W. C. Reed, Indiana.
(Read by the Secretary.)
Fellow Members Northern Nut Growers' Association, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Our association convenes today under changed conditions not only in this country but throughout the world. Upon the United States rests the burden of feeding the world, or at least a large portion of it. With seven-tenths of the globe's population at war, surely this is a mammoth undertaking.
The government is urging the farmer to increase his acreage of all leading grain crops, to give them better cultivation, and is guaranteeing him a liberal price.
Crop Values.
Crop values have increased until today there is land bringing more than $100.00 per acre for a single wheat crop. Corn has sold above $2.00 per bushel, beans at 20 cents per pound, and hogs at $20.00 per 100 pounds on foot.
Labor Advances.
With these high prices all along the line the price of labor has advanced to the highest point ever known. Surely it is up to the American farmer to husband his resources by the use of labor-saving machinery, by using the tractor and other power machines to conserve horse feed, by the cultivation of all waste land possible and by practicing economy and thrift.