Farmers warned incomes likely to go down in 1953

A state agriculture economist warned Malheur County farmers to expect less income in 1953 than the year before from crops and livestock, the Argus-Observer reported on Jan. 26, 1953.

"Don’t get out on a limb. Watch debts. Look before you leap. Study cost and price prospects. Be businesslike. Keep accurate records,” State College extension economist Martin Thomas told farmers at a Baker Production Credit forum at the Moore Hotel in Ontario.

He warned that farmers could expect less emphasis on a war economy and that exports would continue to decline.

Milk products stay more stable than beef, but for milk producers there was more emphasis on quantity and less on butterfat, he said.

The price of wool was expected to decline because of more competition from synthetics.
With 20 million more tons of potatoes in storage than a year earlier, “spud growers are in for a rough go,” Thomas added.

An overflow crowd of farmers and ranchers attended the meeting held in the large dining room of the hotel.