individual farmer could be paid for diverting. In the droughtstricken area farmers frequently exceeded this percentage for which they were paid, because of the loss of their original plantings and their desire to produce as much feed and forage as possible.

Of the acreage diverted from soil-depleting crops in the United States, 70 percent was diverted from the general soil-depleting base, 29 percent from the cotton base, and 1 percent from the tobacco base. Soil-building practices were carried out on more than 53,000,000 acres of land in the country as a whole. There were nearly 34,000,000 acres of new seedings of legumes alone or in mixtures and over 7,500,000 acres of green-manure crops newly seeded; nearly 2,000,000 acres of pasture were established or improved; over 3,200,000 acres of land received chemical fertilizers; terracing, contour furrowing, protected summer fallow, and other mechanical erosion controls and miscellaneous soil-building practices were put into effect on nearly 7,000,000

acres.

Class I payments were distributed approximately as follows: Sixty-five percent for diversion from the general base, 28 percent for diversion from the cotton base, 5 percent for diversion from the tobacco base, and less than 1 percent each for diversion of peanut acreage and for participation in the special sugar, rice, and flax phases of the program.

Sixteen percent of the total payments to farmers were for adoption of soil-building practices. Of the acreage on which these practices were carried out 82 percent was put into new seedings of soil-improving crops. These new seedings were made on nearly 43,000,000 acres, of which 78 percent were seeded to legumes alone or in mixtures, 18 percent to green-manure crops, and the remaining 4 percent to grass mixtures designed to establish or improve pastures. Five percent of the land on which payments in connection with soil-building practices were made, received applications of lime, superphosphate, or other approved chemical supplements. One percent of the acreage was terraced, and on 8 percent contour furrowing, protected summer fallow, or other mechanical erosion control practices were carried out.

CORN BELT AND GENERAL FARMING REGIONS

Estimates on participation and performance statistics from the States comprising the Corn Belt and general farming regions indicate that in those regions 62 percent of the total cropland was covered by applications for grants under the program. Ninety-nine percent of the diverted acreage was diverted from the general soil-depleting base. Ninety-eight percent of the class I payments were for diversion from the general base. Fifteen percent of the total payments were made for carrying out soil-building practices. Of the total acreages on which soil-building practices were carried out, 94 percent consisted of new seedings, while applications of lime and superphosphate were made on the remaining 6 percent.

THE COTTON BELT

In the Cotton Belt, it is estimated that 76 percent of the total cropland was covered under the program. Eighty-two percent of the diverted acreage came from the cotton base, 16 percent from the general soil-depleting base, and 0.5 percent from the special tobacco

base. Seventy-nine percent of the class I payments were for cotton diversion, 15 percent for diversion from the general base, 1 percent for tobacco diversion, 1 percent for peanut diversion, 1 percent in connection with the sugar program, and 2 percent in connection with the rice program. Thirteen percent of the total payments were for the adoption of soil-building practices. Of the acreage on which soilbuilding practices were carried out, 75 percent was put into new seedings; 4 percent was terraced; and contour furrowing, protected summer fallowing, and similar practices were carried out on 8 percent.

THE TOBACCO REGION

Seventy-one percent of the cropland in the tobacco region was under the program. Forty-four percent of the diverted acreage was diverted from the general base, 37 percent from the cotton base, and 17 percent from the tobacco base. Twenty-seven percent of the class I payments were made for diversion from the general base, 30 percent for diversion from cotton, 41 percent for diversion from tobacco, and 1 percent for diversion from peanuts. Twenty percent of the total payments were for carrying out soil-building practices. Of the acreage on which soilbuilding practices were carried out, 83 percent was put into new seedings, 16 percent received lime or superphosphate applications, and 2 percent was terraced.

THE WHEAT REGION

In the wheat region, 73 percent of the cropland was under the program, and practically all of the acreage diverted came from the general soil-depleting base, in this instance from wheat. Ninety-eight percent of the class I payments were for diversion from the general bases, 1 percent for compliance with the flax program, and 1 percent in connection with the sugar program. Eleven percent of the total payments were made for carrying out soil-building practices. Of the acreage on which these practices were followed 73 percent was put into new seedings, and on 27 percent contour furrowing, protected summer fallow, etc., were carried out.

THE DAIRY REGION

In the States comprising the dairy region 61 percent of the total cropland was under the program. Of the acreage diverted, 99 percent was from the general soil-depleting base. Ninety-three percent of the class I payments were for diversion from the general base, 3 percent for diversion from the tobacco base, 3 percent in connection with the flax program, and 1 percent in connection with the sugar program. Twenty-three percent of the total payments were for soil-building practices, and of the acreage on which these practices were carried out, 93 percent were put into new seedings while 7 percent received applications of lime and superphosphate.

THE SPECIAL CROPS AREAS

In the special crops areas 34 percent of the cropland was under the program; 81 percent of the acreage diverted was from the general soil-depleting base, and 16 percent from the cotton base. Of the total class I payments, 74 percent were for diversion from the general base, 12 percent for diversion from cotton, 2 percent for diversion from

tobacco, and 1 percent for diversion from peanuts, while 6 percent were made in connection with the sugar program, 4 percent in connection with rice, and 1 percent in connection with flax. Thirty percent of the total payments were made for adopting soil-building practices. Of the total acreage on which such practices were followed, 56 percent was put into new seedings, 4 percent received lime applications, and on 32 percent contour furrowing, protected summer fallow, etc., were carried out.

THE RANGE LIVESTOCK REGION

In the range region 64 percent of the cropland was under the program; of the acreage diverted, 91 percent was from the general base, and 9 percent from the cotton base, chiefly on irrigated farms. total class I payments, 74 percent were made for diversion from the general base, 13 percent for diversion from the cotton base, and 13 percent for participation in the sugar program. Thirty-three percent of the total payments were made for following soil-building practices. Of the total acreage on which such practices were carried out, 69 percent was put into new seedings, while contour furrowing, protected summer fallow, etc., were practices on 30 percent.

These data, in greater detail, are tabulated in table 3.

XIV. REVISION OF PROGRAM FOR 1937 APPLICATION The soil program developed for 1937 places more emphasis upon soil-building and makes available for soil-building practices a larger share of the payments. The general pattern is the same as that for 1936, but some important changes have been made on the basis of experience and the recommendations of farmers and others. The range program, which applied only to the Western Region in 1936, was extended to include range lands in western parts of the Southern and North Central Regions. Provisions were made more attractive to small producers who were given an opportunity to earn at least $20, as compared with a minimum of $10 the year before, to vegetable and fruit growers, and to producers with sizable acreages in permanent pasture.

The soil-depleting bases upon which diversion payments are calculated conform to the 1936 bases. This also is true for the special bases except that there is no special base for flax in the 1937 program. A limit on corn acreage was established for farms in those parts of the North Central Region and Kansas where corn is a major crop. The aggregate of these limits is slightly smaller than the total acreage planted to corn in 1936. This limit was intended to prevent increases which might not only defeat the effort to conserve the soil, but which might result in price-reducing surpluses, if 1937 yields are normal. The program provides for a deduction from the payments for each acre of corn in excess of the corn-acreage limit. Deductions would be made at the rate paid for diversion from the general soil-depleting base.

Provisions also were made for establishing soil-conserving bases which constitute the normal acreages of soil-conserving crops for farms participating in the program. These bases will serve to measure increases in soil-conserving crops, and are in line with requests from producers for more rigid standards to measure performance. The soil-conserving base for all farms in the North Central and Western Regions is the total acreage of cropland, less the total acreage in all soil-depleting bases. For other regions the soil-conserving base is the average acreage of soil-conserving crops over a representative period.

RATES OF PAYMENTS FOR 1937 ESTABLISHED

All payments established for the 1937 soil-conservation program, and the rates of such payments are contingent upon Congress making available for 1937 the full sum of money, $500,000,000, authorized under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. Furthermore, the program provides that the rates of payment may be increased or decreased by not more than 10 percent according to the number of farmers participating in the program. The rates as announced are based upon the expectation that 80 percent of the farmers of the Nation will participate in the program.

As in 1936, payments are divided into two classes; class I payments or diversion payments; and class II payments or soil-building pay

ments.

The rate of payment for diverting land from the general soil-depleting base will average $6 per acre for the United States. On farms for which a corn-acreage limit is established and observed this rate will be increased 5 percent. The maximum diversion on which this payment will be made is 15 percent of the general soil-depleting base.