Will More Forage Pay? -- Economic Aspects of Using More Pasture and Forage on Farms – A Progress Report

Excerpts from the report: Much is being done to explore the possibilities of increasing industrial utilization of both the basic and the waste products of agriculture. Less spectacular yet of as great, if not greater, significance are the possibilities in increased utilization of farm products on the farm. Wherever it is feasible to substitute forage crops on acres now producing corn, cotton, or wheat and to utilize them profitably through livestock, opportunities exist for combating the threat of surplus production of these crops. Adjustments of this type also work toward improving the national diet, conserving soil resources, and lending greater stability to farm incomes. Those interested in either on-farm or off-farm utilization of farm products are faced with essentially these questions: (1) Is the proposed means of utilization technically feasible? (2) Will it pay the individual producer? and (3) Will it be to the advantage of the United States as a whole? The hypothesis upon which this study rests is that it is desirable to shift more of our land resources to production of forage if producers can find ways to utilize the forage efficiently and profitably. Three major assumptions are made: (1) That surpluses of cash crops such as cotton, wheat, and corn may again prevail and that profitable alternative uses for some of the land now producing such crops will be needed; (2) that increased production of livestock and livestock products would be desirable from the standpoint of dietary deficiencies and consumers' food preferences: and (3) that a shift to forage crops from the cash crops which may be in surplus will tend to retard erosion and help to maintain soil fertility.