Abstract

Redirecting Farm Policy

At the end of the last war the opportunity to overhaul farm-price supports and other farm programs in the U.S. was missed. Recent developments may provide another chance. A great deal of work has been put into policy statements for agriculture since the middle forties. Useful and competent reports have been issued by the Colmar and Hope Congressional committees, the land- grant colleges, the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, and the Committee for Economic Development. But it is always a difficult task to integrate politics and economics in national policy, and the agricultural field is no exception. The stage is now set for a new attempt. The rise in consumer expenditures, the strong price situation, and above all the importance of adding to the manpower in industry make the present a propitious moment for increasing the efficiency of agriculture.