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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (July 21, 1957)
Whats Ahead for inericas By 1977 they'll be feetling 50 million more American XT i." . i" . .... . v Qewd (Mdiitf it ttil spafimasrtat, bwf torn cUim H cm bnq raw, itop Kail fry Jack Rgam I hi ruHn or tooay shrugs into jacket and calls to his wife, hard at work in the kitchen, "I'm going to take a look at the aouth forty I'll be right back " That "look" sounds deceptively limple. Often it means hard hours replanting, cultivating, and fertiliz ing his acreage, or, far worse, a hopeless battle against soil ravaged by drought, insects, or disease Tomorrow's look will be far dif ferent, according to agricultural re searchers. Some believe the farmer won't even go to his land it will come to him on conveyor belts' And if it needs fertilizer, a push of a but ton will release the proper amount from overhead storage bins. Drought That, too, will succumb to the push-button age Moisture, tapped from faraway reservoirs and carried by nuclear power, will be sprinkled in precise amounts from an automatic watering system. Plas tic roofs over the crop assembly line will protect the soil from too much natural rain Yes, that's the long-range forecast for tomorrow's "farm factory " Most crystal-ball gazers, while agreed that important changes sre on the way. describe our future agriculture in more conservative terms They foresee changes that will bring greater efficiency and less risk to the farmer and, in turn, assure him adequate profits each year These changes will make it possible to feed 220 million Americans in 1977 some 30 percent more than now without any increase in farm land or manpower In addition, the same acreage and labor force will supply our burgeoning industry with tremendous amounts of raw mate rials, some virtually unknown today. If successful, industrialized farm ing would not only stabilize agricul ture, a bulwark of our enonomy, but would hold food prices at reason able levels. Of course, turning theory Into reality won't be an easy job for the farmer Researchers believe he can come close to the ideal only by streamlining his business and mar keting techniques and improving crops, animals, and machinery. The first step will be to reduce the gambles he must take on prices, weather, crop and animal diseases, and other variables that cause heavy losses and waste As one business consultant ssys, "If big business took the blind risks our farmers do, the increase in ulcers slone would cripple our economy " rpoMOaow's firmer will play the ' "sure thing" as much as possible. As an opening step, he will keep special reports on such items as soil, yield, expenses, capitalization. Be fore planting any crop, he will bring this data to an accounting office; it may be a private business, part of a farmer's cooperative, or a division of a giant farm corporation. Electronic computers will balance the farmei i report against market prospects, costs, transportation. The result will be a fairly accurate an alysis of what crops should be plant ed to assure the best return and help void surpluses and shortages. But even sn electronic brain is worthless when its computations de pend on fickle Nature. Storms. In sects, disease, and related hazards lay waste to 120 million acres a year acres in which the nation has in- I rmu wi. Jni it issr
