor in determining the extent to which new practices will be adopted. It is the job of research in agriculture to develop practices that will make for greater efficiency and provide maximum return for minimum input of labor, machines, and materials. If research continues to progress along these lines, there should be no difficulty in achieving farmer acceptance of better practices. AUTHORITY FOR PROGRAMS OF THE BUREAU PROGRESS IN RESEARCH Mr. ANDERSEN. We will go into item 5, which has to do with agricultural engineering investigations. Dr. Moseman, will you give us a short statement as to what progress you have made during the past year or two on agricultural engineering research? Dr. MOSEMAN. Yes; we have been giving considerable attention, Mr. Chairman, to research in farm machinery to improve the mechanization of certain crops, including cotton. We have given attention to the problem of improving equipment for applying pest-control chemicals, including herbicides, and for other weed-control measures. Some of that work is headquartered at Stoneville, Miss., and also at Columbia, Mo., and St. Paul, Minn. The research in the farm-structures field has been devoted to a number of projects, including the drying and storage of grains. We have given increased attention to the grain storage and drying problems in the Southeast. We are concentrating our efforts on the development of basic information as to how moisture moves in grain and how rapidly air can be forced through grains and seeds of different kinds, in order to aid in the design of proper mechanical driers. USE OF LIGHT TRAPS TO CONTROL INSECTS In the farm electrification field, I think one of the highlights of our program this year has been the research we have done with the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine in the control of the pink bollworm. We have used different kinds of lights and light traps and we find that we can attract large numbers of bollworm moths by this trap. We are not sure whether this will provide for an effective control, but it has been extremely useful to the entomologist in determining the extent of infestation or the spread of the insect, and in timing control operations. Mr. HORAN. It is good only for the moth, is it not? Dr. MOSEMAN. That is right, Mr. Horan, we are not too optimistic about their use as a control, although there are some people who feel it may be possible Mr. HORAN. In the fruit industry we have tried everything that came down the pike and among those were all kinds of electrical exterminators, moth pots, and these lights. But as you say, it is little more than an indicator of the density of the infestation. Dr. MOSEMAN. That is right. So far, we have not developed it to the extent that it might be an effective control and I am not sure whether they ever would be practicable, although they may be in certain crops, such as tobacco where you have small acreages. Mr. HORAN. You thought enough of it to put it in your justifications. Could I ask Dr. Cullinan if there has been any effective improvement in this type of pest control? Dr. CULLINAN. No, not on the use of electrical traps for controlling fruit insects. Some of these insects are apparently not attracted by lights and yet others seem to be. Mr. ANDERSEN. Would it not be effective on the corn borer? Dr. CULLINAN. It seems to be; it is attracted more to it. It has not been as effective against oriental peach moth or the coddling moth and a number of these other fruit insects. Mr. HORAN. It would be a happy solution if it would work. USE OF GAS IN CURING SHADE GROWN TOBACCO Dr. MOSEMAN. Another area of work in farm electrification has been the development of a new kind of gas burner for controlling this "house burn" problem of tobacco in the Connecticut Valley. This has meant quite a significant savings to the people in that area, of about $15 per acre in fuel cost. As you know, the "house burn" or "pole sweat" problem is caused by the humid conditions that may occur in tobacco barns after harvesting. They formerly used charcoal burners in that area. In the last 2 or 3 years, our engineers, working with the people of the Connecticut Experiment Station and their tobacco branch experiment station, have developed gas burners that have been very effective in cutting down that "pole sweat" problem. FERTILIZER PLACEMENT STUDIES We have been working on fertilizer-placement studies, concentrating our efforts in the past year on the placement of the fertilizers to help establish stands of grasses and legumes, this is a rather critical problem, particularly in the Southeastern States where farmers have had difficulty in getting stands established and where they have had to reseed 2 or 3 times in many cases in order to establish pastures. COTTON GINNING INVESTIGATIONS The work in cotton ginning has been proceeding, both at the Stoneville Laboratory and other stations in developing improved methods for cleaning and ginning cotton. This, as you know, is a problem that has been aggravated by the increased use of mechanical harvesters. I believe there were about 19,000 spindle pickers and about 11,000 cotton strippers in the field this past year, and ordinarily, the grade of cotton has been about one grade lower from machinepicked cotton than it has from hand-picked. Through our ginning research we have been able to reduce this differential considerably. We are giving attention, in ginning research in the irrigated areas, to the same type of problems with mechanically harvested cotton, and with the buildup of static electricity through the drier conditions out there. We are cooperating with the ginning-equipment manufactures and the Oklahoma experiment station at Chickasha, Okla., in helping to adapt the improvements that we make at Stoneville, Miss., and in the Western Laboratory at Mesilla Park, N. Mex., to the conditions for the short-staple cotton in the Oklahoma-Texas area. Mr. ANDERSEN. Doctor, those are the major fields in which the bulk of the money given you this past year has been used; is that correct? Dr. MOSEMAN. Yes, sir. Those are some of the high-lights of our engineering-research program. BUDGET REQUESTS FOR STUDIES UNDER OTHER MECHANIZATION Mr. ANDERSEN. I note from the justifications that an increase of $59,667 is requested under the Agricultural Marketing Act appropriation for studies on mechanization of farming operations, especially harvesting operations. Also an increase is included under the "Office of Experiment Stations" for research on mechanization of farm production to meet the decreasing farm-labor situation. It appears to me that we are being asked to appropriate for practically the same work in at least three different places. Do you have any comment on that? |