NRLF *B SOME EXPECTS 051 THE WAH UP01T TEE SEED INDUSTRY OF THE OTITBD STATES By V;. A* Y.heeler and Gr. C.-Edler U.S.D.A. lib. 775 1919 SOME EFFECTS OF THE WAR UPON THE SEED INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES BY W. A. WHEELER Specialist in Seed Marketing AND G. C. EDLER Investigator in Seed Marketing Bureau of Markets CONTENTS More Seeds Will be Home Grown Effect of the War Upon Imports and Exports Domestic Demands for Seed Influence of War on Seed Production Seed Stocks Effect of the War on Prices Movement of Seeds Local Problems of Wholesale and Retail Seedsmen The Seed Reporting Service of the Bureau of Markets 20 Page 3 3 5 7 16 17 19 19 Separate from Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1918 No. 775 WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1919 W5 Aerie. -Forestry. SOME EFFECTS OF THE WAR UPON THE SEED INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES. By W. A. WHEELER, Kiwialifst in Seed Marketing, ami G. C. EDLEK, Inrc*t!r in Seed Marketing, Bureau of Markets. MORE SEEDS WILL BE HOME GROWN. ONE of the basic agricultural industries that have under- gon$ man}' changes, influenced by the war, is the seed industry in the United States. Doubtless some of these changed conditions will become permanent features of the industry, with the result that this country will tend to be- come more independent of the world's supply of seeds. It is perhaps true that in the production of certain kinds of vegetable seeds the United States has not reached the same degree of perfection that some other countries have reached after many years and generations of specialized effort; yet, at the same time, few, if any, countries have ever made the rapid strides in vegetable-seed production that this country did during the war.. Many of the effects that have been noted may or may not be permanent. It is too soon after the close of the war to prognosticate their permanency, but their future is worthy of careful study at this time. Often it is difficult to differ- entiate between those effects that are traceable directly to the war and those that are an indirect result of the war, but some of those that have been noted are discussed rather briefly in this article. EFFECT OF THE WAR UPON IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. In Table 1 are given figures compiled from data obtained from the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, of the Department of Commerce, showing the imports of the United States during the first year after our entry into the war, and our average annual imports during the three-year war period ending June 30, 1917, as compared with the average annual imports before the war for a five-year period ending June 30, 1914. A study of these figures will reveal the fact that of practically all field and vegetable seeds used 103014:0— 19 - 1 q 4fl I 373 4:- of Agriculture. exclusively for planting purposes the imports before the war exceeded those during the war, and in most cases the differ- ence is considerable. The table was published in the issue of the Seed Reporter for October 5, 1918. TABLE 1.— Imports of field, vegetable, and flower seeds into the United States. Kind of seed. Imports, first year of United States war, year ending, June 30, 1918. Average annual im- ports, 3-year war period ending June 30, 1917. Average annual im- ports, pre- war pecjod ending June 30, 1914.2 Beet sugar - - Pounds. 15,636,541 Pounds. 13, 135, 456 Pounds. 11,616,300 447 878 753 376 819, 715 Cabbage 83,210 270,470 252, 528 Carrot 32,500 46,651 149, 724 Castor -beans ' . - 58, 048, 090 46, 060, 550 43,818,060 Cauliflower 7,969 9,963 8,711 Celery J 167,684 667,695 199, 358 Collard 17 3,073 667 Corn salad 1,945 4,843 7,068 2 069 1 057 1 795 Kale - . -- 8,016 34 965 30,326 Kobl-rabi 16 770 12 025 21 409 Mushroom spawn 16, 923 79 234 279,064 Mustard J 13 035 837 12 174 056 10 819 715 Parsley J . 66, 494 82 283 118,112 7 065 88 477 89 702 Pepper 21,884 11 729 14,515 Radish 102 735 326 344 491 097 804 789 869 321 1 241 758 Turnip and rutabaga 2 150 965 i 664 728 1 735 033 $126 422 $198 512 $239 371 \lfalfa 87 244 3 996 613 7 301 712 3 665 037 2 042 314 6 057 196 Crimson clover 1 601 503 6 765 753 8 537 597 Red clover 861,709 15 968 322 12 328 449 White clover . . 230 073 1 263 881 Clovers, " all other " ". 2 062 429 2 654 762 4 801 686 Grasses "all other" 5 618 204 11 888 185 16 644 424 Hairy (winter) vetch 178 766 265 001 2 948 075 Common (spring) vetch 65 179 753 705 Rape' 12 673 276 6 663 615 5,668,952 Soy beans ' 31 812 997 4 061 755 1,929,435 1 Imported both for planting and other purposes. a The prewar period from which this average has been computed includes 5 years from June 30, 1909, to June 30, 1914, for the first 21 items covering vegetable and flower seeds, and 3 years from June 30, 1911, to June 30, 1914, for the remaining items covering field seeds, except soy beans, for which the imports only -for the year ending June 30, 1914, of that period are available. 3 Figures given indicate value in dollars instead of quantity in pounds. Effects of the War U During the war the exports of vegetable seeds and of some field seeds, which in the past have been imported in larger quantities than they have been exported, in the main greatly exceeded the exports before the war, despite the fact that many restrictions had to be placed on seed exports to con- serve ocean tonnage, to insure a sufficient supply of seed at home, and to guard against shipments billed to neutral countries but ultimately meant for enemy countries. Un- fortunately. export figures for field and vegetable seeck are not available except somewhat incomplete figures for the fiscal years ending July 1, 1917 and 1918. The exports of vegetable seeds for these two fiscal years compared with the anticipated exports for the fiscal year ending July 1, 1919, as reported to the United States Bureau of Markets, by the largest seed dealers indicate that a marked increase in the exports of vegetable seeds has taken place during the war, even at a time when our own domestic demand was greater than ever before. Table 2 shows where the greatest gains in vegetable seed exports were made. DOMESTIC DEMANDS FOR SEED. The war has had a far-reaching effect upon the domestic demand for vegetable seed and certain kinds of field seed. By means of the publicity given by the various agencies of the Government and by seedsmen and periodicals to war gardens, a greater demand for vegetable seed arose than was ever before experienced. People in cities who had never planted gardens were influenced to " do their bit " toward solving the food problem by making gardens. While it is true that in some localities the sales of seed to market gar- deners decreased, this was more than offset by the small sales to the vastly increased number of amateur gardeners. In order to help feed the allies, the farmers of this coun- try, spurred on by record prices, patriotically responded to the appeal for more food crops by planting greater acreages of wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, etc., and, while conditions were not always favorable, they succeeded in surpassing the record production of many of these crops. Increased acre- age, of course, meant an increased demand for seeds with whirli to plant these crops, and a higher percentage of the 6 &. Department of Agriculture. quantity of seed planted of wheat, corn, oats, and barley was sold commercially in 1918 than in 1917, and probably than in most of the years prior to the war. While it is true that a comparatively small percentage of the seed of grain crops is sold for planting purposes by commercial agencies, never- theless this small percentage often is of the greatest im- portance, and the seed dealers were quick to sense the in- creased demand for seed grains. •TABLE 2. — Vegetable seed exports for the United States. Item. Estimated quantity reserved for export dur- ing year ending July 1, 1919.* Exports for year ending July 1, 1918.2 Exports for year ending July 1, 1917.2 Beans, dwarf snap Pounds. 337 049 Pounds. 199 002 Pounds. 194 959 Beans, garden pole (not in- cluding lima) 58 459 26 552 17 234 Beet, garden 160 404 42 293 44 283 Beet mangel 31 696 7 355 16 619 Beet, sugar 60 260 30 346 300 Cabbage 2 468 15 468 17 ^37 Carrot 959 314 400 009 159 270 Cauliflower 516 355 Celery 11 7'78 3 997 1 927 Cucumber 30 943 38 65& 44 921 Kale 214 '277 Lettuce 306 353 270 426 313 678 Muskmelon . . . 2 GOO 3 023 Watermelon 6 205 7 499 Onion seed . . 408 410 242 232 291 78% Onion sets 233 400 3^8 424 Parsley 9 406 5 258 Parsnip 54 393 16 733 Peas, garden . 4 384 177 2 713 ioi 7 289 225 Pepper 516 931 Pumpkin 2 8^1 o- 407 Radish 346 ii27 104 04S Salsify 18 l^t 2 HO-> Spinach 46 990 9 216 Squash, summer. . 2 7S9 9 §~2 Squash, winter 2 950 2 545 Sweet corn 380 816 409 225 215 187 Tomato . 10 443 10 913 Turnip, English Turnip, Swede 9,397 2S 938 92,304 25 990 6,841 Seed Export Survey of Sept. 11, 1918. Seed Survey of July 1, 1918. Effects of th*3 Wni' V ' l>&K.tty?Svf&ed\l ft/jf^^r^r/^ : //- 7 The increased acreage of food crops was generally at the expense of grass or forage crops, a condition similar to that which existed in European countries. The demand for these seeds, therefore, appears with certain exceptions to have been less than usual. The demand for clover seed, sown in many localities more for improving the soil than for the revenue it brings as a hay or seed crop, has been exceedingly good during the war. INFLUENCE OF WAR ON SEED PRODUCTION. The production of vegetable seed in the United States has been revolutionized by the war. Previously, most of the beet, carrot, radish, and spinach seed planted in this country was imported from Great Britain and France, and to a less extent from other countries. Instead of an importer of these and other seeds, the United States became an exporter, and the gains made in exports have already been shown in Table 2. In 1916, European countries began placing large contracts with commercial seed growers in the United States for the production of many crops which in the past had not been grown here on a commercial scale. In order to take care of the increasing domestic and for- eign demand and the falling off of imports, the acreage planted in old, proven localities was increased and new areas of production were sought, particularly with reference to vegetable seeds, but to a much less degree with reference to field seeds. While some new areas were found to give better yields or seeds of better quality than did old areas, the ex- pense of pioneering was often such a drawback as to dis- courage further increased production in many of the new areas. However, it is apparent to many growers that cer- tain kinds of seed may be produced in a number of places in this country, and that one of the best assurances against total failure of seed crops is the diversification of acreages as much as possible. At the same time it is realized that cer- tain localities are better adapted for the production of a few kinds of seed than are other localities. Figures 1 to 6 show the location of the counties in the United States in which many of the most important vege- table seeds are grown. Table 3 shows the commercial 8 •Department of Agriculture. Effects of the War 103514°— ti of *tik& department of Agriculture. Effects of the War'Upon'ike 'Seed Industry. 11 12 Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture. Effect* of the War Upon the Seed Industry. 13 14 ''Yearbook of ^Department of Agriculture. acreage, average yield per acre, commercial production and consumption of vegetable seed crops in 1918, 1917, and 1916, as reported to the Bureau of Markets in a survey made July 1, 1918. TABLE 3. — Commercial acreage, average yield per acre, commercial production, and estimated commercial consumption of vegetable seed for the United States. [A revised tabulation of reports from 185 commercial vegetable-seed growers reporting in the vegetable-seed production survey of July 1, 1918, including information and estimates from other sources.] Kind of seed. Commercial acreage. Average yield per acre. 1918 1917 1916 1918 esti- mated . 1917 1916 Beans dwarf snap Acres. 70,868 6,297 2,748 418 6,014 974 4,622 175 3, 053 71 2,276 1,558 10,522 7,233 3,470 155 269 110,194 715 1,490 8,646 123 3,942 916 2,539 13,934 4,024 766 271 Acres. 63,524 4,029 826 20 4,638 737 1,965 84 4,694 18 1,979 1,827 8,929 3,782 2,637 109 137 110, 129 686 1,512 3,521 131 1,415 836 1,328 12,975 3,204 24 21 Acres. 63,581 4,971' 342 5 5,655 765 1,039 85 4,397 55 1,723 1,791 6,249 3,181 2,478 78 90 72, 130 432 1,201 2,631 52 123 1,068 1,131 14,420 2,460 54 10 Pounds. 514 627 889 873 980 161 508 370 210 153 320 148 105 205 11,380 360 743 598 100 151 225 228 395 158 102 1,180 71 290 80 Pounds. 234 315 562 1,504 1,094 393 574 335 218 250 457 161 71 259 11,851 772 499 444 31 72 176 431 220 145 70 640 92 127 418 Pounds. 237 243 587 720 980 284 574 611 209 540 626 155 75 418 9,184 1,583 748 721 39 94 274 624 364 154 78 588 76 375 384 Beans, garden pole (not in- cluding lima) Beet garden Beet, mangel Beet sugar Cabbage Carrot Celery Cucumber Kale Lettuce Muskmelon Watermelon Onion seed Onion sets Parsley Parsnip Peas, garden Pepper Pumpkin Radish Salsify . . . Spinach Squash summer . Squash, winter Sweet corn Tomato Turnip, English Turnip, Swede Effects of the !!' }\'dr r i>on tin: Seed Industry. 19 grasses. In the winter of 1917-18, red-clover seed reached the highest price.- on record, but these prices have been ex- ceeded by those prevailing during the fall of 1918 and winter of 1918-19. A comparison of red-clover seed prices on December 1 for " contract, prime grade " on the Toledo market extending over a period of 12 years may be made from the figures given below: Price per bu. 1918 $25. 30 1017 15.90 101(3 10.70 r.nr» 32. or, 1914 9. 22 1913— S. 75 Price per bu. 1912 $11. 15 1911 12. 62 1910 9. 00 1909 8.77 1908 5. 57 1907__ 9.95 MOVEMENT OF SEEDS. The transportation situation became so bad during 1917 and 1918 that its effect was very apparent to those wishing to ship seed either by carload or less than carload lots. In some cities, seedsmen pooled with one another their ship- ments destined for points in the same direction, and closer cooperation in this respect, as well as in others, was more evident than ever before. Embargoes on freight shipments became the rule rather than the exception. The fact that seeds were placed on the preference list did not alleviate conditions much for the seedsmen. Express shipments were made when freight shipments were impossible, but it was not long before express shipments became demoralized. Many seedsmen reported the arrival of seeds from the West too late for planting that season, which was partly responsi- ble for a larger carry-over of some kinds of vegetable seed than usual on the part of man}' dealers. LOCAL PROBLEMS OF WHOLESALE AND RETAIL SEEDSMEN. In the foregoing, some of the effects upon the seed indus- try have been pointed out without any specific reference to the changes with which many seedsmen themselves found it necessary to cope. Seedsmen who in the past had relied on the profits derived from exporting or importing seed for the maintenance of their business, soon found that they 20 Yearbook of the Department of Agri-culture. could import little or no seed of the kinds handled by them, and were restricted so much in the matter of exports that they had to look for an outlet for their seed in the United States. New areas in this country in which to purchase and also to sell seeds had to be found by many of the seedsmen in order that they might continue in business. Thus they competed with other seedsmen who had been accustomed to buy or sell" in these areas. On account of the uncertainties of distant freight ship- ments, country merchants were more inclined than usual to place their late spring orders with local or near-by seedsmen. This, of course, affected the business of some of the larger and more distant seedsmen, who formerly sold to these same country merchants. In order to get business, a few large seed concerns, which formerly were in the habit of attaching sight draft to bill of lading, sold seed on "trade acceptance" terms. Seed shipped by them was paid for by the purchaser with some bankable paper payable in four months or less with interest at about 6 per cent. Though similar arrangements have been made in the past by a few seedsmen, they were little known in the seed trade before the war. Many dealers reported that it was more difficult to negoti- ate large loans with the banks because of frequent, temporary depressions. With seed generally higher and money scarcer, field seedsmen often were reluctant to carry as large stocks as customarily. The chances of big profits or losses in the field seed business were greater than in peace times because of the larger and more frequent fluctuations in the prices of seeds. THE SEED REPORTING SERVICE OF THE BUREAU OF MARKETS. In order to act somewhat as a balance wheel to the seed trade and as a guide to the various agencies of the Govern- ment in handling the seed end of the food production prob- lem, the Bureau of Markets shortly after war was declared established a Seed Reporting Service. In the matter of seeds, the first great concern of the Nation was to insure, so far as possible, an ample supply of seed of crops that would help feed this country as well as the allies, and to see Effects of the War Upon the Seed Imhi-*try. 21 that tliis supply was made available and distributed as -eco- nomically and efficiently as possible. It is an economic waste of time and resources to produce seed of a kind that is not needed or wanted much in excess of the demand for it. By means of the figures published in the Seed Reporter, the official organ of the Seed Reporting Service, showing cany-over and current stocks on hand, exports and im- ports, as well as other information, growers and dealers could determine to some extent, whether or not the growing or handling of various kinds of seeds would result in profit to them. In the case of vegetable seed, the data given served well as an indicator of which kinds would probably be short for the next planting season unless the acreage devoted to their production -was increased considerably or the yield per acre proved to be much above the average. While it is true that some of the larger growers would have gone ahead increasing their own acreage of certain crops two or more fold, many of the growers would have hesitated to place contracts with growers at greatly increased prices, knowing as they did that the labor shortage during the growing season and at harvest time might be even more acute than at planting time, if they had not had access to information which indicated clearly that there would be a good demand for practically all of the seed they could produce of most kinds of vegetable crops. Published contract prices paid to small growers, and wholesale and retail prices of seedsmen enabled commercial growers to determine whether or not they were paying their growers too much or too little as compared with other com- mercial growers, whether or not seedsmen were purchasing or selling at prices out of line with analogous prices of other seedsmen, and whether or not the consumers had a right to object to prices paid by them. Preliminary estimates of the production of field or vege- table seed, either actual or as compared with normal or with the preceding year, together with figures showing the carry-over and other information, helped to establish more •juickly prices of various field seeds; to place buyer and seller on more equal terms so far as knowledge of the supply and demand for -particular seeds was concerned; and to assist governmental agencies in formulating a policy with reference 22 Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture. to the advisability of allowing the exportation of certain kinds of vegetable or field seeds with or without restriction. The Seed Reporting Service of the Bureau of Markets has been able to supply the information needed to pass upon the necessity of importing certain kinds of seed or of exporting others, or upon the importance of the conservation of cer- tain kinds. of seeds and of the urgency for the stimulation of their production. Without such a well-organized agency, the Government would not have been able to pass intelligent judgment upon or to make proper recommendations con- cerning these questions. m UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. MAY2HW8 LD 21-100m-9,'48(B399sl6)476 <3 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY