HOW WILL PRODUCTION, MARKETING, AND CONSUMPTION BE COORDINATED? FROM A FARM ORGANIZATION VIEWPOINT

taken place in agriculture if we compare conditions in 1964 with
those that existed at the end of World War I and the situation as we
project it for 1975. All that is required to compare today with the
past is good 20-20 hindsight. To look ahead—even for ten short
years—is a much more difficult task. The best I can do here is to look
at the past, observe the present, and project existing trends into the
next few years.

Item	Changes in Production
Item	1919	1964	1975
Number of farms (millions)	6.5	3.5	2 +
Number of com- mercial farms (millions) pro- ducing 95 percent of output		2.0	1 +
Farm population: Millions	31.2	13.3	10.0
Percent of total	29.7	7.7	5.0
Average size of farms: Acres	148	303	450
Capital	$12,000 (est.)*	$51,000	$75,000
Number of farm workers (millions)	13.2	6.7	5.0
Farm workers required to sup- ply consumers	1 for 7	1 for 28	1 for 35
Mechanization	Mostly	Electrified	Will increase
Managerial skills	horse-drawn equipment Some—mostly	and highly mechanized Skilled	More highly
Use of records	physical Very little	management necessary Some	skilled and specialized Urgently needed
Specialization On farms	Mostly general	Most farms—	—tax purposes, business analysis, bargaining Further spe-
	farms	one or two specialties	cialization— unless farm programs prevent change

* $10,300 value of land and buildings.

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HOW WILL PRODUCTION, MARKETING, AND CONSUMPTION BE COORDINATED? FROM A FARM ORGANIZATION VIEWPOINT

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