Without amendment, any scheme for controlling farm crops throuj centralized federal agency was impossible, The States themselves might have been persuaded to do it through the establishment of 48 "Baby AAA's," bottle-fed from the Federal Treasury, but the President rejected this type of solution. Instead he} based his new programme on the vital need for sail conservation.
American farming, said the Prest-dent, had been carried out without fany regard for the future. Vast tracks of "buffalo gross" had been ploughed up and a dry thin soil exposed to the elements. Land was the cheapest and least regarded factor in producing crops. The Middle Western farmer cared little if his land only yielded about ten bushels to the acre, a yield which would have appalled the farmer of New England where Tand was not so plentiful America was busily engaged In ox~ porting her sell fertility. Wind and flood wrecked Havoc with the vast expanses of sell, The heavy dust storms of two years ago showed what was to be expected in tke future. The Middle West was in danger of Deccming a vast central Sahara, Without Discrimination The old Agricultural Adjustment Administration had looked upon the problem purely from tke standpoint of the crops, not from the standpoint of land use. Acreage reduction was Himited to nine basle crops (ranging from wheat to peanuts) and was: applied horizontally without reference fo the goodness or badness of the land. The farmer in the fertile and unfertile area were treated alike.
If the agricultural problem were approached from the side of and con servation a more rational scheme could bbe devised nnd land could be taken out of cultivation where needed and Lai down to grass, which would bind the sell together, or roat crops which would put back' into the sell something which the cereal crops had taken out. The farmer still thinking his pay cheque from the Treasury, felt that a scheme which pald him for planting crops useful in preserving the sell for fulure generations was just as good as a pay cheque given him for not planting wheat corn or Other schemes proposed, instead of! the above, were rejected by the Presi dent. He felt that any scheme of export bounty would encourage unlimited production and increase the danger of turning central America Into' desert. "He "also opposed the! Domestic Ailotment Plan welch has strong Congressional support. Under this plan no attempt would be made to control produelion but each farmer would be paid a subsidy on that' percentage of his crop, which could be considered his share of the domes-tie market. This again would encouage unlimited production, for with the main portion of his crop guaranteed the farmer would look upon stocks Sola abroad at whatever price 9s lear gain.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.