ECONOMIC

TABLE 33.—Production and productivity in agriculture, selected years, 1950 to 1973Percent change (annual rate)1950 to 19551955 to 19601960 to 19651965 to 19701970 to 19731PeriodCropoutput0.92.31.02.04.2LivestockoutputCropoutputper acre2.11.31.71.6.91.33.72.01.82.4Livestockoutput perfeed unit1.3-1.7-.3.1-1.5i Preliminary.Note.—Annual rates of change are based on 3-year centered averages for years shown except for 1973 which is for asingle year.Source: Department of Agriculture.livestock became more significant, although their existence went largelyunnoticed until the burst of additional export demands for farm productsafter mid-1972. When market prices and Government policy encouragedstepped-up farm production, the response was less than expected. Additionalacres were planted, and crop production rose. Meanwhile livestock productiondeclined in aggregate, and the indexes of labor used in agriculture,which have been declining steadily for years, either increased or declinedonly marginally in 1973. These results suggest that some significant changeshad occurred in the structure and excess capacity of American agriculture.The persistent decline in the hours of laoor employed on farms at leasttemporarily bottomed out in the past year. If the long downward laboradjustment is largely over, agriculture will have to provide higher returnsto labor in the future in order to compete with the nonfarm sector forworkers.The growth in productivity of all inputs used in farm production hasshown some slowing, although there is no indication of a plateau. Nor hasthe rate of increase in yields of crops shown a decline. But the productivityof feedstuffs used in livestock production has shown some decline, partlybecause until recently it was economical to substitute feedstuffs for foragesin dairy and beef enterprises. Dairy products and meat are an important partof consumer food budgets and continuous improvement in the efficiency offeed conversion would help to hold down their real cost. For this reasonthere may be a need to review the organization and use of public funds inlivestock research.Expanding Farm ExportsGrowing exports have been the immediate cause of the new pressureson agriculture's productive capacity and have contributed to the shift towardcrop production, particularly since mid-1972. For years the United Stateshas nurtured foreign markets for food and fiber with Government supportedexport promotion efforts. A few months before the burst of worlddemand for U.S. agricultural products, projections had suggested that arecord $10 billion of exports could be achieved by 1980, up from $8.0 bil-131